Penn State-Oregon Takeaways: Mistakes doom Lions in narrow loss
By Greg Pickel
INDIANAPOLIS — No. 1 Oregon beat No. 3 Penn State 45-37 in a high-scoring and often-entertaining Big Ten title game here at Lucas Oil Stadium. Here are our initial takeaways.
1. The Lions made too many mistakes
In a very close game, Penn State could not overcome a number of miscues. Its first drive ended with a field goal instead of a touchdown. Its first drive of the second half featured a missed field goal. Drew Allar had two interceptions. The Lions lost the penalty battle. Drew Allar picked a bad night to have a below average game. And the defense was beat up time and time again. A clean game was needed to beat a team as good as Oregon. The Nittany Lions didn’t play one, and are now 10-2 and conference runner-ups.
2. The Penn State defense simply did not have enough answers
Tom Allen is in the running for the Broyles Award, which goes to the nation’s top assistant coach. This game will put a pretty hefty dent into his resume. The Oregon offense is very, very good. But so is the Penn State defense. However, there were not enough answers tonight for Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel or the Ducks’ top receiver, Tez Johnson.
The duo linked up to convert a key 3rd and 9 in the fourth quarter and the latter finished with 11 catches for 181 yards and a touchdown while Gabriel was 22 of 32 for 283 and four touchdowns. They were the difference makers in this game as the Penn State pass rush did not put Gabriel under enough duress, and even when they did, he often found a way to escape it and make a play. Gabriel was terrific. He also hit tight end Terrance Ferguson for 20 yards on 4th and 2 at the PSU 35 with under nine minutes that led to the Ducks eventually going up 15.
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3. The go for two call will be debated
Trailing Oregon 38-30 after a Kaytron Allen one-yard touchdown run, Penn State opted to go for two to try and pull within six points. However, a slow developing play that saw Nick Singleton take a handoff and flip it to Tyler Warren, who wanted to throw to Drew Allar, failed when Allar wasn’t open and Warren fell to the turf far short of the goal line. There’s value in going for two there, but we know that it will be heavily discussed and scruitinized in the hours after this one.
4. Penn State having four personal fouls in the first half was ridiculous
As James Franklin said on CBS and the Penn State Sports Network, the Lions were playing some bad ball in the first half. Two facemasks happen, but two personal fouls, even if the one on Tyrece Mills on a touchback was iffy, are inexcusable. The Lions found themselves in a 31-24 hole because the two facemasks extended drives. The kickoff personal foul set Oregon up at the PSU 40. And the one on Vega Ioane pushed the Lions off schedule on a drive that resulted in a quick three and out.
5. Odds and ends
–Yet again, and to the surprise of no one, the Penn State receivers were a no show. Johnson was a star. Penn State has nothing close to him on its roster.
–Penn State lost the penalty battle. There will be surely many Lions fans complaining about the lack of calls against Oregon. The Ducks looked to have an illegal man downfield on one touchdown. And, there were some holds that likely could have been called, too, but were not.
–The Lions lost the turnover battle. They only had two. Both, were very costly one. A Drew Allar first half pick was returned to the Lions’ one and led to a touchdown one play later. And his second one ended the Lions’ last comeback chance.
