Penn State vs. Ole Miss Tailgate Show
The Penn State Nittany Lions take on Ole Miss in the 2023 Peach Bowl today at noon. Join the Penn State Football Tailgate Show, presented in conjunction with Seven Mountains Media, as we get you ready for the game. You can hear the show live on the Blue-White Illustrated YouTube channel or on 99.5 The Bus locally in State College.
Penn State vs. Ole Miss
Penn State head coach James Franklin spoke with the media yesterday in a joint press conference with Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin. He discussed the challenges of playing Kiffin’s offense.
“Obviously, they’ve been able to run a ton of plays, and that’s a combination of tempo, but just as much tempo as it is offensive success,” Franklin said.
Tempo has been a major storyline for the week leading into the game. We’ll discuss the challenges and opportunities that it presents the Penn State defense.
However, the tempo isn’t the sole component of Kiffin’s success as a play-caller.
“So they’ve been able to put drives together and get on the field and get off the field. I think the quarterback has done a really good job of being able to make plays with his feet, being able to make plays with his mind, and being able to make plays with his arm and distribute the ball to multiple playmakers that Lane and their offensive coordinator have done a really good job of putting in really good positions to make plays.”
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The official word also came yesterday about a critical player in Penn State’s secondary.
“So Johnny Dixon is not with the team currently. So obviously we don’t anticipate him to play in the game,” Franklin said when asked.
Bowl Prep isn’t just for players
Franklin also discussed the importance of getting both of his new coordinators into the building quickly. Both Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and defensive coordinator Tom Allen will use this time to get up to speed on the team.
“I think the value of having these guys here not in coaching roles, I think is going to allow the transition to go smooth. We did this when we hired Manny. Brent Pry left to go be the head coach at Virginia Tech, and Anthony Poindexter was in a position to call the defense and be the defensive coordinator in the interim and did a phenomenal job,” Franklin said.
“I think Manny being with us, building relationships with the players, getting familiar with the staff, understanding the culture and how we operate from an organizational perspective, I think really allowed him to hit the ground running the day after the bowl game.”
