Another big game, another loss. Can this season still be different for Penn State football?
Tyler Warren walked off the turf at Lucas Oil Stadium field as confetti rained down. The Penn State tight end did what he always does in difficult times — he found people he cares about and left the field with them by his side. This time it was tight ends coach Ty Howle.
And Saturday — losing to No. 1 Oregon in the Big Ten title game, 45-37 — certainly qualifies as a difficult time.
Warren isn’t the most vocal player in press conferences, but his tone after the loss reflected a program that always seems close to getting what it wants before coming up short. He seemed bothered as he recounted different moments from the conference title game, even getting terse when discussing two rare drops.
“I just gotta catch ‘em,” he said.
And he wasn’t the only one who was frustrated. Another player could be heard shouting “Damn!” in frustration from the postgame interview room.
Their mood seemed representative of what the team must have felt after falling in a tight matchup to the No. 1 team in the country.
Under head coach James Franklin, the Nittany Lions have fallen short time and time again, with Saturday joining a list of close losses that includes several matchups with Ohio State and other highly touted teams. But this team still seems different — and the players’ frustration shows they know it.
It isn’t apoplectic after losses. It’s frustrated — and it should be. The Nittany Lions trailed 28-10 in the second quarter against the Ducks and nearly completed the comeback. And they nearly did it by getting in a track meet with one of the fastest teams in the country.
They’re so obviously on the precipice of being talked about like the Ohio States and Georgias of the world. And even the Ducks praised Penn State like they knew this team is a contender — and that’s coming from a team that also took down the Buckeyes earlier this season.
“I think across the board they’re both really good teams,” Oregon tight end Terrance Ferguson said about the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes. “They both have a really good defense, especially edge players. Just watching their offense play, I think they’re very similar teams. I think Penn State has a little different scheme of how they’re trying to get people the ball. They have a good tight end over there and good backs. They’re very similar, honestly, in the level of play.”
There was reason for praise. The near-comeback itself is notable. As is the offensive explosion. But so was the way Drew Allar played. The second-year starting quarterback showed off what makes him so appealing to potential NFL teams. He made throw after throw that he had no business putting on his target. And he created offensive opportunities for his team by creating time and space for himself, allowing his receivers to find room down the field.
Allar’s progress is vital to the team’s progress. Most great teams only go as far as their quarterback and on Saturday he brought them on the edge of a comeback before an off-target deep ball all but ended the game. But, still, Allar is on the precipice of reaching his potential and has the belief of his peers.
“That’s a guy that we want to play for as an offense,” Warren said. “... Drew did awesome today, and we’ve got his back and we’re gonna keep playing for him.”
And then there’s Franklin, who has taken losses hard at times. He’s gotten into arguments with fans in previous years, and this year showed up to his Monday press conference after the Ohio State loss with the beard of a person who hadn’t slept much or thought about much more than the game.
But Saturday there was a confidence in his postgame press conference. He spoke like he knew the Nittany Lions are inching closer and closer and closer to getting where they want to be.
“I’m proud of our guys,” he said. “We’re going to learn from it. We’re going to flush it. We’re going to move forward. We’re going to get better because of it. We will get better because of this. And we’ll be ready to play whoever they tell us we’re playing Sunday.”
In two weeks, there will be clarity on how real that talk is. The Nittany Lions will play in the College Football Playoff against a team that has also earned the right to be there. And they’ll have a chance to go on a run.
How far they go will dictate what this — the narrow defeats in pursuit of something larger — all meant.
Either they will cross the threshold and get those wins against those other elite teams — or they won’t.
And this year, much like these games, will become about what-ifs rather than what was.
