INDIANAPOLIS – The most remarkable thing about Saturday night was that Penn State had a chance to force overtime against No. 1 Oregon, considering the preponderant number of mistakes the Nittany Lions made.
They committed four 15-yard penalties, including two ridiculous personal fouls.
They made mental mistakes that led to wide running lanes for the Ducks.
They dropped a few passes.
Ryan Barker missed a field goal.
They failed on a questionable 2-point conversion try.
Drew Allar threw a pair of interceptions, the second one sealing Penn State’s fate in a 45-37 loss in the Big Ten championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“It stings,” linebacker Dominic DeLuca said. “We beat ourselves. We’re capable of winning these games.”
The Lions, though, mostly have not done that. They’ve posted six seasons of at least 10 wins in the last nine years and beaten the teams they’re supposed to beat. But they’ve lost eight straight to Ohio State and three in a row to Michigan.
James Franklin made Penn State a top-10 program again after the Jerry Sandusky scandal, but he hasn’t guided the Lions to wins in their biggest games.
He’s 1-14 against top-five opponents, games in which the margin of error is razor thin.
They fell behind Oregon 28-10 early in the second quarter because of the penalties and Allar’s first pick. They also fought back and made it a one-score game three times.
“I can deal with the (two) facemask penalties,” Franklin said. “They’re going to happen sometimes when you’re playing. The other things (the personal fouls on Tyrece Mills and Vega Ioane) we’ve got to get eliminated. And the turnovers.”
Mills’ penalty came on a kickoff that sailed into the end zone for a touchback. The flag on Ioane came after a 6-yard rush. They both showed a lack of discipline and poise.
Oregon’s backs often found massive holes because the Lions weren’t gap sound. Ducks receivers often were wide open downfield because of miscommunication in the secondary.
Tez Johnson showed why he’s one of the very best receivers in the country when he made 11 catches for 181 yards, a record for the Big Ten title game.
Yet Penn State managed to stay in it because of Allar’s brilliance at times and because Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton helped the Lions rush for 292 yards.
“They’re two special backs,” Allar said. “They’re special players and special teammates and humans in general. It’s credit to the offensive line as well, especially getting the engine going and allowing Nick and Kaytron not to get hit until they were on the second and third level.”
The play of the offensive linemen was the most positive thing that happened for the Lions. After struggling against Ohio State, they dominated one of the nation’s best defenses as Penn State gained 518 total yards.
Which leads to the Lions’ final possession. After trimming Oregon’s lead to eight points, the defense forced a three-and-out. They had one more shot.
Singleton ran for 9 yards to the Penn State 46 going into the two-minute warning. On second-and-1 with two timeouts left, offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki tried to surprise the Ducks with a deep pass.
Oregon’s Nikko Reed ran step-for-step with Harrison Wallace III and intercepted Allar’s slightly underthrown pass along the sideline.
Game, set and match.
With the way Singleton and Allen were gashing the Ducks, it would have been more prudent to stay on the ground.
Kotelnicki has done a masterful of calling plays in his first season, but that call and the ones from the 3 in the fourth quarter against Ohio State were far from his finest.
“I tried to give Tre a chance,” Allar said. “I’ve got to do a better job of throwing it to him or nobody. I’ve got to give him more of a back shoulder.”
It was another gut-wrenching loss to a highly ranked opponent. What will it take for the Lions and Franklin to finally get over the hump with their first College Football Playoff game approaching?
Discipline. Poise. Wisdom. Precision.
“Yeah, for sure,” Singleton said when asked if he thought Penn State was as good as Oregon. “We just can’t make the mistakes we made against a team like that. It’s going to cost us.”
Source: Berkshire mont
Be First to Comment