What did Penn State coach James Franklin think about the Lions' fourth quarter goal-to-go failure against Ohio State upon review?

Penn State coach James Franklin is aware of the obvious: The Lions’ goal-to-go failure late in its eventual 20-13 loss to Ohio State was a key turning point in the team’s 10th loss to the Buckeyes in 11 years.

After a Tyler Warren 33-yard run set up 1st and goal at the OSU 3 with PSU trailing with about eight minutes to go, the star tight end did not touch the ball again. First-year offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki dialed up three straight runs to junior running back Kaytron Allen. They netted no gain, one yard, and one yard to set up a pivotal 4th and goal at the OSU 1. Quarterback Drew Allar dropped back to pass, and the Buckeyes immediately took away Warren at the goal line. That led to the junior throwing a pass in the direction of backup tight end Khalil Dinkins, which fell incomplete. Penn State never got the ball back again.

What did the 11th-year leader of the Lions see on film from that sequence? And, what might he have changed about it upon review?

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“I think first of all, obviously, we didn’t get movement,” Franklin said. “We didn’t get movement up front. We got two of the better running backs in the country. You want to try to feed those guys and allow them to get down the hill. They’ve done a really good job of it. Not only this year, but kind of throughout their careers. I think that’s the right thing to do.

“But I also think there’s a there’s a piece where you can say, in critical moments, you got to think players not plays, and you know, maybe in one of those three downs, at least, you got to make sure Tyler Warren touches the ball. However that is, whether it’s wildcat, whether that is in the passing game, or whether that is as a ball carrier. But again, I think we got two really good running backs that we feel good about, and those guys have got to touch the ball as well. So that’s probably the biggest thing.

“I think when you do throw the ball, you’re going to have to understand that they’re just as aware of Tyler Warren as we are trying to get the ball to him. So, you know, the likelihood is that guy is going to be double-teamed as well. So, obviously, hindsight is 20/20.

“But at the end of the day, the reality is you got to be able to create movement and score when you need one yard. Whether that is picking up a critical fourth down or whether that is goal line. And we got to do some things better scheme-wise, but also we got to do a little bit better job fundamental and technique-wise to make sure we get the movement that we need.”

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Warren said after the game that he was not shocked that the ball didn’t come his way at all during that sequence, even though he had every right to be. As Franklin said, Penn State should have used him in that instance, and it did not. Whether or not it would have made a difference is irrelevant. And the movement issue was a problem, too; Ohio State dominated most of the day at the line of scrimmage, But, Warren is the Lions’ best player on offense. Moving forward, it must emphasize getting him the ball in similar critical moments.

Did Franklin tell Kotelnicki to get the ball to Warren?

Franklin was asked about conversations on the headset during instances like the goal-to-go situation. Here’s what he said:

“We’ve talked about this before. There’s really no discussions on a headset during a play call. Those things lead to second-guessing. Those things lead to delay of games, [and] those things don’t typically lead to where you want to go. So what will happen, though, is, like I’ve mentioned to you guys before, after a play call, there could be, ‘hey, you may want to think about this.

“We haven’t pushed the ball down the field enough.’ I’m not talking obviously in the goal line, but those types of things. ‘Hey, you know, Andy, from a sequencing standpoint, in this situation, we got four downs, so let’s call the third down, understanding you have two downs in this situation.’ But yeah, not discussions about a call when the call is made. The last thing you want to do is the person that’s calling the game, be that the head coach or somebody else, is interjecting in those critical moments and making that coordinator hesitate.

“What you’re really trying to do is those discussions are happening all week long with your preparation and your planning at what’s best in those moments, and then as the game goes on, how things are going. Obviously, after you run the ball vertical two times and you get stuffed, everybody’s telling you to be creative. If you’re creative in those moments and they don’t work, then everybody’s telling you [that you] got too cute, and you should have ran the ball north and south. So hindsight is 20/20. I totally get it.

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“At the end of the day, you could make a lot of arguments. We have been more creative, and we have got the ball into Tyler Warren’s hands in that moment, from a technique and fundamental standpoint, could we have gotten more push all those things? The reality is back to when we won a big game in the Big Ten championship game on fourth and one. We made a stop on the fourth and one to win a game. The team we were playing didn’t pick it up. There’s the difference in the game. And the reality is, you got to be able to get a yard when you want to get a yard, it’s.

“I don’t know if it’s necessarily about the play call. Play calls matter and count. Don’t misinterpret what I’m saying. But at the end of the day, you got to be able to get a yard. From a mentality standpoint, from a fundamental standpoint, from a schematic standpoint, and all those things come into place there. But I’ve also been a part [of], you’re creative on first down. You’re creative on second down. You throw it on third down, and then everybody says, You got too cute. So at the end of the day, we didn’t get the ball in the end zone. And when that happens, you’re going to be second-guessed, and you’re going to be critiqued, and I get it.”