Penn State football’s offense had plenty of opportunities in its 45-37 loss to Oregon in the Big Ten Championship. But it came up short in the biggest game of the season.

With little help from the defense, the Nittany Lions were playing catchup the entire game. The offense scored twice on its first two drives for a quick 10 points, but Oregon scored on its first three drives, all for touchdowns.

To the offense’s credit, it tried to claw its way back into the game, but penalties and turnovers plagued its efforts. Quarterback Drew Allar threw two costly interceptions that ruined any chances of a comeback and multiple penalties set the offense back and killed momentum. Of the five total penalties for 65 yards, three penalties and 35 yards came from the offense.

“Early on the four penalties were significant. Four penalties for 15 yards. We had another penalty for 15
yards. And you can’t do that against the No. 1 team in the country and expect to win giving those types of yards away,” James Franklin said. “Penalties are one thing. Fifteen yards is another.”

The Nittany Lions were in a deep hole against the No. 1 team in the country when Allar threw an interception from his 11-yard line to Oregon’s Dontae Manning, who returned it to the one. The Ducks scored a play later and Penn State was down 28-10.

But things quickly changed in Penn State’s favor. The offense made it a 31-24 game at halftime after a 22-yard touchdown pass from Allar to Omari Evans and a 7-yard rushing touchdown by the junior quarterback.

“I think he’s a competitor, and that’s a guy that we want to play for his offense and being our quarterback,” tight end Tyler Warren said of Allar.

The momentum shifted back to Oregon’s favor when the opening drive of the second half went awry for Penn State. The Nittany Lions picked up where they left off before halftime drove down to the Ducks’ 23-yard line and threatened to score until kicker Ryan Barker missed his 40-yard attempt.

Dillon Gabriel and Oregon gained possession and scored another touchdown.

“When it was 4th-and-5, I thought the field goal was the right approach to come out with points,” Franklin said. “Barker had been kicking really well all year long. You make that field goal, you’re in a much different situation moving forward with a chance to win the game.”

By the end of the third quarter, Penn State Still trailed 38-24. However, a Kaytron Allen touchdown two plays later cut the deficit to one score, but a failed two-point attempt set the Ducks’ cushion at eight points. On the next possession, Allar had a man grabbing onto his shirt as he fired one 14 yards between two defenders into the end zone on fourth down.

Penn State was within a score again and got the ball back with two minutes left. The Nittany Lions had a 2nd-and-1 and the two-minute timeout to talk the play over. The offense trotted back on the field and Allar fired one deep for Trey Wallace and Nikko Reed made a spectacular interception to end the game.

“The primary was Trey, trying to get the ball down the field,” Allar said. “I saw him hold and not get any depth and tried to give Trey a chance. I’ve got to do a better job of him or nobody. I’ve just got to see the leverage with the DB and give him more of a back shoulder, around the body where it’s going to be him or nobody and move on in the progression.”

Despite the loss, it was one of the better offensive games this season from Penn State. Allar scored four touchdowns, Warren led the receivers with seven catches for 84 yards, Allen and Nick Singleton combined for 229 yards on the ground, and the offensive line gave up one sack.

“Just trusting our line, you know, trusting the coaches to execute, calling the plays and executing it,” Singleton said. “The O-line did a good job making holes for us tight ends and just me and [Allen] just trusting our instincts and our speeds went really well.”

But against the No. 1 team in the country, the offense can’t afford to commit costly penalties and turnovers.

“I think more of it’s just understanding when you’re playing good teams like [Oregon], the mistakes have to come to a limit,” Warren said. “On offense, turning the ball over twice is something we can’t do in a game like that versus a team like that.”

However, Penn State’s season isn’t over. The Nittany Lions will likely remain a top-eight seed and host a playoff game in two weeks. But if Penn State loses again, its season is officially over.

“We got a lot of stuff to play for. We’re still in the playoffs,” Singleton said. “I don’t care if you’re home or away, we just gotta go out and play.”