Joel Klatt’s One-Word Description Of Penn State's Offense Against Elite Teams

The Penn State Nittany Lions have consistently succeeded under James Franklin, winning 10 or more games in a season five times since 2014. One thing that Penn State is also notoriously consistent at is losing to the Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan Wolverines.

Franklin has won one game against Ohio State since 2014 and three games against Michigan during his tenure. The Buckeyes and Wolverines have stopped the Nittany Lions numerous times from reaching the College Football Playoff and Big Ten Championship.

Last season was no different. Penn State was 6-0 heading into the Ohio State game and lost. The team was 8-1 before the Michigan game and lost in Happy Valley.

On a recent edition of " The Joel Klatt Show ," Joel Klatt had one word to describe how the Penn State offense has been against the elite teams. Klatt said that while the offense is good against other teams, it is "stagnant" versus elite teams like the Buckeyes and Wolverines.

"First and foremost is the fact that this Penn State team has been an elite team outside of playing against Michigan and Ohio State," Klatt said. "One of the reasons that they have fallen short in those games is their offense just doesn't have another gear. It's fine versus the regular teams in college football, but when they get up against the elite teams in college football, they fall stagnant."

In the Ohio State game last season, Penn State was held to 240 yards on offense. The Nittany Lions struggled to run the ball and only rushed for 49 yards as a team. The reverse happened with the Penn State passing game against Michigan. Penn State ran the ball well but threw for only 74 passing yards.

With the 12-team playoff, Penn State's chances of making it are higher.

The team returns stars like quarterback Drew Allar, running back Nick Singleton, running back Kaytron Allen, and linebacker Abdul Carter.

Penn State opens the 2024 season against the West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday. Kickoff is at noon ET on FOX.

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