Here are the 3 questions that will decide Penn State football’s Outback Bowl matchup with Arkansas
Penn State football will finish its 2021 season Saturday afternoon in Tampa, Florida, when it takes on the No. 21 Arkansas Razorbacks at noon in the Outback Bowl in Raymond James Stadium.
The Nittany Lions closed out their regular season with a 30-27 road loss to the Michigan State Spartans on a snow-covered field in Spartan Stadium. The loss dropped the Nittany Lions to 7-5 overall and 4-5 in the Big Ten. The loss marked the team’s fifth loss in seven games after a 5-0 start to the season. Now the Lions will be without several key players as many of the team’s top contributors have opted to prepare for the 2022 NFL Draft rather than play in the bowl game. A win over Arkansas could bode well for a team that may look closer to the 2022 version of itself more than the 2021 version.
The Razorbacks closed out the season with an 8-4 record and a 4-4 record in the SEC. They earned wins over the likes of Texas, Texas A&M, LSU and Mississippi State this season under head coach Sam Pittman.
Let’s take a look at the three questions that will decide the outcome of Saturday’s bowl game between the Razorbacks and Nittany Lions.
How will the offense fare without senior wide receiver Jahan Dotson?
There’s no bigger question in the game than how the Nittany Lions are going to operate on offense without their star player. Jahan Dotson opted out of the game and declared for the 2022 NFL Draft Monday, leaving the team without its best receiver, its most dependable target and its big play threat. The senior receiver was a heliocentric player, the type of offensive weapon the game revolves around — if opponents stopped Dotson, they stopped the offense. Without him, those targets will likely fall to sophomores KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Parker Washington, who are both capable of stepping up in the team’s season finale.
Even if they do step up, it’s reasonable to expect that everyone’s job on offense is now more difficult than it was with Dotson. The running game will have to be better without the dynamic threat in the screen game. The offensive line will have to pass protect longer to allow the receivers to get open. Redshirt senior starting quarterback Sean Clifford will have to be more precise with his throws now that Dotson is no longer on the field to make spectacular plays on the ball. The entire unit will need to be better than it was all year just to be at the level it was all season because of Dotson’s departure.
Who will replace Penn State’s defense opt outs?
Penn State head coach James Franklin intimated who the replacements will be for linebackers Ellis Brooks and Brandon Smith, but it’s still not completely clear who will replace defensive end Arnold Ebiketie, safety Jaquan Brisker and defensive tackle Derrick Tangelo.
Franklin said Jonathan Sutherland will be playing at SAM linebacker Saturday, filling one of the linebacker spots, and added that the team will burn redshirt possibilities for the game, likely pointing to Kobe King and Jamari Buddin having to play at linebacker. The linebackers will need to replace Smith and Brooks by playing physically against a big, physical running quarterback in KJ Jefferson.
Ebiketie’s replacement could be multiple players. Jesse Luketa or Nick Tarburton could take on full-time roles, or they could step up into Ebiketie’s snap count while someone like Zuriah Fisher or Smith Vilbert steps into theirs.
Tangelo’s replacement seems to be the most clear, although it will be interesting to see how snaps will be divvied up. Dvon Ellies and Coziah Izzard are the clear choices to start at defensive tackle while the redshirt senior sits out and PJ Mustipher continues his recovery from an undisclosed injury.
Brisker should be replaced by Jaylen Reed or State College native Keaton Ellis in the game, with both competing to take over the starting role in the back end opposite Ji’Ayir Brown in the 2022 season.
How will the defense look without former defensive coordinator Brent Pry?
All of the team’s opt outs are bound to lower the defense’s upside Saturday and its downside could be lowered, too, thanks to Pry’s departure. New defensive coordinator Manny Diaz has been with the team for a couple weeks, but isn’t coaching directly yet and has mostly been utilizing the time to learn more about the unit and how it operates.
That means co-defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter will be at the controls for the defense and he’ll be tasked with bringing together a group that isn’t teeming with experience.
The linebackers are the biggest question mark with Brooks and Smith leaving but sophomore Curtis Jacobs could have a big game and show he’s ready to be a big part of Diaz’s first Penn State defense. Brown could do the same on the back end, along with cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who announced he would be back next season after an up and down year in 2021.
Poindexter will mostly be tasked with generating pressure when Arkansas decides to pass because the team’s best pass rusher — Ebiketie — isn’t available and one of its best interior rushers — Tangelo — isn’t either. That could lead to a relatively blitz heavy look from the Penn State defense in order to prevent Jefferson from having all day to throw.
