Folks, the entire Penn State community is in pain this week as James Franklin, Drew Allar, and the Nittany Lions have lost yet another top-10 matchup, this time at home during the most anticipated White Out in recent memory.

Despite a fourth-quarter comeback forcing two overtimes, the Nittany Lions fell 30-24 after yet another game-sealing interception from Allar.

Fans have taken to all forms of social media to claim all sorts of crazy things about Penn State. ESPN also released its new odds to make the playoffs, putting Penn State at 23%, behind teams like Michigan, Memphis, and BYU.

The question is, with under a 1/4 chance of making the playoffs and two more top-ten matchups looming, is the season over?

No.

Look, college football has changed. You can make the playoffs with two, maybe even three, regular-season losses.

“I don’t think a lot of people, including our players, recognize college football has changed,” Franklin said on Monday. “It’s much more of an NFL model now in terms of records, in terms of the season, and how it goes in the playoffs.”

Just look at the 2024 national champions, Ohio State. The Buckeyes lost two Big Ten games last season against Oregon and Michigan, and did not make the conference Championship. In fact, Ohio State might not have won that trophy without its losses. The team completely changed its energy after falling to its archrivals and dominated every game in the playoffs because of it.

Penn State’s defensive coordinator was on that Buckeyes team and talked to the defense about how to use a loss to their advantage. Franklin said he plans on Knowles talking to the entire roster and staff later this week about the same thing.

Another thing that will help is the culture of the program. Regardless of whether you like Franklin’s play calling, you can’t deny he has built a strong culture in the Nittany Lions locker room.

“I think it’s human nature to point in another direction,” Franklin said. “I think you have to be careful. You’ve got friends and family trying to protect you, and they do the same thing. If you’re not careful, that’s where your locker room can get divided.”

Following the loss to Oregon, players rallied around Allar despite a game-losing interception in double overtime. A positive sign for the player’s mindset moving forward.

“Obviously, we didn’t get the outcome we wanted, but Drew is an amazing quarterback and an amazing person, so we all just rallied behind him,” Devonte Ross, who scored two touchdowns against the Ducks, said after the game. “We just got to go back to work tomorrow and get better.”

Franklin shared a similar sentiment, taking full blame for yet another big game loss as the head coach of Penn State.

“I take ownership and I take responsibility at the end of the day,” Franklin said. “I wanted that for those kids in that locker room, how hard they work, how much they sacrifice.”

With all of that being said, something has to change for the Nittany Lions if the goal is still to compete for the national championship. No offense that records 69 yards in a half can win a big game, especially against an explosive offense like Oregon that is bound to break out at some point.

While at the start of the year, it was just assumed the Nittany Lions were just holding back the play calling because of weaker opponents, after a game against now No. 2 Oregon, it’s clear that was not the case.

“I think things can change quickly, right?” Franklin said. “There is the opportunity for that ah-ha moment when things just start to roll.”

“A guy makes a big play, and then the confidence and that momentum just takes over. But that’s not always the case. Sometimes it’s a grind and you’re going to grind this thing out and find ways to get ugly wins.”

Penn State’s bygones with the big game also have to disappear. While the game against Oregon was the best shot the Nittany Lions had in years to do this, they will now have to get it done on the road or later in the season.

After Saturday’s loss, Franklin moved to 4-21 in games against AP top-10 teams, tied for the third-worst record by a coach at a single school since the poll era began in 1936, per ESPN.

“I get that narrative, and it’s really not a narrative; it’s factual. It’s the facts,” Franklin said. “I try to look at the entire picture and what we’ve been able to do here. But at the end of the day, we got to find a way to win those games.”

To win a ranked game, Allar is going to have to be better as well. The signal caller has moments of greatness in every game. It seems that every touchdown pass he throws is elite. Where he has struggled is at the end of games and staying consistent.

The last three losses for the Nittany Lions have come at the hands of an interception from Allar. First against Oregon in a 45-37 loss in the Big Ten Championship, then a 27-24 loss to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, and most recently in a 30-24 loss to Oregon in the White Out.

As a third-year starter, it is on Allar to figure out what the issue is and fix it. Something he seems willing to do.

“Obviously, it hurts,” Allar said after the White Out loss. “We had our opportunities, but it’s a long season ahead of us. We’re going to have more opportunities to fix this, and I’ll be the first one to go into the fire.”