Don’t be sad that it’s over, be happy that we got to experience Penn State football’s 2023 regular season together.

The Nittany Lions’ regular season came to a close Black Friday in Detroit, as Penn State dismantled Michigan State 42-0 in Ford Field. In Penn State’s third shutout of the season, it gave the performance that would’ve convinced fans earlier in the season the team was destined for a College Football Playoff ticket. But with a 10-2 finish, the Nittany Lions will be relegated to another New Year’s Six bowl game.

After a strong performance left fans surprisingly happy, our football writers took a look at the hottest takes about Penn State’s latest win over the Spartans.

The Worst Part About Firing Mike Yurcich Was That It Wasn’t Done Earlier

Joe Lister: Mike Yurcich’s firing was pretty interesting. James Franklin’s said in the past that he doesn’t like to make midseason coaching changes, but then he turned around and fired Yurcich after the Michigan game with two more games left in the regular season.

Since that point, though, the offense has looked a lot better. Maybe the Rutgers game wasn’t the explosion that some fans were hoping for, but Penn State’s win over Michigan State featured some of its best play-calling and best plays of the season. It’s hard to say if interim co-offensive coordinators Ja’Juan Seider and Ty Howle could’ve managed a game against Ohio State or Michigan, but it does leave you wondering what this season looks like without a Yurcich-run offense.

CJ Doebler: Mike Yurcich may be the main reason why Penn State isn’t in the conversation for the playoff. This team had extremely high expectations but had a big question mark around the wide receiver corps. Yurcich proved unable to scheme around the passing game’s inefficiencies which ultimately led to the dud the offense showed against Ohio State and Michigan.

Keep in mind that Penn State was playing 4-7 Michigan State, but the offense we saw on Friday night was unlike anything it’s produced all season. If the offense played at that level after two games without Yurcich, it’s hard not to imagine the potential Penn State had this season.

Nolan Wick: This offense has clearly changed since Mike Yurcich got fired after Penn State’s loss to Michigan. One of Drew Allar’s quotes after the Michigan State game especially spoke volumes to me.

“The offense as a whole has handled it really well,” Allar said about Yurcich’s firing. “There’s been no flinch with us… I think we just did a great job allowing our guys to play fast just for simplicity. We talked about how simplicity equals speed — you may not be running super simple stuff, but we made really easy rules for all of us. I think that’s why we’ve been clicking.”

This, combined with season-high yardage numbers on Friday, makes it clear how much of a difference there is. Although the team was, at one point, first in the country in time of possession this season, execution wasn’t great. After a couple of hiccups in the first quarter, it was perfect at Ford Field. Every player looked like their best self, and that’s huge. If Yurcich had been fired sooner, who knows what the conversation would be right now

Nick Singleton & Kaytron Allen Are So Back

Joe Lister: I think I shed a tear watching Nick Singleton run Friday. It was something of beauty. Singleton and Kaytron Allen might not be completely back, but it sure looked like it. All season long, we’ve wondered what was holding back both Singleton and Kaytron Allen from lighting opposing defenses on fire. Maybe it was Yurcich or maybe they were just in a sophomore slump. Whatever the cause, it was great to see them fix their ways against Michigan State.

CJ Doebler: They finally did it, folks — Nick Singleton ran to the outside.

Up to this point in the season, Tank Smith and Beau Pribula were tied for the longest run of the season at 39 yards. With that number as a team’s long, there are clearly issues with the run game. What further exacerbates those issues is that Penn State has one of the best rushing duos in the country, and they weren’t able to do anything all season long. Against Michigan State, Kaytron Allen broke a rush for 50 yards to set the new long rush of the year. The performance against Michigan State saw the duo of Allen and Singleton combine for 255 yards as they both went over 100 yards in the same game for the first time in their careers. It was starting to look like the duo might not live up to the hype that they created last season, but it was nice to see both rushers still have big runs in them.

Nolan Wick: Nick Singleton’s performance was mesmerizing and beautiful. He finally ran to the outside, which resulted in his most productive game of the season. Kaytron Allen found gaps and bodied his way past defenders in the meantime. Penn State’s running back duo had been hyped up to be among the nation’s best entering the season, but Friday was the first time it looked the part. Again, just imagine if Yurcich had been fired sooner.

It’s Time To Let Beau Pribula Cook

Joe Lister: I’ll admit it, I wasn’t high on Beau Pribula’s package until a few days ago. It seemed like a chance for Penn State just to show its opponents that it’s going to run the ball in the red zone, even if he did have two touchdown passes to his name before his newest toss to Tyler Warren. But Pribula looked really good when he came in for Allar last week and was even better against the Spartans. Personally, I’d like to see more looks where Pribula is told to throw the ball. It’s the only thing missing from this package, and it’s what can make Penn State truly lethal on offense.

CJ Doebler: I don’t know if Beau Pribula has what it takes to be a starting quarterback, but he should definitely get the chance. The Pribula package has been a success for the past two games and Franklin said he was happy to highlight the package more as the season came to a close. Pribula did what he had to do when he came in for Drew Allar against Rutgers, but I would’ve liked him to throw the ball more. Pribula is already very dangerous in the rushing game, and if he were to become just as dangerous as a passer, defenses would start to have a lot of trouble with the Pribula package.

Nolan Wick: The two-quarterback package has worked well in recent weeks, particularly against Maryland and Michigan State. However, this doesn’t mean Pribula should be the starter. Drew Allar still has more upside and is still clearly the better of the two, even though Pribula is faster. Allar can move, but his arm talent has been lauded by several players and coaches in a way that Pribula’s hasn’t.

Ja’Juan Seider & Ty Howle Should Be In The Conversation For OC

Joe Lister: No, but it’s not a bad idea. James Franklin has (generally) looked outside the program for his offensive coordinator hires. I’m pretty high on the idea of giving Kliff Kingsbury a chance in Happy Valley, but it would also be interesting to see what Penn State would do with someone from inside the program. Franklin is still waiting for a splash hire at OC (no, Joe Moorhead doesn’t count), so maybe Seider or Howle would be the right move.

CJ Doebler: At this point, I think every possible candidate that could do the job should be considered. Ja’Juan Seider and Ty Howle have called one good game and one great game during their short stint to end the season, and I think that should be enough to at least generate a look at either of the two position coaches. It’s a long shot as Franklin said he spent the weekend interviewing potential candidates on Zoom, but this hire is pivotal for Franklin, and I’m sure he’ll exhaust all of his options before making a decision.

Nolan Wick: I could see Franklin hiring one of them if Penn State wins the bowl game. He’s always looked outside the program for these hires, but maybe he’ll look internally for a change. Whatever happens, though, he needs to think long and hard about this decision. It’ll be one of the most important of his entire tenure, which could end abruptly if he doesn’t get this one right.

Thank God There’s No More Land-Grant Trophy For Another Two Years

Joe Lister: Yes, folks, there were actually anti-Land-Grant Trophy people in our comment sections. It was brutal to watch. One of the worst parts of realignment (other than the death of one of college athletics’ most treasured conferences) is that we won’t get to see Penn State and Michigan State play for the Land-Grant Trophy as often. I genuinely mean it when I say that the Land-Grant Trophy is the coolest thing in college football. Everyone else can take their big bells and their metal hats — give me the 30-pound block of wood with random stuff slapped on the side. It’s amazing, and it’s ours.

CJ Doebler: This is unequivocally the worst part of realignment. Yes, it’s sad that Penn State won’t have Michigan and Ohio State on its schedule every year seeing as the games always produce some of the best atmospheres in sports, but not seeing the oddly shaped wooden abomination being hauled off the field by the players every year is a travesty. I think some of the hate toward the Land-Grant Trophy stems from the teams that play for it. Even though the last two years have been beatdowns, the matchup has produced some good games in recent years. It’s genuinely upsetting we won’t see the masterpiece in person every year anymore.

Nolan Wick: I love the Land-Grant Trophy and the Penn State-Michigan State rivalry. It’s always a fun game, especially when both teams are good. The Nittany Lions are now 19-18-1 against the Spartans, which makes it one of the only regular matchups that has a close all-time series record. If the Big Ten were to give Penn State a protected matchup, it would’ve had to be this one.

Penn State Doesn’t Need KeAndre Lambert-Smith

Joe Lister: I’m not particularly saying that KeAndre Lambert-Smith is a waste of space, but he’s not good enough to be a top wide receiver option. It certainly helps when Lambert-Smith has help. As the blog’s Omari Evans advocate, Friday’s game was a huge win for me. After a disappointing season where Evans seemed to barely exist on Penn State’s depth chart, he caught a 60-yard bomb from Drew Allar that left him just short of the end zone. It was a thing of beauty.

Allar also spread the ball around to several other receivers throughout the game, showing fans that Penn State could’ve had a great wide receiver corps if it just figured it out earlier.

CJ Doebler: I’ve been saying all year that there hasn’t been enough experimenting within the wide receiver room to find a viable and consistent option from the group. Franklin says that a variety of players do get chances but lose them after running wrong routes and other things that people outside of coaches and staff may not pick up on. Joe calls himself the blog’s Omari Evans advocate, but my preseason hot take was that he was going to have a breakout season. He didn’t. Evans ended the regular season with four catches for 94 yards and a touchdown.

Evans is just one of a number of receivers that didn’t have much production this year. Malik McClain had a great start to the season with four catches for 58 yards and was a favorite to start to see the field more with Lambert-Smith and Trey Wallace. McClain racked up just 13 more yards in the remaining 11 games and hasn’t caught a pass since Illinois. The transfer portal is going to be important for the wide receiver room this offseason.

Nolan Wick: KeAndre Lambert-Smith is productive, but he isn’t a true WR1 on a team with College Football Playoff aspirations. He hasn’t shown that he can separate from top defensive backs and make enough great catches to be that X factor the team needs. However, I actually think a real WR1 would help him plenty. A homerun threat would take away the attention he’s normally given by defensive backs, which would allow him to have more production. He’s useful, but not enough to be a top option.