A stunning James Franklin stat, Penn State is still in good shape to make the Playoff, and more of what they're saying

STATE COLLEGE — Penn State football is again waking up after finishing on the wrong side of another marquee matchup. The Lions stormed back to tie Saturday night’s top 10 showdown with Oregon 17-17 with 30 seconds to go. But, Drew Allar threw a game-ending interception that sealed the Ducks’ 30-24 double overtime victory.

“We’re going to watch this tape,” James Franklin said. “I think we’re going to feel like we had tons of opportunities to win this game. There’s going to be a lot to learn from it, obviously.

“The way college football is today, there’s going to be very few teams that finish the end of the season unscathed. We got to learn from this. Need to have a great week next week. We got to tune out all the noise, and we got to get better from this and get on a roll for the rest of the season.”

Here’s what is being said locally and nationally about the Lions’ victory.

Penn State is still in good shape to make the Playoff

We start with the positive, which comes from Shehan Jeyarajah of CBS Sports, because there is plenty of negative that follows.

“Unfortunately, like so many times before, Penn State fell short,” Jeyarajah writes. “This is the most talented and best roster of Franklin’s career, but still, the team suffers from missed opportunities and conservatism in the biggest spots. 

“Penn State is still in good shape to make the College Football Playoff, but a road trip to No. 1 Ohio State is another key opportunity to turn the tide. After the inconsistent performance at home, how much faith should we have in Franklin’s team to play its best then?”

Unfortunately, like so many times before, Penn State fell short. This is the most talented and best roster of Franklin’s career, but still, the team suffers from missed opportunities and conservatism in the biggest spots. 

Penn State is still in good shape to make the College Football Playoff, but a road trip to No. 1 Ohio State is another key opportunity to turn the tide. After the inconsistent performance at home, how much faith should we have in Franklin’s team to play its best then? 

Read the full story here.

A stunning James Franklin stat

We first must note that much of the James Franklin is XYZ against top 10 teams is a bit misleading. It is factual, of course. But the added context that Penn State has been the underdog in most of those games is often forgotten. At any rate, that was not the case on this night. The Lions closed as a 3.5-point favorite and still managed to lose at home in a White Out environment that featured the second-largest crowd in Beaver Stadium history.

“Franklin’s .160 winning percentage against AP top-10 teams is tied for the third-worst record by a coach (minimum of 25 games) at a single school since the poll era began in 1936, according to ESPN Research,” Jake Trotter writes for ESPN.

That, of course, is not good, no matter what the context is.

Read the full story here.

The Lions’ offense took far too long to show up

We could have sourced a number of writers for this take. But we turn to PennLive’s Johnny McGonigal, who highlighted the fact that Penn State only needed a ferocious fourth quarter comeback because they did next to nothing on offense during the first three quarters of play.

“Kotelnicki, Allar and Co. looked lost for the vast majority of the biggest home game of the season,” McGonigal writes. “In a tilt between two national title contenders, Penn State’s offense looked anything but. Through three quarters, they were out of sync, timid and mind-numbingly bad.

“It was a frustrating and ugly watch that ended in a stunning interception by Allar — a mistake and an overall display that kept the Lions from a signature White Out win.”

Read the full story here.

Final word on Penn State-Oregon

This week, it goes to BWI’s Nate Bauer, who writes that, despite the fight the Lions showed, deeper issues remain for this team.

“Of more immediate and pressing concern to this Penn State team should be the dearth of viable success or answers to play football the way it had intended for the overwhelming majority of Saturday night,” Bauer writes. “A chasm of operational efficiency that will spell future losses against opponents not named Ohio State, the program’s failure to make significant strides toward offensive consistency – let alone the special playmaking needed to beat the best – puts all future aspirations into real jeopardy.

“While maybe not immediately at risk against a UCLA program that’s lost in the wilderness, they’re fundamental issues to be corrected if Penn State wants more of these types of consequential games the rest of this season.”

Read the full story here.