Penn State Football VR Core Releases Stunning Orange Bowl Stats

Penn State football‘s a heartbreaking 27-24 loss to Notre Dame highlighted a weakness that has plagued this program for much of this season. Head coach James FranklinThe team won the battle in the trenches Thursday night, rushing for 204 yards and three scores. Looking at that stat and comparing it to Notre Dame’s 116 rushing yards on 2.8 yards per carry and it would be fair to assume the Nittany Lions left Hard Rock Stadium as Orange Bowl winners.

Unfortunately, Drew Allar and Penn State struggled for most of the night against an elite Fighting Irish secondary. At the start of this game, James Franklin’s team had a clear weakness; faint bright wide receiver core. This flaw was subsequently revealed on Thursday with shocking statistics. ESPN NFL draft and college football analyst Jordan Reed confirmed that the widths for the Big Ten power finished with zero catches for negative three yards.

Penn State couldn’t solve its big problems this season

One of the reasons this weakness was able to be masked for most of the year was one of Penn State football’s greatest strengths. The Nittany Lions have the best tight end core in the country, led by first-team All-American Tyler Warren. The future NFL starter was his usual elite self against the Fighting Irish. Warren caught six passes for 75 yards while also rushing for 21 yards.

However, despite his top target being fit, Drew Allar was out of rhythm for most of the game. The junior completed 12 of 23 passes for 135 yards and one interception. That the choice was particularly difficult as it came with less than a minute left in the game and led to a Notre Dame game-winning field goal.

Unfortunately, the Nittany Lions are already feeling the effects of this brutal loss as fans are calling for the head coach James Franklin’s job. Despite this fan fury, it has been a successful season for Penn State football. The Nittany Lions set a school record with 13 regular season wins to advance to the College Football Playoff semi-finals for the first time. James Franklin, despite its flaws, this program is trending in the right direction.

Overall, the key step in 2025 for this program will be the development of Drew Allar and the ability to build a good relationship with his wideouts. Behind Warren, wideout Harrison Wallace III was second on the team in receiving yards, catching 46 passes for 723 yards and four touchdowns. If he returns to Happy Valley, Wallace III will be trusted to be the first option as the Nittany Lions look to take that step from good to great next season.