Illusions Preclude Penn State from Being a Genuine Elite? What is your take…

The Nittany Lions, who were always behind, lost to Ohio State on Saturday even though the Buckeyes had a poor game.

CLEVELAND, Ohio—Penn State quarterback Drew Allar attempted to hold back his tears by pressing his thumbs into the corners of his eyes during the second question of his news conference following the game. He didn’t succeed. His 19-year-old face showed the agony of failure as the tears slowly trickled out.

After losing 20–12 at Ohio State, the native of Ohio commented, It stinks to lose. Losing is not enjoyable at all.

Bad fun. yet recognizable when these two groups come together. Penn State will always be in misery.

Allar had a terrible game, finishing just 18 of 42 passes for 191 yards, including 73 of those on a drive that resulted in Penn State’s lone touchdown of the day in garbage time. Nor did his offensive teammates perform well on the field. Play calling by James Franklin and his staff was occasionally utterly counterintuitive, indicating a lack of skill in coaching. The nation’s seventh-ranked team’s near-complete failure prolonged Penn State’s losing run against the Buckeyes to seven seasons and strengthened the belief that this program can never reach greatness.

Still, Franklin made an ostentatious attempt at postgame spin. I wonder if we didn’t just watch two of the top collegiate football teams, he remarked. For sure on the ball’s defensive side.

I’ll mark the first sentence as challenging. After defeating Notre Dame and the Nittany Lions, Ohio State has a 7-0 record. Therefore, we should recognize the Buckeyes as such. However, Penn State? Oh no, Mr. Its 6-0 record against no notable opponents was based solely on empty calories. This was the prove-it game, and Franklin’s program has consistently shown itself to be deficient in the skills necessary to compete at the highest levels of the sport.

With his current record against Ohio State at 1-9, there has been much discussion about whether or not his time at Penn State is being called into question due to his lackluster performance. Franklin did not wince at the question, but he also did not respond to it immediately.

I totally get it, he said. That’s a good football team. We lost to a really good football team in the road. I think it’s a fair question. I get the question.

What’s lacking from Penn State? The receiver should go first on Saturday by donning No. 18 in scarlet. Philadelphia native Marvin Harrison Jr. declined to attend his in-state university in favor of Ohio State. He attended Wide Receiver U, which annually produces NFL players at his position, instead of Penn State, which was a wise choice.

Harrison recorded 11 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown on Saturday, putting him on his way to becoming a high first-round selection in the spring draft. Leading the Big Ten in yards per game and yards per grab entering the game, he should be given more consideration for the Heisman Trophy after his third straight 100-yard performance. The Nittany Lions’ wide receivers were unable to prevail in one-on-one confrontations with the quarterback, so they had no response for him defensively and nothing comparable offensively.

When it comes to his receiving corps’ incapacity to split and become open, Franklin stated, “We’ve got to look at that closely.” Drew needs a few players to step up and score for him more frequently.

The Penn State offense hasn’t shown much of anything this season, and against the elite defense of the Buckeyes, it was clearly outmatched. With just one first down out of sixteen attempts, the Nittany Lions were a complete train wreck on third down. They only created one play longer than 20 yards throughout the whole game, and they didn’t get to the Red Zone until their last possession. They still only have one play of 40 yards or more this season.

In theory, Penn State was expected to be able to compete with Ohio State on par this year. That just did not occur, and it speaks more about the losing squad than the victorious one.

This was a significant yet unimpressive game.With two elite defenders, part of that was to be expected, but there was still nothing in the way of spectacular play. To put it another way, Michigan is not afraid to play either of these teams in November.

Definitely their best defensive unit in recent memory, the Buckeyes are a solid team. In the coming weeks, when receiver Emeka Egbuka and running back TreVeyon Henderson return from injuries, they should improve offensively.

Quarterback Kyle McCord? The best thing that can be said about him is that he hasn’t thrown an interception since the season opener.

Even though he is not winning games for the Buckeyes, he is an improvement over their previous starting quarterback. (A Penn State holding penalty bailed McCord out of a sack-fumble that was returned for a touchdown.) Ohio State has won Big Ten championships with pedestrian quarterbacks before—Todd Boeckman in 2007 springs to mind—but the Wolverines will not be easily beaten without excellent QB play.

Even the Ohio State fans were fairly muted postgame. There was no euphoria in the air. Walking down several flights of stairs from near the top of the stadium, one man tried to get people going with the traditional “O-H” cheer, but the “I-O” responses lacked ardor. He finally got a more enthusiastic response near ground level.

Fans here know what great teams look like. Not one Saturday was seen by them.

Penn State fans haven’t seen one since 1994. They’ve seen good ones coached by Franklin, sometimes very good. But not great. Despite receiving elite-level compensation, having a well-funded program, and recruiting top talent, there is still a disparity in their approaches. Saturday was a stark reminder of that.

At offensive tackle, Olu Fashanu, who was at times unable to stop Ohio State defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau, admitted that his team does not take losses lightly. He was a likely high first-round pick.

They don’t take losses lightly—that was evident looking at the players’ faces afterward. But they’re accustomed to losing this game. Penn State is never going to be able to catch up to Ohio State in a game that defines every year’s rivalry.