Gameplan

Welcome back to The Call Sheet!

We’re finally less than a week away from college football’s return with four games this Saturday. Now that the season is set to kick off, I wanted to quickly share three questions I’ll be looking to answer in the first few weeks. I apologize ahead of time for the heavy Big 10 focus. TLDR:

• Cover 3

  • How will Penn State look on offense?

  • What will the run/pass split be for Ohio State?

  • Can USC play some sound defense?

Cover 3

How will Penn State look on offense?

If there’s anything you should know about James Franklin, he’s completely unafraid to change his staff. Whether it’s a lack of recruiting success or a disappointing product on the field, he quickly pulls the trigger on turning over his coaches to find the right guys to help his program win. It’s part of why his teams have remained close to the top of the Big 10 since he took over.

So when Franklin picked away Andy Kotelnicki from the Kansas Jayhawks to be his new offensive coordinator, my eyes widened.

Kotelnicki is widely regarded as one of the most creative offensive minds in the game. His role in helping Lance Leipold resurrect the Kansas football program cannot go unstated. Toting a high-flying offense while bringing a program back to life quickly cemented Kotelnicki as one of the game’s hottest names. So hot that James Franklin tabbed him to overhaul what was largely an uninspiring Penn State offense the last two years.

But the more I think about Kotelnicki calling plays for the Nittany Lions, the more I wonder about the personnel fit.

At Kansas, Kotelnicki’s offenses were built around mobile quarterbacks who were heavily featured in the run game. Jalon Daniels and Jason Bean are elusive athletes with legitimate speed to run past defenders. However, what Kotelnicki inherits at Penn State is very different. Last year’s starter, Drew Allar, is your prototypical pocket passer: large frame, big arm, but not elusive.

I’m left wondering how much of Kotelnicki’s offense Allar will be able to run. The passing game shouldn’t be an issue, but how much of the run game can he be involved in?

We’ll get some answers on August 31 at Noon ET when Penn State takes on West Virginia.

What will the run/pass split be for Ohio State?

For years, Ryan Day has been known as a pass-happy offensive playcaller. However, his best teams at Ohio State have been able to run the ball effectively due to having the right personnel or a more considerable commitment to balance. But Day won’t be calling plays anymore.

In comes Chip Kelly as the Buckeyes’ offensive coordinator.

Kelly will return to doing what he missed during his tenure as UCLA’s head coach: coaching ball and calling plays.

In case anyone forgot, the last time Kelly had an offense as loaded with talent as Ohio State, his Oregon Ducks ran all over their opponents in the early 2010s. While he may be known for creating high-flying offenses, Kelly loves to run the ball. And he has the personnel at Ohio State to create big plays in the run game: running backs Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson to go along with dual-threat quarterback Will Howard.

If the Buckeyes lean close to running the ball 55% of the time, it’s likely a sign they’re dominating their opponents.

Can USC play some sound defense?

As a lifelong USC fan, it pains me to wonder if my favorite program can play some halfway decent defense.

This hasn’t just been a recent issue under Lincoln Riley, although it’s a more glaring problem when you’re wasting two years of Caleb Williams. Even under the leadership of Clay Helton and Steve Sarkisian, the Trojans struggled to play gap-sound defense and put consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

However, Lincoln Riley made serious changes to the defensive coaching staff during the winter, removing Alex Grinch before the bowl game and stealing D’Anton Lynn from UCLA, among other significant moves.

Lynn’s UCLA defense was one of the best in the country last year, and it was predicated on the two things that have been lacking in the Coliseum since Pete Carroll left to become the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks: solid run fits and pressuring the quarterback.

While no analysts are picking USC to do much of anything this year, Joel Klatt has consistently said the Trojans need a slightly above-average defense to go along with a Lincoln Riley offense. He thinks that combination is all it’ll take for USC to enter the national championship conversation.

But changing the coaching staff and shifting to a more structurally sound scheme are just two pieces of the puzzle; you still need the players to execute the scheme. Luckily for D’Anton Lynn and the rest of the defensive coaching staff, USC did some shopping in the transfer portal to bolster the roster and also went to work in the weight room to put on some size.

As you might imagine, I’ll be standing in front of my TV for the entirety of the opening matchup against LSU on September 1, anxiously hoping my Trojans look like a respectable unit defensively.

Fight On ✌️

If you’re new, you can catch up on previous posts here. Thank you all for spending a little bit of your day with me. See you next week!