Stakes are high for Penn State vs. Oregon. Which Nittany Lion has the most on the line?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- James Franklin faces pressure to validate title hopes and silence long-time critics.
- Quarterback Drew Allar's draft stock hinges on his play against Oregon's elite defense.
- Offensive coordinator Kotelnicki can boost head coaching prospects with strong showing.
Penn State’s Saturday night White Out clash with Oregon is one of the most anticipated games of the college football season, and with it comes the eyes of the college football world scrutinizing everything that takes place in Beaver Stadium.
There will be inevitable conversations about everyone involved — both coaches and players alike — once it concludes, with the narrative of the 2025 Penn State team shifting drastically with a win or a loss.
Let’s take a look at three Nittany Lions with the most at stake in Saturday’s matchup with the Ducks.
Head coach James Franklin
This is not a top-five matchup but it absolutely meets the criteria for the type of game Franklin’s critics will say he can never win. Oregon is the No. 6 team in the country and is among the elite programs in college football. It has the type of financial backing in NIL and other regards that it takes to be one of the best in the sport. It’s the type of program people say Franklin can’t beat. That’s part of what makes it so important. Winning this game — after some fans have lost confidence in the team after suboptimal offensive performances in the last two games — would go a long way in silencing those doubters.
More than that, though, it could have a big impact on Franklin’s goals and legacy. He’s often said he wants to be the first Black head coach to win a national title, and this year his team is one of the favorites. But losing this game can set his team back. It won’t eliminate it, but it makes an even tougher matchup against Ohio State on Nov. 1 in Columbus even more important and adds a lot of weight to a Nov. 8 home game against Indiana.
It is clear that this is Franklin’s best chance yet to win a national title. A win on Saturday would go a long way in making that goal much more of a reality — and, at least temporarily, quiet those who don’t believe he can do it.
Quarterback Drew Allar
Penn State’s sky high expectations this year exist in part because the Nittany Lions have a senior quarterback who is in his third year as a starter and is a former five-star recruit. That should be a massive advantage in almost every game — but Allar’s performance this season has been up and down at best, and has not been up to the level of a potential Heisman candidate. He’s missed easy throws and made a couple of poor decisions, but has also made some of the best throws you can see a college quarterback make. But those came against FIU, Nevada and Villanova.
None of it will matter after this week. Because Allar’s legacy will be defined by games like this one against Oregon.
His struggles will be an afterthought if he can put together a high-level performance against an elite Oregon defense. Or they will be all anyone talks about if he doesn’t play well. And this isn’t just about how Penn State fans view him. NFL talent evaluators will be in attendance, and their eyes will be on him. And when the draft process rolls around, this will be one of the first games they watch to help determine if he’s worthy of being a very high draft pick. He, like Franklin, has a reputation for not performing well enough in the biggest games and the most important moments. Each time one rolls around, it’s an opportunity to disprove that thought. And the better he plays, the quieter his skeptics will be.
Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki
While Allar and Franklin will be the focal point, Kotelnicki isn’t without his own stakes in this game. There was plenty of reason to believe that he could have left to become a head coach after his first year at Penn State, and at this point his departure following this season has almost become an expectation. He’s one of the elite offensive coordinators in college football and has previously said he wants to be a head coach. His creativity is unlike any other in the sport and it’s led to him building one of the best offenses in college football. Yes, there have been struggles at times in the team’s three blowout non-conference wins, but Kotelnicki has proven his abilities as a coordinator and other programs will surely be calling him to discuss their head coach openings this offseason.
And on Saturday he’ll be facing a defense that he and the offense were able to score 37 points against in December in the Big Ten title game, a game where Allar struggled in the first half before playing one of his best halves of his career in the second. Penn State gashed Oregon for 297 rushing yards in that game and that will likely be the best way to get the offense going on Saturday — on the ground. If he can do that, and put up another high-level performance, his star will only continue to shine brighter as head coaching jobs around the country come open. That’s a long way down the road (it is, after all, Week 5) but Kotelnicki can continue his ascension to being a high-level head coaching candidate this offseason.
