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Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State coach James Franklin made the familiar walk after a big-game loss, stopping to speak with former players and other notables on his way off the field Saturday at Beaver Stadium.
He walked through the end zone where No. 3 Penn State had twice failed to score from first-and-goal inside the 5-yard line against No. 4 Ohio State. Before reaching the Victory Bell next to the team tunnel, Franklin had a brief exchange with two fans questioning the playcalling on the second goal-to-go sequence of Saturday’s 20-13 loss before 111,030, the largest crowd ever at Beaver Stadium. Then, Franklin headed up the tunnel to address his team after its eighth consecutive loss to Ohio State, the fourth at home.
Penn State’s latest big-game defeat under Franklin came down to two failed chances inside Ohio State’s 5-yard line, several untimely penalties, a few critical officiating calls and an offense that couldn’t reach the end zone even once, despite being spotted a 10-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game. But the outcome, no matter how it occurred, will be grouped in with others under Franklin, who fell to 1-12 against AP top-10 teams at Penn State and 1-15 overall as an FBS coach.
Franklin said he “understands” the fans’ frustration.
“We get an unbelievable crowd here; we get unbelievable support,” he said. “You don’t do that without passion, and there’s great things that come from that, and there’s hard things that come from that. That’s part of the job, and I own it all.”
Franklin, seeking his first College Football Playoff appearance despite a 95-40 record at Penn State, has not beaten Ohio State since 2016, which marked the Lions’ last Big Ten title. The Buckeyes improved to 10-1 against Franklin, who has six AP top-20 finishes since 2016 but none in the top five.
“There’s nobody that’s looking in the mirror harder than I am,” Franklin said. “Ninety-nine percent of the programs across college football would die to do what we’ve been able to do in our time here. But I also understand when you’re at a place like Penn State, there’s really, really high expectations. … I get it, I totally get it.”
Franklin added that he had planned to address several items in his postgame news conference but decided they were “not appropriate to say right now.” He later referred to “a ton of calls, 50-50 calls that can go either way, and in that type of game, they’re critical.”
Quarterback Drew Allar said Penn State “didn’t win enough moments” Saturday, including the crucial turnover on downs with 5:13 to play. After a direct snap to do-it-all tight end Tyler Warren went for 33 yards, Penn State’s longest play of the game, the offense was set up at Ohio State’s 3-yard line. But three Kaytron Allen runs up the middle netted little, and on fourth down Allar couldn’t connect with tight end Khalil Dinkins, who was well covered.
“We wanted to get it to Ty Warren,” said Allar, who returned from a knee injury to pass for 146 yards with an interception in the end zone late in the first half, and rush for 31. “The safety or nickel did a good job of playing over the top of it and driving it. It would have been a bang-bang play, short of the goal line or incomplete. I was looking at Dink. We just didn’t connect on it.”
Penn State’s defense, which had held Ohio State out of the end zone since early in the second quarter, had a chance to make a stop and regain possession. But Ohio State’s rushing trident of Quinshon Judkins, TreVeyon Henderson and Will Howard overpowered the Lions, as the Buckeyes ran out the clock.
The Buckeyes, who had a season-low 64 rushing yards last week against Nebraska, finished with 176 yards Saturday.
“Kind of a sucky feeling,” linebacker Kobe King said. “We prepare all week, and we do certain things to certain packages and coverages. We just didn’t execute it the way it’s supposed to be. Mistakes were made. Guys have to be in the right spots.”
Several Penn State players deflected blame from Franklin and reiterated their support for the 11th-year coach. In past years, losses like Saturday’s eliminated Penn State from CFP contention, but the expanded field keeps the 7-1 Lions very much in the mix.
Still, there’s a recognition that coaches and teams are evaluated based on games like Saturday’s.
“If you’re not judging yourself after a game like this, then that questions your love for the game,” offensive lineman Sal Wormley said. “Like, there’s no way you go into a game like this, strictly point fingers at other people. There has to be something you could have done.”
Penn State finishes the regular season with four unranked opponents — Washington, Purdue, Minnesota and Maryland — before awaiting its postseason fate.
“OK, we lost, now we need to keep it pushing, because that could very well be the difference between you winning a national championship and you not winning a national championship,” defensive lineman Dvon J-Thomas said. “So how we respond to this loss will be a big indicator as to the type of team we are, and the type of team you’ll see in the playoffs.”