True to his nature, Penn State OC Andy Kotelnicki pulled-apart then contracted the Hoberman Sphere in the blink of an eye for a gift TD near the goal line.

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While Penn State’s first playoff game might’ve lacked some anticipated offensive fireworks, there were still a handful of very intriguing plays that caught the eye of us football sickos.

For me, personally, a pre snap movement that Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki plucked out from deeeeep in the vault brought a holiday smile to my face. Let’s take a look at Kaytron Allen’s early 4^th quarter touchdown…more specifically, how Kotelnicki used the Picket Fence Shift to gain a gap and create a walk-in score.

PLAY ON DIGITAL TAPE (until the corporate Grinch at Veritone blocks it…so hurry up and press play!):

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The fans did their job. Considering the cold, and the approaching holiday, and the short-ish turnaround, and the optimists who decided to save their money for Glendale, and the students on break, the (cough) announced 106,013 who came to Beaver Stadium for Penn State’s first playoff game created the type of game-tilting atmosphere they have become known for, forcing several false starts on a heretofore potent SMU offense and helping to keep the Mustangs off-kilter for most of the afternoon.

Not to the extent that the Penn State defense did, though.

That unit dominated during the Nittany Lions’ 38-10 victory, and it is the chief reason why Penn State is not only moving on in the first 12-team tournament but why it is capable of being the last one standing.

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Beaver Stadium will once again be in the national spotlight this week, when the Nittany Lions host their first playoff game. Abdul Carter and Tyler Warren and Drew Allar and Nick Singleton will all attract that figurative spotlight as well, though probably not to the extent that the man who leads them will command it.

It’s yet another big game for James Franklin, who has not exactly risen to the challenge in, well, almost any of the big games he’s seen at Penn State.

It’s really the only major knock on an 11-year coaching stint that has otherwise been sparkling, even when graded on a sanctions curve. Franklin recruits at a high level. He gets his players to the NFL. He beats the teams he is supposed to beat (read that sentence again, and file it away for just a bit later), and often by several touchdowns. He understands and protects the value of the Penn State brand, and he has spent a decade behind the scenes beating down doors and slashing through red tape to bring his program up to par from a resource standpoint.

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