Penn State Football: Biggest disappointments from 2021 season

1. James Franklin and the coaching staff

The players have to execute and there are other players besides Sean Clifford and the offensive line that deserve blame for Penn State football’s lackluster season. However, there is also plenty of blame aimed directly at the coaches.

The Nittany Lion defense was pretty good this season,  ranked 7th in the country in points per game allowed. They were a bend not break defense and defensive coordinator Brent Pry deserves credit for keeping Penn State in many games. His career as a defensive coordinator helped him land the head gig at Virginia Tech shortly after the regular season concluded.

Most of the blame though is directed towards Franklin and the offensive side of the ball. Phil Trautwein was already mentioned but offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich could not seem to find the right combination in the second half of the season. The Nittany Lion offense did not score more than 28 points per game against Power 5 teams. They did not have a running back eclipse the 100-yard mark in any game.

The offense just seemed to lack an identity. Franklin insisted they would continue to have balance and run the ball. But even when a running back seemed to find momentum in a game, their carries suddenly dropped off and Clifford would pass more or Yurcich would call designed quarterback runs.

The offense seemed more disjointed than it did during the 2020 season under Kirk Ciarrocca, who only lasted a season before Franklin made the change to Yurcich. So the question has to be asked. Is the problem his offensive coordinators or Franklin himself?

Penn State seems to have no problem turning out a bevy of NFL talent on both sides of the ball. They also had successful years from 2016 to 2019, winning a Big Ten championship and making three appearances in New Year’s Six bowl games, winning two of them.

So Franklin has brought Penn State football success, but can he get back there? He just brought in one of his best recruiting classes ever and without Yurcich on board, the Nittany Lions do not land top prospect Drew Allar.

There is a ton to fix, especially on the offensive side. Penn State fans are not going to tolerate mediocre seasons much longer so it will be a long offseason for Franklin and his staff to find a way to right the ship.