Trailing Ohio State in the fourth quarter, Penn State had first-and-goal from the Ohio State 3-yard line. But the Nittany Lions turned the ball over on downs, and Tyler Warren, whom the program touted as the nation’s best tight end in a media package, didn’t get the ball during that sequence. Two days later, Penn State coach James Franklin reflected on the streak, saying it could have been called with more of Warren in mind.

“There’s a play where you can say that in critical moments, you have to think about the players, not the place,” Franklin said Monday at the weekly press conference. “Maybe on at least one of those three downs, you’ve got to make sure Tyler Warren touches the ball, whatever it is — whether it’s a Wildcat, whether it’s a passing game, whether it’s a ball carrier. “

The series was a defining moment for Penn State 20-13 loss to Ohio Statein which he did not score an offensive touchdown in a game for the first time since 2014. Warren had moved the Nittany Lions (7-1) inside the 5-yard line with a pair of big plays: a 31-yard reception and a 33-yard run by the Wildcat. Which spawned the question about Warren that was asked after the game and reiterated Monday.

Franklin said there was an “argument” for getting the ball to Warren in that situation because he took it and scored, the Wildcat is heading into short yardage situations already this season. Instead, running back Kaytron Allen ran the gut on three straight downs, gaining a total of two yards.

On fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard linePenn State quarterback Drew Allar dropped back to pass. There were only three receivers in the game: Warren, the primary reader, was covered in left flat. Receiver Harrison Wallace couldn’t break away and tight end Khalil Dinkins was surrounded by the Buckeyes. Allar tried to tell Dinkins, who was unable to attend the game.

“Obviously, after you run the ball vertically twice and get stuffed, everybody tells you to get creative,” Franklin said. “If you’re creative in those moments and it doesn’t work, then everyone tells you that you were too nice and you should have run the ball north and south. So hindsight is 20/20. I understand. At the end of the day, you could make a lot of arguments. Could we have been more creative? Could we have put the ball in Tyler Warren’s hands at that point? Technically and fundamentally, could we have gotten more momentum? All these things.”

The goal line stand was emblematic of a hard day on the field for Penn State’s star running backs Allen and Nicholas Singleton. Allen finished with 27 yards on 12 carries, while Singleton had 15 yards on six carries for a combined 2.3 yards per carry. Warren was the team’s leading rusher with 47 yards on three carries. Allar was second with 31 yards on 10 carries, primarily from the pocket.

As a result, Franklin said Penn State needs to get back to its “traditional running game” in the coming weeks.

“I think we need to do some things scheme-wise to get them to defend the field and get them to spread the box as much as possible, whether it’s out of the box, whether it’s scoring schemes , be it the indoor area or the staff. Franklin said.

Franklin also addressed conflicting philosophies with shortstop play calling. He said if Penn State had gotten stuck running up the middle, people would have criticized the lack of creativity. But what if Penn State had been creative and it didn’t work. Fans reportedly criticized the staff for being “too nice”.

“So obviously hindsight is 20/20, but at the end of the day you have to create movement and score when you need a yard,” Franklin said. “Whether it’s a critical fourth down or whether it’s the goal line. We’ve got to do some things better scheme-wise, but we’ve also got to do a little better job fundamentally and technically to make sure we get the movement we need.”

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Sam Woloson has covered Penn State Athletics for the past three years and is currently the managing editor of The Daily Collegian. His work has also appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Huntingdon Daily News and Rivals. Follow X @sam_woloson