Penn State beat Maryland 44-7 despite not having a key piece of its offense, and coach James Franklin addressed that topic to reporters in a pre-Big Ten Championship Game Zoom presser.
Harrison โTreyโ Wallace III, who has been Penn Stateโs top receiver, showed up as โquestionableโ on the Big Tenโs injury report.
He ended up not playing against Maryland.
Penn State didnโt need him to pound Maryland. But it could probably use its best receiver against the No. 1 team in the country. As usual, Franklin didnโt definitively say whether or not Wallace would play but he did give some insight.
WHAT FRANKLIN SAID
Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now: James Franklin
โTrey tweaked something during the week and was not able to go, but weโre hopeful heโll be able to go this week,โ Franklin said. โToo early to tell, but was unable to go this past week.โ
On the season, Wallace has 35 catches for 579 yards and three touchdowns.
Heโs second to superstar tight end Tyler Warren among Penn Stateโs pass catchers in receptions and yards and leads Penn Stateโs wide receivers in both categories. Wallace had the best game of his career Week 1, catching five passes for 117 yards and two scoresโ all in the first halfโ in a 34-12 win at West Virginia. He also had a big game against Washington Nov. 9, catching five passes for 84 yards in a 35-6 win.
REGARDLESS OF WALLACE, RECEIVERS NEED TO STEP UP
James Franklin and Julian Fleming during pregame warmups.
Penn Stateโs passing game has been a lot of QB Drew Allar and TE Tyler Warren. Although the receivers have shown flashesโ three have gone over 100 yards at some point in the seasonโ fans still want to see more. Next to Wallace, Penn Stateโs next highest-performing receiver, Omari Evans, has 338 yards and three touchdowns on 18 catches, with more than a third of than coming against a Kent State team that hasnโt won a game since 2022.
Penn State takes on Oregon in the Big Ten Championship, scheduled for 8:00 on Fox in Indianapolis.
