When the lights are the brightest, James Franklin and Drew Allar have been known to come up short, and Penn State has been known to lose.
Over coach James Franklin’s tenure and the past two seasons especially, Penn State has developed a justified reputation as a team that will whoop on the Indianas, Purdues and Rutgers of the world but fall short against the Ohio States and Michigans.
In case you don’t know, Franklin is 1-9 against Ohio State and 3-7 against Michigan. These failures are what’s kept Penn State from being among Americas elite.
Penn State came into this season with the usual high expectations (especially with the College Football Playoff expanding from four teams to 12). The usual autumn showdown with the Buckeyes is circled on the calendar. With the Big Ten’s expansion causing there to be no Michigan game for the first time in Franklin’s tenure, Penn State’s first conference game against USC served as the second-most anticipated game of the season.
For most of the game, it looked like this would be a new chapter of the same story. “Big Game James”— a sarcastic nickname bestowed by the anti-Franklin crowd— would fall short.
USC led Penn State 20-6 at the half and 30-23 with six minutes left when Franklin and company flipped the script and won 33-30 in overtime, led by a former five-star QB looking to change his public perception.
ALLAR RISES TO THE MOMENT
Detractors of Drew Allar are often one and the same as those who criticize James Franklin.
What irks Penn State fans the most about Franklin is that he hasn’t had success against big time opponents. The same is true for Allar. In Allar’s first 18 regular-season games as Penn State’s starter, the team was 15-2 (we’ll take out last season’s Peach Bowl against Ole Miss, since that was a glorified exhibition.)
Not too shabby. But in the two losses to— who else?— Michigan and Ohio State, Allar was at his worst.
Penn State QB Drew Allar, fighting back tears postgame: “I sucked” pic.twitter.com/3GhjBsYqvr
— Seth Engle (@bigsengtweets) October 21, 2023
Allar combined to go 28 of 62 for 261 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Coming into the latest version of what fans call “the drive,” Allar had thrown for a career-high 339 yards. But he also threw two interceptions that led to six USC points, and if Penn State had lost, that would have been the stat most people cared about.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Allar’s stats on that drive look modest— 4-for-8, 52 yards— but those who watched know it was a big time performance. The plays people will remember are the fourth down conversions— passes on 4th and 7 and 4th and 10, respectively, to Julian Fleming. Simply put, Allar did things that separate a big time QB from a normal one, things he didn’t do against Michigan and Ohio State last season.
Big play on 4th down by Penn State to keep the drive going. pic.twitter.com/hwTNyha8lD
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) October 12, 2024
ALLAR AVOIDS THE PRESSURE. @PennStateFBall with another 4th down conversion. pic.twitter.com/KXhj8rYE1C
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) October 12, 2024
That drive wouldn’t have been possible without some guts from Franklin.
The 4th and 7 play took place with 4:27 left on the Penn State 44. The 4th and 10 would happened with 3:48 left at the USC 39. In both instances, there was enough time left for Penn State to punt and try to pin USC deep. Instead, Franklin kept the offense on the field, and the No. 15 took care of business.
THIS YEAR MIGHT JUST BE DIFFERENT
Would James Franklin have punted in the past?
It’s impossible to say for sure but the coach has never been known for making good on-field late in the game— he’s better known as a recruiter and motivator who can put together a top-notch staff— so it seems possible that he wouldn’t have.
Would Drew Allar have led Penn State on this drive last season?
Again, impossible to say. But if Allar’s overall performance against USC was at the level it was against Ohio State and Michigan, Penn State wouldn’t have even been in a position to tie the score.
What we know for sure is that yesterday, Penn State played against one of college football’s biggest brands and one. That’s different from the typical script, and maybe it’s a sign the 2024 season will be, too.
Ohio State is less than three weeks away. As always, we’ll find out more than.
