It happened to Penn State and head coach James Franklin again. Another big game, another big moment and another crushing loss. This time it was a devastating 30-24 double overtime loss to No. 6 Oregon.
What makes this one so bad is that Penn State seemed to have finally slayed the beast that is “the big game” moment. They erased a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit, easily scored to open the first overtime and then watched it all fall apart after that. Following Penn State’s overtime touchdown, Oregon scored on its two overtime possessions to regain the lead, and then clinched the game by intercepting Penn State quarterback Drew Allar on the first play of Penn State’s second overtime possession.
Penn State still has not changed the narrative
At this point, there is a very established trend for what every Penn State season is going to look like under head coach James Franklin.
Preseason hype about how this is the year for a National Championship run.
A lot of blowout wins against a soft non-conference schedule.
Beating all of the second, third and fourth-tier Big Ten teams that are not serious contenders.
And then they lose to every top-tier team they play.
This was Penn State’s first big chance this season to change the narrative on the latter point. And while it looked awful for three quarters, Penn State’s valiant fourth quarter comeback, and the way it started overtime, looked like it might finally be in a position to secure a signature, narrative-busting win.
Then it wasn’t.
It was simply more of the same.
If you want to be charitable to Penn State and Franklin, you can say it was a great game, and they showed a ton of courage and heart to fight back from a terrible start, and it was still a coin-flip game that came down to just one or two plays.
But why should you be charitable with them when this is how all of these games go?
Franklin is now 4-21 all-time against top-10 teams, which is simply not good enough for where Penn State wants to be.
It is unrealistic to expect any coach or team to win every game against a top-10 opponent, or even the majority of them. You’re going to lose a lot of them. At some point, however, if you want to be a true national championship contender, you have to win at least some of them. You have to win the occasional one. You have to beat somebody who is on that level.
It never happens at Penn State.
They will get another crack at it later this season when they travel to Columbus to play No. 1 Ohio State (their long-time nemesis). If that game is the same way, and they lose a second Big Ten game and yet another game to a legitimate contender, it’s going to be awfully difficult to take this program seriously as being on that level.
Drew Allar’s draft stock might be sinking
When the 2025 season began, Allar was projected as a potential first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft class, and potentially even a top-five pick with a strong enough season.
He has not done anything to back up that projection, and Saturday’s game was especially bad for his draft stock.
Allar completed just 14-of-25 passes for only 137 yards, and while he did throw two touchdowns as part of the fourth quarter comeback, he also threw another game-deciding, back-breaking interception in a crucial moment.
Even with Penn State’s undefeated record coming into Saturday, his play this season had taken a significant step backward. Like the rest of the team, he also fell short in another big moment. He has just as much work to do in changing his narrative as Franklin does on the sidelines.