by Kyle Golik
It is easy right now to point to Penn State head coach James Franklin‘s poor record against Top 10 opponents. In case you don’t know, Penn State’s 45-37 defeat to Oregon drops Franklin’s record against Top 10 teams to 3-20 at Penn State. While it would be easy for another “James Franklin can’t win the big one” narrative to emerge, it is a trope that has been beaten to death.
I don’t feel Franklin should bear the full burden of this defeat. You could get angry at the two-point conversion attempt, but Franklin had a rationale for it.
“We spend a ton of time on the analytics. We were having a tough time stopping them. We knew we were going to have to score points, and we wanted to try to win the game in regulation,” Franklin said.
It’s hard to argue against it, but it’s hard to nail Franklin for a defense that had four costly personal fouls in the first half. It’s hard to nail Franklin for kicker Ryan Barker missing a 40-yard field goal in the second half.
Where you can begin to exert some frustration is on junior quarterback Drew Allar, who had two critical turnovers that were the absolute difference in the game.
Allar finished 20 for 39 passing for 226 yards and three touchdowns, one that included a highlight to Trey Wallace to bring the game to within one possession game. What doomed Penn State in a game where the margin of error was slim were the two costly interceptions that came at the most critical moments of the game.
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On Allar’s first interception, he was targeting Trey Wallace on the Penn State 25-yard line, Allar did not see Oregon defensive back Dontae Manning who returned the ball to the Penn State 1-yard line to set up a Jordan James rushing touchdown to put Oregon up 28-10, a deficit Penn State could not overcome.
Despite a defense that was eviscerated throughout the game by quarterback Dillon Gabriel and wide receiver Tez Johnson, the Nittany Lions managed to make a stop with 2:14 remaining in the fourth quarter..
Penn State continued to grind it successfully on the ground behind running backs Nicholas Singleton (106 yards rushing) and Kaytron Allen (124 yards rushing). Overall, Penn State accumulated 292 yards rushing yards on the ground, a stat that, if you’d told me beforehand, I would have assumed meant a Penn State rout.
With second-and-one from the Penn State 46-yard line, the Nittany Lions took a shot, but Oregon defensive back Nikko Reed came up with the game-sealing interception, leaving many asking, what did Allar see on that final play?
“So the primary was Trey, trying to get the ball down the field,” Allar said. “I saw him hold and not get any depth and tried to give Trey a chance. I’ve got to do a better job of him or nobody. I’ve just got to see the leverage with the DB and give him more of a back shoulder, around the body where it’s going to be him or nobody and move on in the progression. But that’s what I saw in that play.”
Franklin followed up Allar’s comments with, “Give their kid credit; he made a heck of a play.”
When it comes to Allar’s big-game woes, they are very noticeable. This season, against Ohio State, Allar finished 12-for-20 for 146 yards and an interception. When you combine the struggles Allar had last season against Ohio State, Michigan, and Ole Miss – each of those games saw Allar finish completing less than 50% of his passes.
In the five games between the two seasons, Allar has not had much support with his wide receivers. There was a discernible difference between the vertical weapons Oregon possessed with Tez Johnson, who set a Big Ten Championship Game record with 11 receptions for 187 yards and a touchdown, Evan Stewart, and Traeshon Holden.
While Trey Wallace led the way with eight targets, he managed just four receptions. Allar only targeted Liam Clifford and Omari Evans a total of three times, with Evans making the lone reception on a 22-yard touchdown reception.
I feel Allar is pressing in these big-game moments because he doesn’t have the vertical weapons to complement his dynamic arm. Much like many of us criticize Southern California’s Lincoln Riley for wasting Caleb Williams because he never had a defense, how much blame does Franklin bear for not getting wide receivers, whether in recruiting or the portal, to complement Allar?
Julian Fleming, who was the prize in this year’s portal class did not register any meaningful action and overall finished the season with 14 receptions for 176 yards and a touchdown. Outside of Fleming’s clutch receptions against Southern California, he has had a pretty forgettable Penn State career despite Franklin lauding the intangibles Fleming brings to the room.
Maybe, after all there is a major criticism to hold against Franklin: his poor wide receiver development. But Franklin removed Taylor Stubblefield, who wasn’t able to fill the room right. Much like how many in Penn State’s community blasted Phil Trautwein and the development in the offensive line, it is now a strength. Current wide receivers coach Marques Haggans deserves time to build it up.
Much like the Ohio State game, where Davison Igbinosun made an unreal interception at the end of the first half, victimizing both Drew Allar and Trey Wallace, the tandem was again victimized—this time by Nikko Reed, who sealed the game. Allar ultimately put the ball in a position of danger, and this decision cost Penn State against Oregon.
The ground game, which was on pace to surpass 300 yards, was ultimately denied. Allar has to own this defeat. Franklin will bear some blame over time, but for now, the poor execution by Allar provides Franklin a temporary reprieve from criticism. Still, Allar must shoulder responsibility for Penn State’s shortcomings.
