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Watch: Penn State head coach James Franklin recaps 45-37 loss against Oregon in Big Ten Championship

Mug-Shot 4x4by:Ryan Snyder•12/08/24•

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tuesday press conference (13)
Penn State head coach James Franklin. (Credit: USA Today)

Penn State put up a fight against the top-ranked team in the country Saturday, but in the end, the Nittany Lions were’t able to knock off No. 1 Oregon in the Big Ten Championship game, losing 45-37.

Coming into the week, many expected this game to be lower-scoring compared to most of Oregon’s games this season. The first half was anything but that, as the two teams combined for 55 points and 537 yards of offense. Defensively, the Nittany Lions struggled to open the game, allowing three straight touchdown drives of 84, 75, and 60 yards, respectively. An interception pass by Drew Allar then set Oregon up for a 1-yard score with 10 minutes to play in the second quarter. With the score 28-10, it didn’t look good. Sloppy play by the Nittany Lions didn’t make it any better.

Penn State responded in the next two series, scoring on a 75-yard drive for a touchdown followed by a three-and-out. Allar then led another excellent drive, going 10 plays for 64 yards to cut the score to 28-24. The Ducks were able to respond with a field goal with under two minutes to play, but compared to where they were, Nittany Lion fans had reason to feel much more optimistic.

“Early on, the four [personal foul] penalties were significant,” Penn State head coach James Franklin said after the game. “Four penalties for 15 yards. We had another penalty for 15 yards, and you can’t do that against the number one team in the country and expect to win, giving those types of yards away. Penalities are one thing, 15 yards are another. I can deal with the facemask penalty. They’re going to happen sometimes when you’re just playing. That’s going to happen from time to time.”

Penn State put together a quality drive to open the second half, but a missed field goal by Ryan Barker was followed by the only score of the third quarter when wide receiver Tez Johnson took it 48 yards for a score. After that, the two teams traded three more touchdown-scoring drives, bringing the score to 45-27 with just a few minutes left in the game.

When Penn State’s defense needed to respond, they did just that, forcing a three-and-out to give the offense one more shot at a potential game-winning drive. However, just two plays in, Allar was intercepted by Nikko Reed, all but assuring a win for the Ducks.

“We won pretty much every major statistic besides [turnovers],” Franklin said. “But since the beginning of time, turnover ratio is significant, maybe the most important stat in all of college football. We also won the second most important stat in all of football, which is explosive plays. But at the end of the day, we didn’t do enough to beat the number one team in the country, but I’m proud of my guys.”

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