Penn State vs. Oregon: Final thoughts and analysis of the White Out matchup
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Penn State's offense must lean on the run game to control tempo against Oregon.
- Jim Knowles' defensive scheme faces its first major test against Oregon's offense.
- Early lead may dictate outcome as Oregon's pace clashes with Penn State's power.
Penn State plays its first Big Ten game of the 2025 regular season Saturday night in Beaver Stadium and it’s a big one. The Nittany Lions will play the Oregon Ducks in Week 5 of the college football season in the program’s annual White Out game. Here are some final thoughts and predictions ahead of the matchup.
Offense must take a step forward
The first three games are not necessarily indicative of what’s to come — but they haven’t exactly inspired confidence that the Penn State offense is going to be up to the task against Oregon. This was always going to be a team that relied heavily on its offensive line and physicality to win, which isn’t always aesthetically pleasing, but there needs to be growth from what are supposed to be the best parts of the PSU offense. The offensive line in particular has to continue improving after a slow few games against significantly weaker competition. The Oregon defense is physically imposing, but can be had in the running game.
While quarterback Drew Allar and the passing game haven’t been firing on all cylinders, they may not have to be if running backs Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton can produce at a high level on the ground. That’s not to say Allar doesn’t need to be better — he at the very least needs to be more efficient — but he does not have to carry a massive workload for this game to go in Penn State’s favor. That being said, if the running game isn’t working then it’s going to put a whole lot on the quarterback’s shoulders to lead this team to a win.
First test for Knowles at PSU
Penn State’s biggest acquisition during the offseason was defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, and now it’s time for him to prove his value to the 2025 team. The former Ohio State DC took on the Ducks twice last season — once in the regular season and once in the College Football Playoff. His unit was partially at fault for the loss in October, but was also a massive reason why the Buckeyes blew out Oregon in the Rose Bowl. He’s seen Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein enough to have a good idea of what to expect and that could be the difference in Saturday’s game — and it might have to be.
The Ducks are as good as any team in the country at putting defenders in conflict and making every snap difficult. Knowles, however, may be more well-equipped than anyone to handle those challenges. His scheme relies on versatility and adaptability, giving him plenty of tools at his disposal to combat one of the best units in college football. This will be the first game at Penn State for Knowles where that is put to the test. And if he succeeds, it could change how this team is viewed after three relatively disappointing non-conference games.
Early lead could change game
There’s an interesting contrast at play between these two teams that could result in the game being decided by who gets up early. Penn State has an offense that wants to physically dominate. It’s a group that relies on toughness and strength to blow the defense off the ball and win in the running game. That doesn’t mean offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki isn’t trying to create explosive plays — that’s largely what it is designed to do — but how it gets there can lead to longer drives that can be taxing for a defense. Oregon has a high-powered, fast-paced offense that is trying to win in space more than in the trenches. It can run a defense ragged if it gets up early and can continually apply pressure.
Point being, if Penn State can take a lead, it can wear the Ducks down, winning by taking their will to meet the physicality demands required by playing the Nittany Lions. But if Oregon can get up early and force PSU to throw the ball, it can take away that advantage and keep its defense fresh — all while continually applying pressure with its up-tempo attack. The game isn’t going to end once a team gets up two scores, but it could be all the leader needs to pull away.
Final predictions
Penn State 28, Oregon 27: This feels like a true toss-up. The Nittany Lions have home field advantage in the game where the talent is at least equal — and possibly in their favor. But they have not looked good offensively in their first three games and Oregon has looked dominant on that side of the ball. Still, I think the offense does just enough and Penn State wins after a defensive stop with a minute on the clock and the Ducks backed up to their own goal line.
MVP: Dani Dennis-Sutton. If Penn State wins this game, there’s a good chance Dennis-Sutton is the most impactful player on the field. He’s been the Nittany Lions’ best player so far this season and showed up big in the team’s biggest games in the College Football Playoff last season. I’ll say he gets 1.5 sacks of Oregon QB Dante Moore in the game, including a split sack with Zane Durant on fourth down to end the game.
The last word
Penn State head coach James Franklin on the idea of saving specific plays for big games:
“I think that’s one of them long-term kind of questions, right? Are you saving things? Yeah, I think you’re always — I don’t know if saving is the idea, but you’ve done some offseason studies where there is certain things you worked on during training camp that you’re planning on using against certain opponents. There are some things, yeah, could you have used early in the season, but didn’t feel like you needed to? Yeah. I think that’s always the case. But it’s not like offensive coordinators, defensive coordinators, head coaches you’re going into a game saying, we’re going to be conservative in this game. It’s not that. Or vanilla. It’s, OK, this is what we need to do in this game to win, to score points, to stop people scoring. It’s all about the matchup and the opponent that you have there. But I guess it just depends on your lens. Do you call everything in every game? No, you don’t. Obviously. It’s impossible to do. So there are packages and things that you’re going to see in the Oregon game that you didn’t see in the Villanova game. Some things you probably saw in that game you didn’t see in the FIU game and Nevada and so on and so forth.”
