(OT) Penn State Football - James Franklin

[zambonir]

I like Iowa's chances better merely because it's still 7 weeks away and at a neutral(ish) site. Penn State only has two weeks, so who even knows what's up with Clifford, and the game is in Columbus.

Michigan very much in the conversation too (at the very least to beat Penn State, we'll see about the Buckeyes). And Iowa could easily trip againt Minnesota or Wisconsin (much as Bama did against the Aggies). Let's face it, it still doesn't look like anyone can hang with the SEC (Oklahoma and Oregon included).

[dcsman]

The Ducks win the Big 10 in their inaugural conference season. Penn State was lucky to be there but held their own in a fun game. There was an absolutely horrific call on PSU's last drive regarding a first down but ultimately it didn't matter. I also think that there should have been a PI call on the Oregon DB instead of an interception. Regardless, in an era where PSU cannot win a big game, it was nice to see them hold their own against the top team in the country. Perhaps something to build on.

[zambonir]

This team could have done it all with better receivers I think. But Oregon really is just a little bit better than both Ohio State and Penn State.

With the right bracket they should be able to win a couple of games.

[phillychuck]

I think they want another shot at the Ducks. They can play better on defense than they did, and of the dozen or so 50:50 calls yesterday, they got none. I'd rather play Oregon with SEC or ACC officials than the bozos they hire in the B1G.

[saycheese]

As a PSU fan I agree that Oregon is better than Penn State. I am not so sure about Ohio State. The officiating wasn't great but I am not using that as an excuse for the loss. The penalties that were called were legit. You can't argue the face mask calls the roughing calls. Its the ones that were not called is where the ""issue about the officiating comes in.

[zambonir]

Ohio State was clearly beatable (and remains so). But they also played Oregon better than we did considering that game was in Oregon.

It was additionally impressive for the Ducks to cross three time zones and win that game in the Midwest. They actually had a pretty lucky road schedule given Michigan was so down, though they almost lost to what turned out to be an equally down Wisconsin team. This was their best win besides Boise State which was at home and early.

They probably can't see the Ducks until the final, if they are a 6 or 7 seed. I doubt they would drop to 8, which would mean a rematch in the Rose Bowl (or an upset in the first round), and they won't be 5 because Texas was already ahead of them and lost in OT.

We'll see what kind of chaos the new format brings. I could still see it going chalk (Oregon-Georgia) depending on the Bulldogs' QB situation.

[zambonir]

I'm seeing some people say Penn State will drop to 8th or even 9th behind OSU due to head-to-head but I think that would be a bad precedent (punishing them for playing in the championship game, essentially). Of course the CFP committee often does questionable stuff.

[Austinfan]

The real importance of this game is Penn State can finally go toe to toe with the big boys, not just rack up wins against weaker Big 10 teams and get their ass handed to them by Michigan, Ohio State and now Oregon.

Franklin finally opened up the offense so they can stay in shootouts, but the defense really let them down.

Thought that last play was a bad play call, bad decision and bad non call (clear PI, the CB grabbed his shirt and was pulling him down trying to high point the ball).

[zambonir]

It's a pretty favorable draw. Penn State draws SMU seeded ahead of the team they just lost the ACC conference championship game too (which has far more post-season experience) and Group of 5 Boise State may or may not truly be better than Big 12 champion Arizona State.

Georgia is where the would finally have to win the kind of game they rarely do, which would also get them Oregon (on paper) for the championship.

I honestly would not be surprised if Ohio State gets there instead of the Ducks. Texas has the defense for it but offense struggles.

[MichaelJackSchmidt]

absolutely horrific call on PSU's last drive

It was beyond horrible. It was 2nd down and 1. They had plenty of time. The coverage was super tight. That play was incredibly stupid.

[Aquapong]

What made it worse is Allar forced it in there when he had Dinkins as a check down on the same side of the field for an easy 1st down.

[dcsman]

I was actually okay with the call since second and 1 is basically a free play. With that said Allar shouldn't have thrown it into that coverage. Heckuva interception though.

The officiating call that I thought was atrocious and still don't understand is PSU's second-to-last drive how that first down catch was ruled not a catch. It was a catch on the field, clearly a catch, and somehow changed to not a catch. Fortunately, PSU overcame it though.

[dcsman]

Penn State's James Franklin Addresses Officiating in Big Ten Title Game

[zambonir]

In a parallel to the Barkley NFL record chase, Jeanty can break Barry Sanders's all-time rushing record with a merely solid performance (he needs 131 and averages 192). But Sanders did it in 11 games, back before there were conference championships and 12-games schedules and bowl games didn't coount. Jeanty's already played in 13 and Friday will be the 14th (and it counts).

Sanders was more gracious than Dickerson

“My fans can gripe, but records are made to be broken & I am rooting for you,” Sanders wrote.

Ashton Jeanty didn’t win the Heisman, but he’s still chasing history at Boise...

[bkeich]

Being more gracious than Dickerson is a very low bar.

[bigegypt0417]

Drew Allar.

That's it

[MichaelJackSchmidt]

You can always count on Allar to make a stupid mistake in big games...

[flyers19rw]

JMO but if Pribula had played instead of Allar, State would have won the game. That’s on Franklin for playing Allar over Pribula. I don’t see how Allar can stand up as a team leader after once again losing in a big game.

[zambonir]

Allar had a very good season. He hadn't even thrown an interception in the CFP before that one, though he also wasn't having a great post-season, and is obviously not a great QB. But neither was Carson Beck and neither are the Texas and Ohio State QBs. One of them is going to get to the end.

Pribula no longer plays for Penn State. If he did they also might have won that game without Allar actually losing his job. But there's not really a scenario where he had become the QB1 this year.

It's no different from being a baseball player who strikes out in the World Series or a pitcher who has a bad game (or blown save). You just come back and try to do better. I think it's still better to have a very good three-year starter than to have had a QB competition between Pribula and a guy with no snaps next year. The receiver group is also still just not good enough.First Penn State game in 20 years where not one receiver had a catch. That's not all on the QB or OC.

[bigegypt0417]

Some talk that Allar is rethinking stay at Penn State and if that's the case, I wonder if they pursue Carson Beck?