The mood inside Penn State football’s locker room was somber following its 38-25 defeat by Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl. Several players embraced each other while a few others exchanged jerseys to be signed by each other.

Almost everything went sideways for the Nittany Lions. Drew Allar threw his second career interception on a throw so careless it was uncharacteristic for the sophomore. The wide receivers were hardly open for Allar, and Penn State suffered notable opt-outs. But the main culprit behind this debacle was Penn State’s secondary.

“We just didn’t play well enough to win,” safety Keaton Ellis said. “They were the better team.”

The Rebels put up 394 passing yards and three touchdowns against the Nittany Lions. Penn State had allowed 173.3 passing yards per game and 10 touchdowns heading into the game, and its 223.2 yards allowed per game ranked first in the nation.

Those statistics raise several questions. Why was Saturday’s performance so bad, and what does this mean for the defense going forward without former defensive coordinator Manny Diaz at the helm?

“We definitely didn’t play up to our standard,” safety Jaylen Reed said. “It’s hard when we lose the main defensive coordinator and other people who got other positions got to scramble and do another job that they weren’t used to.”

In addition to losing Diaz, neither Kalen King, a potential first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, nor Johnny Dixon played Saturday. Therefore, the likes of Cam Miller and Zion Tracy, who haven’t had much experience yet, were tasked with covering Ole Miss’ dangerous receiving unit headlined by wide receiver Tre Harris and tight end Caden Prieskorn.

“[Ole Miss] had some good receivers; we respect those guys,” Miller said. “They made some plays, we made some plays — it was a good matchup.”

Harris and Prieskorn both had big games. Prieskorn led all receivers with 136 receiving yards and two touchdowns, including two impressive one-handed grabs before going out of bounds. He made 10 catches over 11 targets. Harris, meanwhile, had 134 receiving yards and seven catches over 13 targets.

Jaxson Dart, who could be an NFL draftee come May, threw 379 yards and three touchdowns while maintaining a 63% completion rate. Although he had a few subpar moments, he usually had no problem finding open receivers throughout the game.

Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss coaching staff successfully utilized Harris, Prieskorn, and Dart by having them throw toward Penn State’s inexperienced cornerbacks.

“Well, they pay us a lot of money as coaches, so I would think that we wouldn’t have been really good coaches if we didn’t realize that and obviously go in and attack where there were new players at. That’s coaching 101,” Kiffin said.

It was a rough experience, particularly for Miller, who lined up against Harris throughout the day. The game is a learning opportunity for the sophomore cornerback, especially because he’s likely taking over for King next season.

“This experience is big for me,” Miller said. “A big-time bowl game against good receivers. I’m going to take that under my wing and keep growing.”

“Those guys are going to work hard,” Ellis said of Miller and other young players on Penn State’s secondary. “They’re going to do what they can this offseason, and we’re just proud of what they’ve done not only in this game but the whole season. I’m just super proud of them, and I know their futures are bright.”

It’s difficult to walk away from this game without realizing Penn State’s secondary may have a lot of work to do with the turnover that is surely on the way. With Daequan Hardy having declared for the draft and Kalen King and Johnny Dixon likely doing the same in the near future, Miller, Tracy, and other young players will need to step up in Tom Allen’s first season.

Ultimately, though, the secondary didn’t do what it had done all year: playing lights-out football. Allen and the rest of the defense will have months to get that work done, and today’s dismal performance is an ideal starting point.

“We lost, and we didn’t play to our standard,” Miller said. “We’ve got to get back to the drawing board and we’ll be ready next season.”