Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki is well aware of Penn State’s poor numbers.
He understands what the expectations were for an offense that returned seven starters, including its backfield and all but one offensive lineman.
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Kotelnicki, though, was at a loss for words when he was asked Wednesday why everything has gone mostly wrong.
“I don’t know,” he said. “That answer could be so, so long and into stuff, but the reality is it hasn’t gone like we hoped. …I don’t really have a good explanation for where it is or where it was.
“There’s really not a lot to say. You can point out stats. You can talk about this or that. Those are all accurate. They are what they are. You just have to go out there and work on getting better. That’s probably not the profound answer that you’re looking for.”
The Nittany Lions are off this week, taking a deep breath after four consecutive Big Ten defeats, surveying the wreckage of a lost season that has included the firing of head coach James Franklin and wondering what’s next.
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The defense can share the blame for Penn State being 0-4 in the conference and 3-4 overall. But the offense has struggled from the beginning of the season, which began with championship hopes.
The Lions rank 97th in total offense, 109th in passing and are tied for 53rd in rushing, despite returning quarterback Drew Allar, running backs Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton, tight end Khalil Dinkins and offensive linemen Drew Shelton, Vega Ioane, Nick Dawkins, Anthony Donkoh and Nolan Rucci.
“One thing I’ve learned is that no matter who you have coming back, what your identity is or what you are, it’s always going to evolve,” Kotelnicki said. “It’s never going to be the same and that’s week-to-week and year-to-year regardless of the amount of people you have coming back.
“I don’t want to say you start from scratch, but you have to approach it that way a little bit. You have to say to yourself that it’s going to be different.”
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Allar was projected as a first-round draft pick before the season and was expected to prosper with the addition of three wide receivers from the transfer portal: Kyron Hudson, Trebor Pena and Devonte Ross.
But before Allar suffered a season- and career-ending leg injury two weeks ago against Northwestern, Penn State’s pass offense was not explosive. For the year, Allar completed 64.8% of his passes for 1,100 yards and eight touchdowns with three interceptions.
“He’s just a fantastic dude,” Kotelnicki said. “I’m crushed for just how it all went for him this year.”
Ethan Grunkemeyer replaced Allar in a 25-24 loss at Iowa last Saturday, completing 15-of-28 passes for 93 yards. Afterwards, interim head coach Terry Smith bemoaned that Penn State couldn’t throw the ball down the field and that the receivers couldn’t create separation on their routes.
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“There are times they do and there are times they don’t,” Kotelnicki said, “just like there are times when the ball is thrown well and when it isn’t. And there are times when the protection’s great and when it isn’t. It’s about all those three lining up on a specific play.”
Then there’s the case of Singleton, the former Gov. Mifflin star who was named a preseason All-American after his second 1,000-yard season last year.
He began this season with 2,912 career rushing yards and 5.8 per carry. Ki-Jana Carter, Larry Johnson, Lenny Moore, Bob Campbell, Miles Sanders and Lydell Mitchell are the only Penn State backs who had more yards per carry in their careers.
Through seven games, Singleton has rushed 76 times for 274 yards, a 3.6 average and six touchdowns. In the last two games, he has just 13 attempts for 36 yards.
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“He has great speed,” Kotelnicki said. “We need to do a good job of getting him on the perimeter, allowing him to get some edges where his speed can show up. When he finds the windows, his superpower has been able to hit them full speed.
“Those opportunities to have those windows haven’t quite been there, maybe as much as they were last year.”
Since averaging 44 points a game in non-conference play, Penn State has scored 11 touchdowns on offense in four Big Ten games, including a few set up by the defense or special teams. Against Oregon, UCLA, Northwestern and Iowa, the Lions are averaging only 293.3 total yards per game.
“What do you do?” Kotelnicki said when asked about the state of the offense. “You go to the next play. You go to the next game. You go to the next moment and opportunity. I’m more focused on what it’s got to be by next week.”
That’s when Penn State travels to play at No. 1 Ohio State.
