COLUMBUS, Ohio – Penn State quarterback Drew Allar needed a few questions to regain composure on the podium.
The sophomore had not felt like this since his final Ohio high school football game for Medina High School on Nov. 19, 2021. Allar, with his head down, fought back tears when asked about his performance in a 20-12 loss to No. 3 Ohio State on Saturday, and he owned that with a one-word self-evaluation: "Sucked."
Then Allar used that operative word a handful of times to describe the big-stage opportunity No. 7 Penn State missed at Ohio Stadium on Saturday, and with each usage his resolve returned. That brand of accountable leadership will help the Nittany Lions in the future, but in the present tense the sting, well …
"Obviously it sucks to lose," Allar said. "It's not fun to lose at all, but we have to take tomorrow to get better."
Let's be clear. Penn State (6-1, 3-1) does not suck. Allar does not suck. Ohio State (7-0, 4-0) just has a team that can make you feel that way. Allar experienced what the program has endured since the Buckeyes beat the Nittany Lions 13-7 on Oct. 26, 2002 on the way to a national championship. Ohio State is 18-4 against Penn State since that game, and the tales of frustration and missed opportunities span two-plus decades.
If Allar was emotional, then Penn State coach James Franklin and future first-round tackle Olu Fashanu were measured in the aftermath in part one of the Big Ten trifecta with Ohio State and No. 2 Michigan. Did this loss hurt more given the Nittany Lions’ constant one-week-at-a-time ethos?
"For me personally, yes and no, obviously this is a big game that has big implications," Fashanu said. "At the end of the day, if we lose to anyone the reaction is going to be the same."
So, it's not about a meltdown. It's about margin – one the Nittany Lions still have not made. Penn State still cannot provide a plot twist in the Big Ten East annual best-seller that revolves around the Buckeyes and Wolverines. Franklin – more than Allar ever will – has to answer for that record.
Penn State now is 3-16 against top-10 teams under Franklin, and that includes a 1-9 record against Ohio State. When asked about that record, Franklin took the question.
"It's a fair question, I get the question, but right now I'm worried about this game," Franklin said.
Franklin was pressed with a follow-up. Is that the answer to the question?
"I did answer it," he said. "I didn't answer it the way you wanted me to."
A 14-point swing in the second quarter that broke up a 3-3 rock toss no doubt did not go the way Penn State needed it too, because this is the margin of error when dealing with elite Big Ten defenses.
After a review, the touchdown is taken back after holding was called on Penn State pic.twitter.com/eAciJgNbeh
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 21, 2023
On a third-and-11, Penn State linebacker Curtis Jacobs pressured Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord and forced a fumble. Jacobs scooped the ball up and raced 60 yards for a touchdown. He stretched out his arms toward the Penn State band, but there was a long conversation by the referees on the other side of the field. A defensive holding call on Kalen King negated the touchdown.
That is the break needed to go through Ohio State and win a Big Ten championship – like the fumble by Terrelle Pryor that led to the Nittany Lions' 13-6 victory in a top-10 showdown on Oct. 25, 2008, and the blocked field goal returned for a touchdown in the 24-21 victory in 2016.
Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison – who finished with 11 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown – converted a third-and-10 three plays later when he muscled through King – who was called for interference on the play, for a first-down catch. Miyan Williams' pounded in a two-yard touchdown with 7:31 remaining in the half. The Buckeyes led 10-6 at halftime.
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Familiar feelings set in. Allar struggled against a nasty Ohio State defense that rolled with a stifling zero coverage that dared Penn State to throw it deep. Allar finished 18 of 42 for 191 yards, and the Nittany Lions were a miserable 1 of 16 on third down. The first third-down conversion did not come until there were 44 seconds remaining.
That set up a broken-play TD pass from Allar to Kaden Saunders with 29 seconds left, but it was too late.
"All year long we've called the game and managed the game to put him in the best situation to be successful," Franklin said. "We weren't able to do that for a number of reasons."
Among them were missed opportunities. Penn State's defense lived up to its top billing, too, but the offense could not take advantage. Nick Singleton could not convert a third-and-one with 11:36 remaining in the third quarter. Daequan Hardy – who had two punt return TDs against UMass last week, let a Jesse Mirco boot roll 20 extra yards for a final total of 72 yards that flipped the field. The third downs were excruciating misses that piled up.
Penn State did not have an answer for Harrison either. The Ohio State receiver had 10 catches for 185 yards in a 44-31 victory last season. The sequel included 16 targets, 11 catches, 162 yards and an 18-yard TD on a crossing route that gave the Buckeyes a 20-6 cushion with 4:07 left in the fourth quarter. On a field full of defensive stars, Harrison was the offensive game-changer.
Fashanu – a star tackle who bypassed the 2023 NFL Draft and will join Harrison in the top five next April – was point blank after the loss. He supported Allar.
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"The No. 1 thing is to capitalize on opportunities. The defense balled out the entire game, and there were many opportunities to capitalize," Fashanu said. "We didn't get the job done."
The consequences? Penn State must win out, beat Michigan on Nov. 11 at Beaver Stadium, root for the Wolverines to beat the Buckeyes and hope a quirky tiebreaker that involves the conference record of Big Ten West opponents works in their favor in order to get a shot at a Big Ten championship and the College Football Playoff.
Maybe Ohio State slips up unexpectedly. Maybe Michigan shows cracks with the sign-stealing allegations surrounding their program. Maybe the Big Ten novel ends differently. Most Big Ten fans know that is a long-shot at best.
Penn State was accountable afterward, at least – albeit still searching to close that margin between the programs.
"We'll watch the tape, but I'm not sure if we didn't just watch two of the best teams in college, obviously, specifically on the defensive side of the ball," Franklin said. "You've gotta get them credit."
Then, there was Allar. Losing sucks, of course, but Allar will have more top-10 showdowns and one, maybe two more cracks at the Buckeyes. He gave an all-too familiar mantra for how the Nittany Lions will have to deal with it: "We can't let the past affect the future."
"I truly believe we can fix the little things that we probably would have a better performance today had we done, " he said. "It was a great defense that we were up against, but I felt like we stopped ourselves a little more with silly things."
