Many people have jumped off the Penn State bandwagon following a 30-24 double overtime loss to Oregon in the 2025 White Out at Beaver Stadium.
Those who were never on board only have additional fuel.
But ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky isn’t hitting the panic button after just one defeat.
“PSU will be fine,” Orlovsky said on Twitter Tuesday morning. “They lost to a very good Oregon team — who is (a) top 3 team in America — on the last play of (the) game in OT.”
Penn State totaled only 109 yards of offense through the first three quarters. It then rallied from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 17 with 30 seconds left.
Penn State scored to begin overtime, but allowed Oregon to sustain its drive on 4th and 1 and eventually punched the ball into the end zone.
The Ducks scored on the first play of the second overtime, but missed the two-point conversion.
Drew Allar and the offense had a chance to win it with a touchdown and a successful two-point try. Allar threw a game-sealing interception to Dillon Thieneman, resulting in over 111,000 stunned fans inside the stadium.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.“They’re still one of the 5 best teams in (the) country,” Orlovsky said. “Play well against Ohio State, beat Indiana — they’ll be a lock for CFP.”
A lock at 10-2 seems generous, but seven of the 12 qualifiers for the College Football Playoff last season lost two games. That includes Penn State, whose second loss came to Oregon in the Big Ten Championship Game.
Penn State plays at UCLA, hosts Nebraska, and travels to Iowa over the next three games before a bye week. James Franklin will have two weeks to prepare for No. 1 Ohio State on November 1.
The Nittany Lions host No. 8 Indiana the following week and need to win one of the two games to have a realistic chance at making the playoffs.
Penn State fell to No. 7 in the AP Poll following the Oregon loss. The first College Football Playoff rankings will be revealed after the Ohio State game on Tuesday, November 4.
The program needs a bounce-back performance against UCLA on Saturday, open up the offense, build Allar’s confidence, and continue the journey to finally win a top 10 matchup, something Penn State has been on the losing side of the past 15 games.
