Penn State football, James Franklin analysis after loss to Ohio State

STATE COLLEGE – Another painful Penn State football loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes hit hard here Saturday.

For the fans who booed as the Nittany Lions left the field.

For the head coach who denounced them.

For the players who failed to make the few crucial moves again to defeat their all-powerful nemesis.

And so the national story will continue: A team coached by James Franklin cannot win the biggest games. Penn State can’t beat Ohio State. These Lions are still not “elite,” as Franklin promised here six years ago.

Yes, they can still rally and achieve everything they ever wanted in the expanded world of the College Football Playoff. The biggest problem is: who can believe it now? Not when you focus on this day and these moments, with the eighth straight loss to the Buckeyes.

Because on Saturday, Penn State had one great chance after another to make the decisive move, stay undefeated and overcome its major problems.

And the Lions failed again and again, just as they did in 2017 and 2018, when they gave up big leads and lost by a point each to Ohio State. In 2022, they gave the Buckeyes a lead in the fourth quarter. The touchdown was called back as a penalty last year.

This time? Twice the Lions had a first down inside the 5-yard line. Twice they failed to score a single point.

It cost them the game.

Penn State Football: ‘It’s heartbreaking.’ That’s something I wouldn’t wish on anyone.’

And so the crowd in record-breaking Beaver Stadium then booed and jeered Franklin. He cooked quickly and challenged one of them.

“I understand the frustration of the fans,” Franklin said calmly and composedly 15 minutes later in the postgame interview room.

“The guys in the locker room are just as frustrated, if not more frustrated, but college football has changed. We have a chance to make up for some of the mistakes we made today and that’s what we’re going to focus on.”

“I understand the frustration. We have an incredible audience here today, we’re getting incredible support. That doesn’t work without passion. Great things come from that, and difficult things come from that. “It’s part of the job.” And I own everything.”

Of course, this also applies to his players. They were largely stoic when speaking to reporters, almost stunned by it all.

Guys like senior defensive end D’Von J-Thomas have lost to Ohio State every season, mostly in close games that could have been. This was his sixth time.

“You chase perfection every day. In the off-season: all the training we do, the amount of film we watch, the attention to detail, our technique. That you go through all of this and get into these situations and can’t get through? Or not win like you think you should, like you know you should?”

He paused for a moment and almost called it quits.

“It’s heartbreaking. It’s something I wouldn’t wish on anyone.”

That’s understandable. It’s also the same storyline playing out again – at least until it doesn’t.

Because Franklin and J-Thomas and other team leaders like quarterback Drew Allar and running back Nick Singleton have repeatedly pointed out how different this really can be.

The Lions have only lost one of their biggest games, not two.

And a loss would almost certainly allow a top-10 team to advance to the College Football Playoff. (Penn State will be the favorite in its final four games).

That means: For the first time, this typical frustration in the off-season can actually be overcome and banished.

Of course the Lions have to prove that. A challenge that probably feels much more difficult at this moment than it needs to be.

That gets to the heart of the matter: allowing another failure to fester, as opposed to the possible revival there.

Because there really is another kind of opportunity.

If they can get back to feeling the way they feel now.

Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record and the USA Today Network. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.

Penn State Football: ‘It’s heartbreaking.’ That’s something I wouldn’t wish on anyone.’

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