Tag: Kobe King

Peach Bowl dud ends Penn State’s season with 38-25 loss to Ole Miss

Penn State’s frustrating season ended with a blowout loss to Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl.

A year after celebrating a bowl victory in a shower of rose petals, Penn State’s end to the 2023 season was anything but peachy. Penn State was dominated by Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl and ended the year with a stinker in a 38-25 loss in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Saturday afternoon. The Nittany Lions defense was shredded by Ole Miss, which took advantage of favorable matchups in the passing game all afternoon in Atlanta.

Penn State struck first with a field goal by [autotag]Alex Felkins[/autotag] from 26 yards on their first offensive series of the game. That came after the defense forced a quick three-and-out against the Ole Miss defense to start the game, which led to Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart heading to the medical tent at the end of the brief possession.

Penn State may have caught some breaks on the ensuing Ole Miss possession. After the Rebels entered the red zone, officials blew dead what could have been a live ball for an Ole Miss touchdown due to a whistle for an offside penalty on Penn State. The Rebels had to settle for a field goal after officials missed another potential penalty on Penn State on the following snap.

Both teams scored twice in the second quarter with Penn State scoring a pair of touchdowns with a touchdown pass from [autotag]Beau Pribula[/autotag] to [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] and a [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] pass to [autotag]Theo Johnson[/autotag]. But the half ended with Penn State trailing by a score of 20-17 after giving up 340 yards of offense to the Rebels. And of the 115 passing yards Allar had at the half, 75 of them came on one play at the end of the first quarter when [autotag]Tyler Warren[/autotag] caught a pass and ran for a big gain.

Dart had gotten in a rhythm with his passing and gashed a Penn State defense playing without its top two defensive backs and top defensive end, and a defense that took some injuries at linebacker in the first half to [autotag]Kobe King[/autotag] and [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag]. Dart connected six times in the first half with tight end Caden Prieskorn, twice for a touchdown and three times for a first down, and five times with star wide receiver Tre Harris, each time for a first down.

The third quarter was a disaster for Penn State. The offense went three-and-out on all three third-quarter possessions. Meanwhile, the Rebels just continued to take advantage of its tempo to leave the Penn State defense scrambling and unable to catch up. Ole Miss added 10 points to its halftime lead and took a 31-17 lead into the fourth quarter. At that point, the game was all but decided as Penn State’s threat of a comeback was thwarted with a blocked field goal that led to an Ole Miss touchdown run by Dart to put the game well out of reach at 38-17. A late touchdown pass from Allar to [autotag]Harrison Wallace III[/autotag] cut into the Ole Miss lead, but was too little, too late.

Penn State played the Peach Bowl without some key players who opted out of the game with an eye toward their NFL futures. Penn State was without offensive lineman [autotag]Olu Fashanu[/autotag], defensive end [autotag]Chop Robinson[/autotag], and cornerback [autotag]Kalen King[/autotag]. All three could be potential first-round draft picks in the 2024 NFL draft. Penn State was also without [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag], who left his position as defensive coordinator to become the head coach at Duke. The defense looked disorganized, which should have been expected given the absences from what was rated one of the top defensive units of the season. But the offensive struggles were nothing new for the roster, and there was no evidence of finding ways to change things up in the bowl game.

Penn State will now look forward to the 2024 college football season, which will be quite an interesting year for the Big Ten and the entire college football landscape. Penn State will open the 2024 season on the road at West Virginia on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. The Big Ten will also welcome four new members in Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington, and Penn State will face each of them except for Oregon. The College Football Playoff will also expand to 12 teams next season, making it easier than ever for the Nittany Lions to get into the playoff mix in the playoff era. Well, if they can patch up the offense at all between now and next fall.

Penn State’s spring game, the Blue-White Game, is scheduled for Saturday, April 13, 2024.

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Know your foe, Penn State: Which Nittany Lions could give Ohio State problems

Which Nittany Lions are you concerned about? #GoBucks

Although this is [autotag]Ohio State football[/autotag]’s second top-10 matchup of the year, this weekend’s game against Penn State has a different feel.

Notre Dame is a great team, but this game has more implications, specifically conference ones. The winner of this game will be viewed as one of the best in the country, as their body of work will have a very impressive win and look very favorably to the College Football Playoff committee.

The Nittany Lions enter this game with a great team, one that his talented on both sides of the ball. Let’s take a look at which PSU players Ohio State will need to contain in order to get a victory on Saturday afternoon.

Best photos from Penn State’s road win at Northwestern

Check out the best images from Penn State’s road win at Northwestern.

The game itself may not have been the prettiest of performances from the Penn State Nittany Lions, but a 41-13 win at Northwestern had plenty of terrific images from a hard-fought victory. Penn State’s second road game of the year sent Penn State to a 5-0 record overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten on what looked like a beautiful afternoon for some college football.

Penn State’s defense racked up 7 sacks against Northwestern and held the Wildcats offense to fewer than 200 yards. The Penn State offense took a while to get things going but did its part to help pull away after being tied 10-10 at halftime.

Here are some of the best images from Penn State’s latest road victory against Northwestern.

Penn State defense forces 5 turnovers in 30-13 win at Illinois

Penn State 30, Illinois 13: Penn State defense carries Nittany Lions to Big Ten-opening win at Illinois

Taking the road for the first time this season proved to be a bit of a challenge for the Penn State offense. Fortunately, the offense didn’t make the trip to Illinois alone this weekend. The Penn State defense was dominant in a 30-13 victory over the Illini with five forced turnovers in the game. Although Penn State struggled to gain control on offense, the Nittany Lions scored 20 points off the five Illini turnovers.

[autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] had a rough outing in his first road start for Penn State, but he had some big moments to help lead the team to a win. The biggest moment of the game came late in the first half for Allar as he ran for a first down, hurried to the line, and delivered a dime down the field to [autotag]Liam Clifford[/autotag] for a big gain to set up a late field goal just before halftime. That gave Penn State a 16-7 lead but the offense could not carry over any momentum at the start of the second half.

Penn State’s quarterback ended his afternoon completing 16 of 33 pass attempts for 208 yards without a touchdown, but he also did not turn the football over despite being under consistent pressure by an aggressive and well-schemed Illinois defense.

Allar also did not get some help from his wide receivers. Allar made some good throws that simply were dropped by his intended targets, including a pair to receiver Malik McClain. But Allar did miss a few open looks and couldn’t quite connect with a couple of his passes. Overall though, Allar seemed to handle the pressure of his first start out of Beaver Stadium well enough to pick up the win, and there is clearly room to improve.

But this game was all about the defense. Penn State allowed just seven points for the second straight game and has yet to allow an opponent to score more than 15 points. On a day when Penn State’s offense needed an assist, it was the defense that set the tone and shut down nearly every threat by the Illini. It started right from the start with three interceptions of Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer. Penn State managed just 13 points off of those early turnovers, but the defense made plays when it was needed the most.

[autotag]Johnny Dixon[/autotag] came up with a massive interception in the second half immediately after a big passing play by the Illini with the game still very much in question. Or so it seemed. [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag], [autotag]Daequan Hardy[/autotag], and [autotag]Cam Miller[/autotag] also got their hands on an Illinois pass attempt. Linebacker [autotag]Kobe King[/autotag] also recovered a fumble forced by [autotag]Dominic DeLuca[/autotag].

Head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] will be able to look at many self-inflicted wounds by his team in the coming week as well. Poor penalties on took Penn State’s offense out of favorable positions, including a poor unsportsmanlike penalty on receiver [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] in the first half that turned a 3rd-and-2 into a 3rd-and-17. Allar smacked his hand on a defender’s helmet on the following play and [autotag]Alex Felkins[/autotag] had a 52-yard field goal blocked. Illinois followed up with its first touchdown of the game on the ensuing possession to cut the Penn State lead to 13-7. Penn State was flagged for six penalties in the game, costing Penn State 65 yards.

Penn State will be home next weekend for a primetime matchup with Iowa. It will be the official whiteout game for the Nittany Lions.

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2023 Penn State football snapshot profile: No. 41 Kobe King

Even if he is not a starter, expect a solid season from linebacker Kobe King for Penn State.

Going into the 2023 football season, Nittany Lions Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Penn State roster. Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for James Franklin this season.

Continuing this effort is a look at one of Penn State’s potential starters in the middle of the defense, linebacker [autotag]Kobe King[/autotag]. The twin brother of cornerback Kalen King, Kobe King is looking to have his own impact on the defense as a potential anchor at the linebacker position alongside two standouts on either side of him. Here is a look at Kobe King, who will make his case for a starting job this fall.

Penn State-Michigan State set on Black Friday at Ford Field

Penn State football gets a third primetime game and new date for Michigan State regular season finale.

The regular season finale between Penn State and Michigan State is now set for primetime on Black Friday.

It was announced on Wednesday that the rivalry game will be played at Ford Field in Detroit, MI on November 24th. The kickoff will be at 7:30 pm EST and air on NBC as part of the new broadcasting partnership between NBC and the Big Ten Conference.

The decision to change the date and venue of the game came from Michigan State’s athletic department. According to The Detroit News, the Big Ten approached Michigan State with the idea of moving the game to a nationally televised window that Friday night. Michigan State jumped on board after cooperation from the Detroit Lions, Ford Field and the Michigan High School Athletic Association.

Typically, the state’s football championships are played on Ford Field Friday and Saturday. They will now be playing the championship games on Saturday and Sunday, moving for the Penn State-Michigan State game.

Ford Field is a domed stadium, which allows this game to avoid the crazy weather that this series has seen over the years. The snowstorms, lightning delays, and heavy downpours will be avoided this season with the protection of a dome.

Since Penn State joined the Big Ten, they have never played in the Detroit area. This game should be especially exciting for three players on the Penn State roster who are Detroit natives. Kalen King, Kobe King, and Jaylen Reed will play Big Ten football for the first time in their hometown area.

This is an exciting change for the game. Normally, the rivalry game to decide the winner of The Land Grant Trophy takes a back seat to the game between Michigan and Ohio State.

That will not be the case this year.

Penn State-Michigan State will be the biggest college football game on Black Friday, in primetime on NBC.

This is the third primetime game scheduled for Penn State so far this season. The season opener against West Virginia will also appear on NBC in primetime in Week 1. CBS will air the home game against Iowa in primetime in Week 4.

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Penn State spring football: Linebacker preview

Penn State’s linebacker depth in 2023 could be the best it’s been in years.

There is potential that this will be one of the most exciting linebacker groups that Penn State has had in a while.

The group is headlined by true sophomore [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag] who really opened eyes last season. Coming in wearing the coveted number 11 jersey as a true freshman meant the spotlight would be on him all year. He more than delivered and has a promising collegiate career in front of him.

Another interesting nugget is there are no seniors in the linebacking corps for 2023-24. The most experienced players are two redshirt juniors. This is a good sign for the future as this group will be able to continue playing with each other for multiple years going forward.

There will be depth chart battles this spring to keep an eye on. The main one to watch is between [autotag]Kobe King[/autotag] and [autotag]Tyler Elsdon[/autotag] for the starting middle linebacker position. Elsdon won the battle last spring and summer, but the snap counts last season were pretty similar.

Abdul Carter

Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports

Measurables: 6’3″ / 233 lbs.

Year: Sophomore

Expected Role: Starting Weakside Linebacker

There is a real buzz around Abdul Carter about what he can do this season. Coming into Penn State, Carter was a four-star recruit in the 2022 class. He was excellent in his freshman season recording 56 total tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. His PFF grade was 76.2 ranking him 122nd out of 789 linebackers last season.

With another offseason in the college weight room and more time to get familiar with the defensive scheme, the sky is the limit for Carter. He could be the highlight of what’s expected to be a very good defense.

NEXT: Kobe King a rising redshirt sophomore

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Top 5 position battles heading into Penn State’s spring practices

These position battles will be heating up when Penn State opens spring football practices.

Penn State football is in a very good position overall with the way that James Franklin has this team constructed. Of course, there are a few positions that need to be sorted out still.

The position battles going on this spring will be what solidify the starting lineup. The team is very deep and whoever loses these battles shouldn’t be seen as someone not of the quality you expect from Penn State. Rather, it will speak volumes as to what the starters should be seen as which is top-level quality players.

Here are the top five position battles to monitor this spring.

Previewing the Penn State linebackers in 2023

Let’s take an early look at what Penn State has going for it at the linebacker position in 2023.

Penn State and linebackers are two things that go hand in hand. Penn State has produced All-Americans, College Hall of Famers, and NFL Hall of Famers and the players on the 2023 roster have a chance at any of those accomplishments.

Players such as [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag] a prominent big-name linebacker for the team as we advance after a breakout freshman campaign but there is more to know. Between veterans of the team and incoming transfers and recruiting classes, teams constantly change any more.

Getting to know the playmakers on your Nittany Lions defense doesn’t have to be mandatory but it should be encouraged. We have taken care of that as the transfer window has closed for now and we head toward another national signing day for the team.

Watch these top plays from Penn State vs. Rutgers

Check out these top plays from Penn State’s win over Rutgers

Penn State wrapped up its road portion of the regular season with a banger in New Jersey. Penn State left the state with an easy 55-10 victory over Rutgers to improve to 9-2 on the season with a shot at playing in a New Years Six bowl game very much within reach with one regular season game left to play.

It wasn’t the prettiest effort from Penn State early on, but a game ending with 55 points certainly has no shortage of big plays to entertain the fans from start to finish. And this game had a little bit of everything from start to finish with a special teams touchdown, a pair of defensive scores, and plenty of opportunities by young stars in the making to shine.

Here is a look back at some of the top plays from Penn State’s big road win at Rutgers in Week 12.