New OC Andy Kotelnicki has work to do after Penn State struggles in Peach Bowl loss to Ole Miss

ATLANTA — Andy Kotelnicki, wearing a tan sport coat and a look of disappointment, slipped past a stanchion and made his way to the postgame locker room. Penn State’s new offensive coordinator wasn’t calling plays or coaching in Saturday’s Peach Bowl loss to Ole Miss. But Kotelnicki was present, providing emotional support for what was a hurt team.

What Kotelnicki saw up-close at Mercedes-Benz Stadium — in the hours before retreating to that deflated locker room — was how much work will be needed in the coming months.

Penn State requires an offensive reset. That much was clear after a 38-25 loss to Ole Miss sent the Nittany Lions into their offseason with more questions than answers.

“It’s how the guys that are returning respond to adversity,” quarterback Drew Allar said. “We can respond to it in a good way or negatively. It’s about what you do when things don’t go your way. It sucks for this to happen. But we have to find a way to bounce back in the offseason.”

On the surface, it doesn’t look that bad. Penn State totaled 510 yards of offense. Allar threw for 295 yards. Nick Singleton accounted for 136 yards from scrimmage. And tight end Tyler Warren had a career day, going for 127 yards. But those stats hardly tell the story.

The Nittany Lions punted nine times on Saturday. They turned the ball over twice. They went three-and-out on three consecutive possessions to start the second half.

Late in the third quarter, Ole Miss dialed up a successful direct snap to a 315-pound defensive tackle on fourth-and-1. At the same time, Penn State wide receivers didn’t have a catch, struggling to do much of anything. The difference in ingenuity and confidence was stark.

Allar, who looked skittish at times in his first year as the starting quarterback, deserves some of the blame. The play-calling deserves some of the blame, too. But a lot of the Nittany Lions’ offensive stagnation stems from the wide receiver room. It has been an issue all season long, and those problems weren’t solved by a couple weeks of bowl practices.

“We’ve got to take an honest look at the film and see where we didn’t perform well, how we can get better, make the necessary corrections, move forward and get ready for winter workouts and spring ball,” receivers coach Marques Hagans said. “It’s hard to watch tape at the end of the season when it ends in a loss. But that’s the only way we’re gonna get better.

“We have to create separation and make more play. We’ve got to perform at a higher level to give our team a chance to win.”

The receivers failed to do that in the biggest moments in 2023. The Nittany Lions sorely lacked an explosive passing game in losses to Ohio State and Michigan, leading to James Franklin firing former offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich. The Peach Bowl was much of the same.

One of the questions Kotelnicki has in front of him is, who will he have at his disposal?

KeAndre Lambert-Smith, who was supposed to be a true No. 1 receiver for this team, was a non-factor against Ole Miss. He was targeted once, dropping a would-be first down. Lambert-Smith has not made his intentions clear for 2024, whether he’s staying at Penn State, entering the transfer portal or testing the NFL waters. The fourth-year receiver declined to comment during the postgame locker room window open to the media.

“I ain’t answering no questions, bro,” Lambert-Smith said.

Dante Cephas, meanwhile, wasn’t available for questions because he didn’t play. The Kent State transfer, who arrived as a potential top target for Allar, suited up but didn’t log a snap. Hagans said “the accountability of how guys are practicing” dictates playing time.

Harrison Wallace III returned from injury after missing the last four games of the regular season. He scored late in fourth-quarter garbage time when the result was already decided.

Lambert-Smith, Cephas and Wallace were Penn State’s top wide receivers this year. And they, along with the rest of the wide receivers, simply weren’t good enough for Penn State to beat its top competition. Asked about his confidence that improvements will come this offseason, Hagans said: “They have to happen. And they will happen.”

Time will tell if that happens. Maybe meaningful help arrives via the portal. And time will tell how — and with whom — Kotelnicki decides to reinvent this often unwatchable offense.

Kotelnicki has proven he can do it. He turned Kansas, a perennial loser, into one of the most explosive offenses in the FBS. The Jayhawks averaged 7 yards per play the last two seasons. The only other teams to do that were Georgia, USC, Washington, LSU and Oregon.

Kotelnicki has shown he can do more with less. In his 17 years as an offensive coordinator, he has cultivated a multiple-look, fast-paced system that keeps defenses on their toes. Kotelnicki described his scheme a few weeks ago as one that keeps it simple for the offense while confusing the opposition. That spark, that identity is one that Penn State desperately needs.

On Saturday, Kotelnicki — on the sideline and in the locker room, removed from coaching duties — provided words of encouragement. This offseason, he has to provide a facelift.

That is, if Franklin’s program wants to legitimately contend for the sport’s biggest prize.