Will Penn State ever get over the hump? Lions receivers were a fatal flaw in Orange Bowl, and more of what they’re saying

Penn State football is being discussed locally and nationally following the Lions’ 27-24 loss to Notre Dame in a College Football Playoff semifinal at the Orange Bowl. Head coach James Franklin’s team led 10-0 at halftime and 24-17 in the fourth quarter before ultimately falling to the Fighting Irish.

“Obviously we need to give Notre Dame and Marcus a ton of credit,” Franklin said after the game. “They did a great job. We knew it was going to be a fourth quarter game, come down to a possession, and that’s exactly what happened.

“Give Notre Dame a ton of credit. I wish them the best of luck moving on to the National Championship. But I love every guy in that locker room. I love every person in that locker room. Proud of them. Played our tails off tonight. Obviously we made too many mistakes that were costly. Give Notre Dame credit. We’ll learn from this, and we’ll be better.”

Here’s a look at what’s being said about the Lions on Friday morning.

Will James Franklin and Penn State ever get over the hump?

That’s the question from Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports (and many others) after the Lions missed out on a trip to the College Football Playoff national title game. It’s interesting, of course, that finishing in the final four is not seen as over the hump by some. But, this was to be the expected discourse (and in some ways, with good reason) after losing another winnable game against a top foe.

“He’s [James Franklin] lost 11 consecutive games against teams named Ohio State (8) and Michigan (3),” Dellenger writes. “That skid against top-five teams dates back to the lone win over the Buckeyes in his 11 seasons: a 24-21 victory over No. 2 Ohio State in 2016. The skid includes, too, a defeat to Iowa and the loss in the Big Ten championship game to Oregon.

“It’s one excruciating defeat after another. Of the 13, six have come by a single score.”

Read the full story here.

Nittany Lions wide receivers were a fatal flaw

Another popular topic on Friday: The poor play of the Penn State receivers. Did they run block fine? Sure. But, they did not record a single catch, which made the Lions’ offense one-dimensional on this night. That could have been OK on other days. But, not this one.

“But the lack of consistent playmakers at wideout, particularly down the field, has been a wart for Penn State all season,” Shehan Jeyarajah writes for CBS Sports. “And now that stat puts the Nittany Lions in rare, if not unwanted, company: they’re the first non-service academy this season to play a game without at least one wide receiver catching a pass. Navy (four) and Air Force (one) are the others.

“That unit was completely bottled up against the Fighting Irish. Wide receivers were targeted five times. Four fell incomplete, the other was Allar’s late interception to set up the Irish’s go-ahead field goal.”

Read the full story here.

Added PennLive’s Max Ralph:

“Penn State knew coming into the game that Notre Dame would frequently play press man coverage. The Irish also boast a cornerback group that doesn’t feature a player below 6-foot and 180 pounds. Penn State’s receivers simply didn’t win at the point of attack to make life easier on Allar.”

Read the full story here.

What’s next for the Lions?

ESPN had a team of expert answer that question.

“The Nittany Lions got a favorable draw with SMU and Boise State to get to this stage, but they didn’t fare as well throughout the season against the sport’s heavyweights: Ohio State, Oregon and Notre Dame,” Kyle Bonagura writes. “They need to be able to dictate the style of game better in those types of games if they want to get over the hump.”

Read the full story here.

Final word

This week, it goes to BWI’s Nate Bauer. He writes in his postgame column:

“An epic playoff game with a result preventing Penn State’s advancement to its ultimate goal, a chance to win a national championship, the program’s response will dictate its ability to return to the same stage next year and beyond, or not. But, finishing on the losing end of a four-quarter game in which the Nittany Lions were unable to see through to completion, it’s an experience from which lessons must be maximized.”

Read the full story here.