With Penn State’s 2024 season-opener on the road at West Virginia less than two weeks away, it’s time to look at how new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki’s Nittany Lion offense might fare against the Mountaineers.
And to do that, let’s look at what Coach K’s offense has already done in a hostile road contest in Morgantown. Nittany Nation will like that answer: It scored 55 points.
That offensive explosion came two years ago, in the second game of his second season as the OC at Kansas. Under Coach K and head coach Lance Leipold, the Jayhawks took on WVU in a Big 12 game on Sept. 10, 2022. Looking back at that game, and how the Kansas offense fared, could provide a glimpse into what to expect from the revamped Penn State offense in 2024.
You can be sure West Virginia defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley and co-DC ShaDon Brown have looked at that game film. Again. And again — even though they were there in person in Milan Puskar Stadium for that 2022 contest. They were DC and co-DC back then. And they are still in those roles.
And, yes they also were in charge of the Mountaineer defense in 2023, when they gave up 38 points, 478 yards (332 pass, 146 run) and 27 first downs in a 38-15 season-opening loss at Beaver Stadium. Later last season, Houston nicked West Virginia for 41 points and then Oklahoma scored 59 points vs. the Mountaineers. (The 55 by Kotelnicki and Kansas in 2022 was the second-most points scored against WVU in Lesley’s three-year tenure.)
In a press conference recently during summer camp, Lesley said he expects West Virginia’s defense to be much improved compared to last season, when the Mountaineers were 9-4.
“We are a little further along now in some areas,” Lesley said. “Some areas we don’t think we need to expand. But we will continue to expand in the way we work on being good at playing football. That was the biggest difference last year and I think it will continue to be the biggest difference in the way our defense plays.”
COACH K & KANSAS VS. WVU
Let’s take a look at what the Jayhawks’ offense did vs. West Virginia in 2022 under Kotelnicki’s play-calling and guidance:
THE STATS — Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels had 304 yards of total offense and nary an interception. He was 18-of-29 passing for 219 yards (7.6 ypa), and ran 12 times for 85 yards (7.1 ave.) He also threw three TD passes. Running back Daniel Hirshaw ran 10 times for 63 yards (6.3 ypc) and two TDs, and also grabbed a TD pass. Fellow RB Devin Neal also had two rushing touchdowns, and was 10 for 42 yards rushing the ball.
Kansas’ offense converted 75% of its third- and fourth-down attempts — 11 of 15 on third down and 1-1 on fourth down. Kansas did not commit a turnover, either passing or running. The Jayhawks accumulated 419 total yards (219 pass, 200 run), and had the ball for just 27:33. They were fairly balanced (55% run, 45% pass) and very efficient‚ averaging 6.4 yards per offensive play.
THE DISTRIBUTION — Kotelnicki spread the ball around. Three Jayhawks had 10 or more rushes. Eight different players caught a pass. Three receivers caught TD passes — RB Neal, TE Mason Fairchild and WR Quentin Skinner — and two scored on the ground.
THE PLAY-CALLING — Two of Kansas’ touchdowns underscore the basic premise of Kotelnicki’s offense — motion, deception, execution and putting ball into the hands of play-makers. To watch both, visit this link and then click on “video.”
In the first photo below, a 10-yard TD pass from QB Daniels to TE Mason Fairchild was set up with play-action, with the slot wide receiver faking a jet sweep. (Penn State translation: Fake jet sweep to Julian Fleming, then a Drew Allar soft toss to Tyler Warren.)
In the second photo below, a 6-yard rushing TD came via direct snap to RB Neal, who bobbled the ball but recovered in time to run off left tackle through a very large hole. (Penn State translation: Direct snap to a very agile, handsy Nick Singleton.)
THE COMEBACK — Kansas, playing in its first road game of the 2022 season, fell behind 14-0 after the first quarter and 21-7 midway through the second quarter. But, Kotelnicki and his offense did not panic. They rallied to score 28 of the next 35 points and 35 of the next 56 points, to send the game into overtime.
OVERTIME — With regulation tied at 42-42, Kansas opened OT by driving 25 yards in five plays, culminating in a 4-yard scoring pass from Daniels to Skinner, for the Jayhawks to take a 49-42 lead. On West Virginia’s possession, Kansas cornerback Jacobee Bryant grabbed an interception and went 86 yards for a pick-six and a final 55-42 Kansas victory. (Penn State translation: Pick-six by CBs Cam Miller, A.J. Harris or Jalen Kimber.)
