Penn State’s Peach Bowl appearance vs. Ole Miss was supposed to be one of the best New Year’s Six matchups this bowl season. Unfortunately, that matchup never quite panned out Saturday afternoon in Atlanta.

Fans will certainly debate the impact of opt-outs on the overall outcome, but Penn State never had an answer on either side of the ball after coming out of halftime. The Nittany Lions would score a late fourth-quarter touchdown to make the score a bit more manageable, but that only slightly overshadows what was an otherwise dominant win by the Rebels.

As for James Franklin, questions about his program and big-game performance will only magnify as we prepare for 2024 and a new 12-team College Football Playoff. Here are the key takeaways from Saturday’s 38-25 loss:

The need at wide receiver is very real

It is no surprise Penn State has a need at wide receiver to anyone who watched the Nittany Lions this season. However, the issue was greatly magnified in the Peach Bowl loss to Ole Miss.

When it was all said and done, tight end Tyler Warren led Penn State with 5 catches for 127 yards. Running back Nicholas Singleton was second with 85 receiving yards.

Those numbers by themselves are not an issue. However, it’s when you dig deeper that the issues arise.

Harrison Wallace III was Penn State’s top wide receiver Saturday, finishing with 4 catches for 67 yards. Liam Clifford was the only other receiver with a catch finishing with 3 catches for 25 yards. Combined, that gives Penn State exactly 92 receiving yards from wide receivers with the rest of the production coming from the TE and RB positions.

There is a need for Drew Allar to develop more under center, but he can only do so much with a group of receivers that are inexplosive and unable to consistently win against the defense. Penn State must address this issue heading into 2024, especially with the new-look B1G and expanded Playoff coming into play.

Where is the aggressiveness?

For much of the game, James Franklin and his staff went conservative. Until very late in the fourth quarter, the team had just one 4th-down conversation attempt, and that came on the goal line in the first half.

Some of that relates to Penn State’s struggles on 3rd down and consistently facing long yardage on 4th down. However, one decision loomed particularly large as Ole Miss began to pull away.

Halfway through the third quarter, Ole Miss was clinging to a 23-17 lead after a field goal with Penn State looking to cut into the deficit. Instead, the Nittany Lions went 3-and-out but punted on a 4th-and-1 on a day when the ground game was clicking.

Yes, that 4th down came on Penn State’s own 34-yard line, but this is bowl season with a chance to lay it all on the line. The Nittany Lions went conservative and ultimately paid the price.

On the ensuing drive, Ole Miss rolled 82 yards on 10 plays to push the lead to 31-17. The Rebels never looked back and cashed in 3-for-3 on 4th-down tries in the afternoon to pull away for the big win.

Opt-outs on defense too much for Penn State

Penn State’s defense entering the Peach Bowl looked considerably different from the unit that was among the best in the country this season. Former defensive coordinator Manny Diaz is now leading Duke as the head coach, and star players Chop Robinson, Kalen King and Johnny Dixon were all inactive.

Those absences were felt with Ole Miss mounting an efficient offense that piled up over 500 yards of offense and went 7-for-18 on 3rd-down conversions. The Penn State secondary particularly struggled as QB Jaxson Dart had a field day with Caden Prieskorn and Tre Harris each going over 100 yards against the Nittany Lions.

The future is still bright, and former Indiana head coach Tom Allen should be a strong addition to the coaching staff. Unfortunately, it was just a tall task and disappointing finish to an otherwise strong year for the program.