By Kyle Golik
For many years, the “death chant” was fans saying “We Want Bama.” There was a certain impending doom when you took a shot at the Saban Empire and almost automatically lost to the Crimson Tide.
This year it’s all different with Kalen DeBoer. Alabama ascended to the No. 1 ranking, following their 41-34 victory over No. 2 Georgia. Alabama responded the next week by laying an egg on an unranked Vanderbilt team 40-35 in FirstBank Stadium. The seismic upset was so major, the game itself has its own Wikipedia article that is better detailed than many other historic college football games.
I guess as the SEC likes to beat their chests: it just means more.
At this point, you would figure Alabama would be hyper-focused because of that embarrassment. Alabama’s lack of discipline, 15 penalties for 115 yards, along with multiple Jalen Milroe interceptions doomed Alabama against Tennessee, and now positioning Alabama sympathizers into a position to throw stones at Penn State’s glass house.
You look at the unruly behavior of SEC fans whether it is Texas fans interrupting the Georgia game with their temper tantrum of throwing debris on the field forcing Vanderbilt to invest in nets to avoid that or Ole Miss fans storming the field prior to time expiring, we should not be surprised because of the log jam of two-loss SEC teams they feel the need to take down other schools who have taken care of business.
Paul Finebaum on The Matt Barrie Show said it is irritating that Penn State is in the position that it is in.
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The slate Penn State had is being called a “gift,” something that is a lazy take to me. This is a similar take many SEC fans are throwing shade at Texas for.
Penn State plays nine conference games and 10 overall Power 4 opponents, more than Alabama which plays eight conference games and nine overall Power 4 opponents.
You could use a common opponent between Penn State, Oregon, and Alabama trying to leverage a transitive property that Alabama is better by the result of the Wisconsin games. It is true, Alabama routed Wisconsin in Camp Randall, but it is also true Wisconsin starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke went down with a season-ending injury on the first series against Alabama, giving Braedyn Locke his first meaningful reps.
Penn State got to Madison and lost Drew Allar due to injury, you could argue it was preventive, but backup Beau Pribula came in and executed to secure the 28-13 win. You could argue from style points perspective, it was at minimum equal to Alabama’s rout.
Oregon learned firsthand the hostile nature of going into a primetime showdown in the Midwest, especially in Madison, the potential buzzsaw Wisconsin could be escaping with a 16-13 win. Oregon really misses wide receiver Tez Johnson, but a bye comes at an opportune time prior to the Cascade Clash in the season finale against Washington.
Getting back to the subject, why should Alabama avoid a trip to Happy Valley?
Quarterback Drew Allar is in the Top 5 nationally in yards per pass, completion percentage, and passer rating. Allar’s potential is being maximized by offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki’s offense. No one should be surprised by Kotelnicki’s success in advancing Allar because over the last decade as an offensive coordinator, Kotelnicki’s offenses lead the nation with the lowest sack percentage (3.79%) and tackles for loss percentage (7.74%).
With Kotelnicki’s offenses avoiding the negative play, they have demonstrated the ability to be one of the most explosive offenses in the nation, being second in yards per play (6.19).
Tight end Tyler Warren has been a major beneficiary of Kotelnicki’s creative offense as he is used in various aspects of the Penn State offense. One can reference the Southern California game as his coming out party with all the creative uses. A giant sore spot for Penn State faithful is the failure to use Warren from the three-yard line against Ohio State after Warren set Penn State up for the tying score.
Warren’s versatility has him ranked among FBS tight ends at the top of the nation in total touchdowns, second in receiving yards, receiving yards per game, yards per reception (with a minimum of 60 catches), and third in receptions
Warren should get a trip to New York for the Heisman Trophy. Another Nittany Lion who got a big-time visitor in West Lafayette was EDGE Abdul Carter in superagent Drew Rosenhaus. I’m not sure if he has visited Tuscaloosa this year.
What has drawn Rosenhaus’ attention is Carter ranks second nationally in tackles for loss (17.5) and seventh in sacks (8.0). The last time Alabama faced an EDGE rusher with the same prowess was James Pearce Jr. of Tennessee who treated Alabama tackles like subway turnstiles notching 1.5 sacks and 1.5 tackles for loss against the Crimson Tide.
The difference between the SEC talking heads that have cried about Penn State and Indiana being in the position they are is they won’t take ownership of their team’s failures. Why should Penn State or Indiana for that matter have to pay a price for taking care of business? If ESPN wants an all-SEC playoff, organize one.
If Penn State cannot take care of business the next two weeks against opponents they should beat, I will be the first to criticize their failures and own this column. But the last time Penn State played an SEC school at full strength, they emptied Jordan-Hare Stadium early in the second half, administering Auburn’s worst home loss in nearly four decades.
Some will point to losing to Ole Miss, but compare the situation of opt-outs and coaching changes. Ole Miss enjoyed a full coaching staff and had one opt out in defensive end Cedric Johnson – who went in the sixth round in the 2024 NFL Draft. Penn State was minus two first-round picks in EDGE Chop Robinson and tackle Olu Fashanu, minus their offensive and defensive coordinators, and starting cornerbacks.
When Penn State lost against Ohio State, they owned their loss, I stood their listening to various Penn State starters owning their defeat, with starting linebacker and captain Kobe King pointing out, “We need to stay the course — players are going to stay the course, coaches are going to stay the course. We still have a national championship to go get.”
Penn State has to get through an SEC team on that journey, it may be Alabama, a rematch against Ole Miss, Georgia may make a trek and the Nittany Lions may show Kirby Smart that going through the Big Ten is just as rough. Trust me, no one will want to see this Penn State team on the road to College Football Playoff, especially from the SEC.
