Penn State fell 45-37 to Oregon in the 2024 Big Ten Championship Game in December at Lucas Oil Stadium.
PSU hasn’t forgotten what occurred, and Oregon scored 31 points en route to becoming conference champs and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.
James Franklin believes Penn State is better equipped for what the No. 6 team in the country presents this time around.
“I think last year, we didn’t have enough tools in our tool belt. What I mean by that is we were majority a man coverage team,” Franklin said in Monday’s press conference. “Sometimes, they were able to get matchups that were in their favor. If we’re not able to solve that issue with a sack or pressure, then we had some challenges.”
Penn State had utilized man and zone coverage under new coordinator Jim Knowles, diversifying the looks thrown at opposing play callers and offenses. Personnel wise, Penn State is similar. Scheme wise, Penn State has tweaked some things to become more well-rounded.
“I think being able to play man is definitely one of our weapons,” Franklin said. “Also being able to have zones and zone pressures, a lot of those different things we’re doing more of, is valuable. Being able to have more of a mix that we can challenge people with man coverage.”
Franklin mentioned Penn State needing to clean up being too soft in zone coverage on 3rd and 4 and 3rd and 5 to challenge routes better. He likes how Knowles has adapted to Penn State and sees similarities with what Andy Kotelnicki experienced during his first season in Happy Valley.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.“It’s been good. He’s an experienced defensive coordinator. There’s a lot going on up there (in his mind),” Franklin said. “Each week that goes on, he has a better idea of who we are.”
“What are the strengths of our people? What are the challenges or weaknesses in our guys at this point of the season, and how do you call a game to play to those strengths and limit some of those deficiencies or matchup issues?”
Oregon totaled 469 yards and scored 45 points on Penn State’s top 10 defense a year ago. Dante Moore replaces Dillon Gabriel at quarterback and is off to a great start. In four games, Moore owns a 75% passer rating with 962 yards, 11 touchdowns, and one interception.
The 2025 Penn State White Out commences inside Beaver Stadium Saturday at 7:30. ESPN’s College GameDay will broadcast live from the Old Main lawn at 9 a.m.
A win would be a significant boost to Penn State’s College Football Playoff resume.
