Frustration at Penn State boils over, particularly with the offense [opinion]

The scene Saturday at Beaver Stadium was ugly during and after Penn State’s 24-15 loss to Michigan.

A few fans in the east stands who were exiting late in the fourth quarter stopped at the rail behind the Nittany Lions’ bench and hurled obscenities at coach James Franklin and others.

As Franklin left the field through the south tunnel, a few more screamed at him. A player walking near his coach yelled back.

Frustration boiled over after Penn State’s 12th straight loss to a Big Ten opponent ranked in the top 10.

One day later, Franklin made his first staff change during the regular season when he fired offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich.

Penn State’s offense stumbled against Michigan like it did at Ohio State last month in the two biggest games of the regular season.

The Lions gained 238 total yards against the Wolverines and 240 against the Buckeyes. They scored three touchdowns in those two games, two in the final two minutes after the outcomes were all but decided.

Not good.

Allar, the former five-star prospect, struggled in both losses, completing just 10-of-22 passes against the Wolverines. Penn State’s 74 passing yards were the fewest in Franklin’s 10 seasons.

Allar did not play “free and easy” against the nation’s top-ranked defense like he did at Maryland a week earlier.

“We’ve got to do a better job of calling a game to allow our quarterback to get into rhythm,” Franklin said. “That is critical. We’ve got to find easy completions for a quarterback to get into rhythm. That’s what everybody does.”

That was a clear message to Yurcich, which came three weeks after Franklin made a not-so-veiled criticism of him after the Ohio State game.

Yurcich called 50 passing plays and just 18 running plays in a 20-12 loss after the Lions had averaged more than 44 runs entering that game.

“I felt like we could have run the ball a little more,” Franklin said immediately after the loss to the Buckeyes.

And then three days later, he admitted “it was not a good game” for the offense in general and the play-calling in particular.

“We talked about staying true to our identity,” Franklin said. “I thought we got a little bit away from that at times.”

Whether it’s Joe Moorhead, Sean Lewis or someone else, Penn State’s next offensive coordinator will be Franklin’s sixth in 11 seasons. Moorhead, who’s now the head coach at Akron, has been the most successful, directing Saquon Barkley, Trace McSorley and Co. in 2016-17.

Franklin has let defensive coordinator Manny Diaz mostly alone to coach these last two seasons. Has he tinkered too much with the offense or not enough?

Penn State has a quarterback (Allar) who everybody wanted; two running backs (Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen) who combined for more than 1,900 rushing yards last season as freshmen; the “best tight end room in the country,” according to Franklin; a first-round draft pick at left tackle (Olu Fashanu); a right tackle (Caedan Wallace) who’s playing the best he has in his career, according to his line coach; and the most sought-after wide receiver (Dante Cephas) in the transfer portal after last season.

Yet the offense played terribly against Michigan and Ohio State. It doesn’t add up.

The Lions couldn’t reach the end zone on five snaps from inside the 4-yard line in the first quarter Saturday and had to settle for a field goal, a tone-setter if there ever was one.

The Lions rushed for 164 yards against a team that was allowing 90 per game, but Allar and the passing game were off.

“Although there weren’t (many) sacks, there were too many pressures,” Franklin said, “and there were too many times where we were not creating separation.”

What’s next? Penn State plays Rutgers Saturday on Senior Day at Beaver Stadium and finishes against Michigan State in Detroit the night after Thanksgiving Day. The Lions will be favored to win both.

Going 10-2 in the regular season and reaching double digits in wins for the fifth time in eight seasons would be an accomplishment, but not what the Lions or their fans expected.

“I could (not) care less what everybody else says,” Allar said. “Obviously, it’s not what we wanted to happen, these two games that we’ve lost. We’ve just got to stick together and bounce back next week.

“I mean, there’s still a ton to play for even if people don’t think there is.”