Lane Kiffin Scouts Penn State Ahead of the Peach Bowl
More Penn State coordinators, more problems for Ole Miss? Penn State football is in quite a unique spot while preparing for Saturday’s Peach Bowl matchup with Ole Miss. Coach James Franklin is carrying four interim coordinators into the game; running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider and tight ends coach Ty Howle have run the offense for two games, while safeties coach Anthony Poindexter and analyst Robb Smith will call the defense for the Peach Bowl.
Penn State's new hires, Andy Kotelnicki on offense and Tom Allen on defense, are in Atlanta for bowl events and working behind the scenes but won't call plays in the game. Considering Diaz led the nation’s top defense, his absence might suggest a drop-off on defense. But Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin doesn't expect it.
“We don't have any idea what they're going to do. It's like opening the season with no preseason games or being someone's second game. That's actually a really big challenge,” Kiffin said Tuesday on a Zoom call with reporters. “It's just more that we're going to have to be ready for whatever they play and play really sound and play really good football.”
Penn State has at least one opt out defensively that changes the personnel in Saturday’s game, too, as defensive end Chop Robinson will not play in the game. Cornerback Johnny Dixon’s availability is up in the air (he could opt out of the game), though fellow cornerback Kalen King is in Atlanta and available for the Peach Bowl.
Either way, as Franklin often calls non-playoff bowl games a balance between this year and next, young players could see more action, especially in the secondary with names like Elliot Washington II and Zion Tracy ones to watch against Ole Miss’ high-powered offense. “If he’s out there on the field, he's out there on the field for a reason,” Ole Miss wide receiver Dayton Wade said. “Everybody got something good about them. Everybody got something bad about them.”
“They've got a lot of great players. They've recruited at a really high level for a lot of years in the row, have not built through the portal,” Kiffin added. “So I think they can sustain injuries or opt-outs more than a lot of programs would be able to.”
Penn State’s offense is intact for the Peach Bowl. Three players — left tackle Olu Fashanu, right tackle Caedan Wallace and tight end Theo Johnson — have declared for the draft but will play in the game. Tight end Tyler Warren wiped away another big question mark by announcing he’ll return to Penn State in 2024. Those pieces provide big support to a Penn State rushing attack that gained steam after Seider and Howle took over.
“They have a very effective run game. We're working on stopping that. Their O-line is very good. They even have a first rounder, I think,” Ole Miss linebacker Ashanti Cistrunk said. “So we're just working on stopping that run game and forcing them on the perimeter.”
Forcing Penn State to the perimeter would put the ball into quarterback Drew Allar’s hands more often. Allar finished his first year as Penn State’s starter with some good-looking numbers that Franklin has been quick to point out: 2,336 yards, 23 touchdowns and just one interception with a completion rate of 61.14 percent. But there were growing pains, especially against top competition. Kiffin has been impressed as Allar’s tries to springboard into his junior year.
“He's hard to beat, takes care of the ball really well. Really good mixture of being able to throw the ball and then get out of trouble and make a play and make a first down with his feet,” Kiffin said. “These guys are always really hard, what I call students of the game, when you see them play. They rarely make any mistakes. When you couple that with the best defense in the country, that's a really good combination. That's why these guys have won so many games.”
