“Fire Franklin! Fire Franklin! Fire Franklin!”
After yet another big loss for James Franklin, Drew Allar, and company, the reaction leaving Beaver Stadium was not pleasant.
Once again, the Nittany Lions failed to win when the lights were brightest, suffering a dreadful 34-30 overtime loss to the No.2 Oregon Ducks. Penn State dropped to a 3-1 record and No.7 in the recent AP Poll.
Here are some of my takeaways…
Oregon is a certified title contender
Dan Lanning and his squad pulled off possibly the most impressive win thus far in beating Penn State on the road during the White Out. The Ducks silenced the hype behind ESPN’s College Gameday and Penn State’s wickedly noisy tradition and earned the right to a perfect 5-0 record.
To hold a 17-3 lead, lose all the momentum, and then find a way to win in overtime shows true guts. The Oregon defense speaks for itself. The team held Penn State to just three points through the first 45 minutes of play.
Matayo Uiagalelei, Bear Alexander, and Teitum Tuioti gave Penn State’s offensive line a lot of issues, and ultimately was the deciding factor in this game. It seemed as if the Ducks had a clear game plan to dial up the pressure on Drew Allar and force him into making plays. Dillon Thieneman had the game-sealing interception, and it was a complete effort by a defense that many were skeptical about coming into the season.
Offensively, I am not sure there is a better quarterback in the nation than Dante Moore. He played with so much poise and control and made very few mistakes. Moore was accurate, smart, and decisive. Moreover, this was his first time planning in an atmosphere like Penn State. Lots to be said about this young man…
All four of Oregon’s running backs were very solid with split carries between Hill, Whittington, Davison, and Limar. Not to mention, Keyon Sadiq and freshman Dakorien Moore broke down the Penn State secondary on multiple occasions.
This team effectively exposed the inexperience and lack of depth at the front of Penn State’s defensive line. Penn State was challenged in a way that had not seen since the loss last year to Notre Dame, and Oregon fully dominated on the offensive side of the football.
For reference, the Ducks had 424 yards of total offense, as opposed to Penn State’s 276. The fact that this game went into overtime was a miracle for the Nittany Lions. The gift was at the palm of their hands, but Oregon was determined to leave Happy Valley with the win.
I am ready to call Oregon the best team in the country.
4-21 - James Franklin’s track record grows deeper
Following the victory, James Franklin spoke to his big-game woes.
""I get that narrative. And it’s not really factual–it’s the facts. I try to look at the entire picture and what we've been able to do here. But at the end of the day, we got to find a way to win those games. I totally get it. And I take ownership. I take responsibility.” "James Franklin
The narrative seemingly builds each season, and to this point, Franklin has nothing to prove it wrong. This was supposed to be Penn State’s year, and with this early loss at home, one could assume it will be another 10-2 season (with a loss to Ohio State).
The blame can fall in so many different directions. The obvious scapegoats are Franklin and Allar, but more apparent to me, was play-calling of Andy Kotelnicki.
This is now the fourth-straight game where Kotelnicki has failed to present a consistent play-calling scheme that features the strength of Penn State’s offense. There is some real concern with Nicholas Singleton and his lack of production in the backfield. On top of that, you have a quarterback who seemingly has lost all confidence, and receivers who aren’t being utilized.
This offense is a chaotic mess, and Kotelnicki is lost in his own scheme. It truly felt like 90% of Penn State’s offense in the first three quarters was short runs (some wildcats), jet sweeps, and screen passes.
This sort of offense singles out one of two things: either Kotelnicki has no trust in Drew Allar airing out the ball, or he really is lost in how to properly use all these weapons. Frankly, it needs to get sorted out fast.
The offensive line has struggled thus far, which does not make things any easier for Singleton, Allen, or Allar, for that matter. However, we see these flashes of what Penn State can be. After the Nittany Lions fell behind by two touchdowns, Allar finally began to hit his guys on crossing routes and open up the field. The wideout room with Hudson-Peña-Ross is dynamic. We saw late in the fourth quarter when the Nitanny Lions began to mount a comeback.
Obviously, everyone will point to Franklin and Allar, but you should not have to look far to see how dysfunctional this offense truly is.
What to make of Drew Allar’s performance
Drew Allar. The story.
If you were a regular football fan and tuned into this game towards the end to watch Drew Allar throw such an unspirited pass, you would think he cost Penn State the game. Sure, you can make that argument, regardless.
I am not going to back Allar here, but there is too much going on to see it from only one lens. Absolutely, Drew Allar cannot make a pass like that. He needs to know better, but this game did not solely come down to one play.
For starters, Allar is a veteran who had first-round hype in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft. He has all the tangibles to be great including his height, frame, and arm strength. Through the first four games, Allar has been overwhelmingly disappointing.
Oregon knew to send the house and load up on pressure because Allar has a very hard time making the right decisions when under pressure. Just two weeks ago we saw Allar make a very ill-advised pass against Villanova that almost went for six the other way. On Saturday, it was a similar situation as Allar forced many passes and threw a clunker to the defense that lost Penn State the game.
Allar gets very dancy in the pocket and tends to move his feet too much before he makes a decision. Something about his awareness and mechanics just are not clicking.
I believe the only way to force Allar out of this funk is by having him take shots. In every game we have seen glimpses of promise as to what Allar could be. I still do not think Allar has even tapped his potential, and if there is any time to have a funk it is now.
Everything remains ahead of Penn State and while it was there for the taking, there is much to learn from this. Allar will be better as long as the offense as a whole gets better. Starting from the play calling to the running game, to Allar and the passing game.