What’s wrong with Penn State?

Start with a lack of explosive plays on offense. The Nittany Lions thought they fixed this issue with offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki coming in last year. While it lacked big-play wide receivers, the Penn State offense still was tops in the Big Ten in plays of 20-plus yards last year.

This season, the Nittany Lions (3-2, 0-2 Big Ten) are 12th after following up a disappointing loss to Oregon with a stunning one last week at UCLA. The Bruins went into the game winless, having already fired their head coach and both coordinators.

The loss sent Penn State out of the rankings after beginning the season ranked No. 2. The Nittany Lions haven’t been unranked since early in the 2022 season.

Penn State, which led the Big Ten in rushing in 2024, ranks No. 8 this year. The Nittany Lions had 11 rushes of 30-plus yards last year but through five games have just one. Nick Singleton has especially struggled, averaging 3.8 yards per carry after being over 6.0 last season.

Rival coaches think the Nittany Lions’ offense has gotten predictable.

“I was very curious about all their shifts and motions,” said one defensive line coach. “I don’t know the system but it has to be somewhat easy if they’re able to do all that stuff. We started noticing some tendencies. They do a bunch of shifts and trades, but they always end up running to No. 16 (tight end Khalil Dinkins). He’s kind of their blocking tight end. He takes you to the play.”

A second defensive coach echoed that point: “They’re gimmicky in what they do formationally, with motions and shifts, and if you can get a bead on that, it’s not as much of an issue as what they make it out to be. There’s a lot of prediction there.”

Penn State has tried to get its wide receivers more involved with tight end Tyler Warren now in the NFL, but Drew Allar is averaging 1.5 yards fewer per attempt.

“I think the quarterback is overrated from what you hear about him so much,” one of the coaches said. “He’s got a big arm, but it’s inconsistent ball placement down the field. I don’t think they really want to put the ball in his hands if you look at how they call it.”

Penn State hopes to get right at home against Northwestern on Saturday.

Texas’ troubles

After being held to a season-low 52 yards rushing and allowing six sacks against Florida, Arch Manning and Texas now face the nation’s top-ranked defense in the Red River Rivalry against No. 6 Oklahoma on Saturday.

Texas is 116th in the country in third-down efficiency (34.4 percent) and 86th in red zone touchdown percentage (59.1 percent).

Manning went 16 of 29 for 263 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions against Florida, but some opposing coaches think he was actually the bright spot for Texas.

“I think the kid played really well,” one rival defensive coordinator said. “I know people like to criticize him, but he stood in there, made some good throws under pressure, moved the sticks with his feet several times. Didn’t seem to get rattled. He gets stroked right in the face and still put it right on the receiver. They’re unfair to that kid, man. He’s trying to grow into it.”

The coach said there are several reasons why Texas isn’t close to as good as it was last year on offense.

“They’re not as good on the perimeter,” he said. “They’ve got some players there. They’re not as good up front. Running backs have been banged up. They are not the same. Arch doesn’t have the same crew around him.”

A defensive line coach agreed the Horns’ offensive line was much better last year. They are struggling to replace four starters, three of whom were NFL draft picks.

“Their guards, I’m not gonna say that they’re terrible, but they struggle. They’re very lateral up front. They don’t really attack you,” the coach said.

The Sooners lead the nation in tackles for loss per game at 10.

At 6-0 and with a win over Arkansas, Memphis looks like a real contender for the American championship and a CFP bid. Wesley Hale / Imagn Images

Memphis’ makeover

There was some concern Memphis might take a step back in the American Conference this season as it faced a ton of roster turnover after 11- and 10-win seasons.

With 78 new players and only three returning starters, coach Ryan Silverfield’s team is ranked No. 23 and looking like a contender to win the league and contend for a College Football Playoff spot.

The Tigers are playing their best defense in years. Just about every significant contributor is in his first season with the team.

Memphis is second in the American in yards per play allowed (4.9). That number is likely to go up as the Tigers face tougher conference foes, but it has been more than a decade since Memphis has allowed fewer than 5 yards per play.

Memphis coaches have been thrilled not just with the talent evaluations, but how the players have fit together and the culture in the program.

On offense, the staff points to running back Sutton Smith as a tone setter.

Smith is a rarity on the team, having spent his entire four-year college career at Memphis. He suffered a torn ACL in his right knee in the first game last season, but has returned to be one of the leading rushers in the conference. Smith is averaging nearly 6.5 yards per carry and ran for 147 yards in the Tigers’ upset of Arkansas.

Silverfield’s star is starting to shine a little brighter, too. The former offensive line coach took over when Mike Norvell left for Florida State in 2020, and his first three seasons were solid (21-15), but not quite what Memphis fans had gotten used to under Justin Fuente and Norvell.

Memphis was 21-5 over the last two seasons, though it fell short of playing for the American championship.

The big tests for the Tigers come in the back half of the season with games against USF, rival Tulane and Navy.

While Tulane’s Jon Sumrall and USF’s Alex Golesh are looked at as the hot commodities among Group of 5 coaches, industry sources expect Silverfield to also draw interest in what is expected to be an active cycle.

An improved, ‘more confident’ Pavia

Vanderbilt could not replicate last season’s upset of Alabama, but don’t write off the Commodores to make noise in the SEC this year.

Opposing SEC coaches who have been preparing for the Commodores say quarterback Diego Pavia is much improved from last year. And the numbers back that up. In 2024, he completed 59.4 percent of his passes and averaged 7.7 yards per attempt. This year, he’s up to 71.4 percent and 8.8 yards per attempt.

“He was such a playmaker a year ago and I think he’s developed into a really good QB,” said an SEC defensive coordinator. “He’s more confident in where he’s going with the ball especially if you don’t get much pressure on him. He’s most efficient versus drop-eight coverage, which tells you he knows where his windows are.”

The coach said that if Pavia gets pressure in his face, he “goes back to old Pavia, he’ll come off his first read because I think it’s so ingrained in who he is. But if you give him time, he will work through his progressions like a real quarterback. He is just dialed in. His throwing mechanics are better. His release is faster. His footwork is better. Accuracy is significantly improved. The velocity on the ball is significantly better. I don’t know what he’s done this offseason and some of that is probably more decisive, too, but he’s driving the ball better. They run vertical seams from five-wide and he’s driving the ball. He’s a really good quarterback, man.”

Big 12’s most underrated?

Two coaches who spoke to The Athletic this week called Cincinnati linebacker Jake Golday the most underrated player in the Big 12.

Last week, he had 13 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and made a key fourth-and-1 stop in UC’s big win over Iowa State.

The 6-foot-4 1/2, 240-pound Golday is one of the most athletic linebackers in college football. He ran a 4.24 shuttle time, which would’ve been faster than any linebacker at this year’s combine, and broad jumped 10 feet, 7 inches. He had 58 tackles last year despite missing the Bearcats’ final three games due to injury.

He leads the Big 12 in tackles per game with 9.8 and has helped the Bearcats (4-1) go from No. 15 in the Big 12 in red zone defense last year to No. 2.