Penn State sized up against league heavyweights in annual Big Ten anonymous assessment

Penn State football produced a season of limbo in 2023. The Nittany Lions, fresh off a Rose Bowl-winning campaign the year prior, won every regular season game except for the two most anticipated annually. 

Then, gutted by opt-outs and injury in a Peach Bowl matchup against Ole Miss, Penn State suffered the same outcoming.

Bringing back much of the core of that 10-3 team, will another year together make a difference for the Nittany Lions? What will the impact of three new coordinators – Andy Kotelnicki, Tom Allen, and Justin Lustig – have on the program? And, most importantly, is Penn State finally ready to get over the hump against the juggernauts of the Big Ten?

Every year, Athlon Sports surveys Big Ten coaches for assessments of teams throughout the conference. And, to ensure the most honest and forthcoming opinions, the outlet provides anonymity to those coaches providing the input. 

Here is a look at the conversation surrounding the Nittany Lions this offseason and, maybe more importantly, what it means to Penn State moving forward. From the story, linked here:

What they’re saying about Penn State this year

The piece provides insights into each of the Big Ten’s 18 programs ahead of the 2024 season. But, for our purposes, we’re focusing on what was said about the Nittany Lions this offseason.

And, the first assessment is an explicit acknowledgment that the perceptions of Penn State football in the rest of the Big Ten matches those of fans of the program. Unable to get past Ohio State since 2016, and Michigan since 2020, the Nittany Lions are again going to be evaluated by how they fare against the conference’s best – even without the Wolverines on the docket this season.

“They’ve been the definition of the best-of-the-good programs for a while now. They’re never great. They would’ve made a 12-team playoff last year, but they were so noticeably behind Ohio State and Michigan that it didn’t really matter. The expectation is to compete with those schools, and they’ve almost always trailed them under James Franklin.”

In the same vein, the piece points out one of the differentiating factors in play with the Nittany Lions.

Unable to put together a complete offensive picture with playmakers littered throughout that side of the ball, another comment pertains to that absence in recent seasons.

“They haven’t scared elite programs with their offensive skill position guys since the Saquon Barkley and Trace McSorley days. You can talk about a million other things, but that’s the real difference between them and the conference leaders. OSU and Michigan scare you with their talent. They have to hit that next level as an offense.”

The logical next question is whether or not Penn State has that element in store for the 2024 campaign.

Focusing on two key ingredients to the offense’s success or failure this season, the final comment points to a belief that the quarterback and offensive coordinator will likely dictate potential outcomes this year.

“The season is on [QB Drew] Allar and how he develops with another new OC [Andy Kotelnicki].”

Changes from last year

Last year, coming off the Rose Bowl campaign and ahead of the 2023 season, the program was framed in similar terms.

Penn State “got tougher” by the end of the 2022 campaign, marking a sign of potential in 2023 with the appropriate amount of carryover. But, the terms of assessment looked much the same as this year’s assessments.

“It’s really all about [QB Drew] Allar. If he’s as good as everyone thinks, this is their window to get past Michigan and Ohio State. He’s the difference between another top-end season and the breakthrough they’ve wanted under [James] Franklin.”

That breakthrough never came but left the program making big changes to propel it to better results this year.

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