Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1530530
6 6 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M F or the first time in at least two decades, Penn State lost despite having two 100-yard rushers when it fell to Oregon, 45-37, in the Big Ten Championship Game. Junior running backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Sin- gleton finished with 124 and 105 yards on the ground, respectively, and the Nittany Lions' 518 total yards were their third-most in any game this season. It was one of the few times in the James Franklin era when the offense was not almost solely to blame for a "big game" loss. And yet, the Lions' offense was not perfect. Junior quarterback Drew Allar threw 2 interceptions. One of those picks led directly to seven points in an eight- point loss. The other effectively ended the game when a fourth-quarter pass intended for redshirt junior receiver Harrison Wallace III was thrown to the wrong part of the field and ended up in the arms of cornerback Nikko Reed. Those two plays were part of the reason why Franklin, who guided his team to its first 11-win regular season and first College Football Playoff berth since he took over in 2014, was not ready to heap praise on his attack despite its fine per- formance, for the most part, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. If he's going to get a chance to do so this year, it will mean that the Nittany Lions, who are the No. 6 seed and host No. 11 SMU on Dec. 21 at Beaver Sta- dium in a first-round playoff contest, will have accomplished most, if not all, of their goals. "I think we're getting better," Franklin said after the playoff bracket was an- nounced on Dec. 8. "But we'll see. It's all going to be based off of how we play against SMU. It's all about what you do on a consistent basis, and although we did some really good things [against Oregon], we turned the ball over two times. It's hard to win when you lose the turnover ratio. "We did some really good things to build off of, but we've got to eliminate those bad football plays that hurt you. … So, I'm going to hold my strong opinions until after the season." No one will be happier than Franklin and Nittany Nation if he's eventually able to share them. In his 11 seasons as Penn State's head coach, there have been too many instances in which he has wanted to share big-picture thoughts but wasn't able to do so be- cause he knew they wouldn't be well- received in the wake of a loss. That hap- pened again after the clash with Oregon, but a win against the Mustangs could offer an opportunity for Franklin to say everything he's long wanted to but has not had the chance to say. If he's able this time, the offense will likely be the reason why. And Allar will be the cata- lyst of it all. The Mustangs have one of the nation's best run defenses. Penn State will still try to impose its will and move the ball on the ground, of course, but it's more likely than not that a victory as an 8.5-point favorite will come because Allar and the passing attack make enough positive plays and few if any negative ones. Allar was spectacular at times against the Ducks, particularly on a fourth-and- long touchdown pass to Wallace, on which he escaped from heavy pressure and found the receiver between two de- fenders in the end zone with just under four minutes left to play. After a three- and-out by Oregon, Penn State got the ball back and threatened to send the game to overtime, but then came Allar's second pick of the night, and the Ducks ran out the clock. Following his team's loss, Franklin dis- cussed Allar's performance — not just in the title game but throughout the season. "I'm very, very pleased with his overall development, his maturity, his leader- ship," the coach said. "He made some huge plays [against Oregon] to keep us in this thing. And, you know, he continues to do a great job of distributing the ball to our playmakers and also managing our run game." The next step in that development process comes on the College Football Playoff stage. If it goes the way the team wants it to, Penn State will like where it finds itself — one step closer to its ulti- mate goal of winning a championship. ■ O P I N I O N GREG PICKEL GREG.PICKEL@ON3.COM Lions Strive To Build On Offense's Successes THE LAST WORD Drew Allar orchestrated a Penn State offense that outgained Oregon 518-466, but the Nittany Lions weren't able to pull off a comeback win in the Big Ten Championship Game Dec. 7 in Indianapolis. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS