Urban Meyer: Penn State has ‘no chance’ at College Football Playoff if they lose Week 1 vs. West Virginia
Last season, Penn State found itself hovering around the College Football Playoff picture. The Nittany Lions took a 6-0 record into the game against Ohio State, but finished the year 4-3 from there with three ranked losses.
That led James Franklin to make a change, and Andy Kotelnicki will debut his new-look offense Saturday against West Virginia. But if Penn State wants to be in the CFP conversation, Urban Meyer argued the Nittany Lions have to get a victory in Morgantown.
Meyer pointed out the change in offense by bringing in Kotelnicki as coordinator after he helped turn Kansas around. However, he argued it’s nearly a must-win game for Franklin’s group with CFP hopes on the line.
“They’d better win tomorrow or no chance,” Meyer said on the Big Noon Kickoff set at halftime of Friday’s Wisconsin vs. Western Michigan game. “If they win tomorrow, they have a chance, and here’s why. Coach Franklin made a big decision. He decided to scrap the old offense and go new. You know why? Because they really struggled in the big games against Ohio State and the Wolverines. They hired Andy Kotelnicki from Kansas. He’s very aggressive, does a lot of different things. When you watch his offense, Brady, there’s three things he does all the time. No. 1, he throws the ball downfield. They were No. 1 in the country in percentage of passes over 15 yards. Ironically, Penn State was 130th. The question is, though, does Penn State have the skill outside to throw the ball downfield?
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“No. 2, option football all over the field. [Drew] Allar’s not really an option quarterback. And No. 3, the Wildcat offense. You for sure will see this. You know why? They have Kaytron Allen, Nick Singleton. … For sure, you will see Wildcat offense. Why? That fits their personnel.”
Penn State led the Big Ten in scoring offense last year with 36.2 points per game and with 184.85 rushing yards per game, as well. The passing game, however, ranked No. 5 out of the 14 teams in the league a year ago as Allar struggled with the deep ball.
However, the rising junior quarterback still tied for the league lead with 25 passing touchdowns. In addition, Allar threw just two interceptions – the fewest by a quarterback to appear in at least six games. But Franklin still saw the need to make a change and brought in Kotelnicki, who helped Kansas average 530 total yards of offense per game.
Penn State and West Virginia is sure to get plenty of attention on a loaded Week 1 slate. Kickoff is set for Noon ET on FOX.
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