Penn State saw its quest for greatness denied on Saturday night, falling to No. 1 Oregon 45-37 in the Big Ten Championship Game. The Nittany Lions were looking for their first Big Ten Championship since 2016, but were turned back by the conference newcomer in Lucas Oil Stadium.
The ground game of Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton kept the Nittany Lions in the game, as that tandem combined for 229 yards on 24 carries, accounting for most of Penn State's 292 rushing yards on the day. It was the most for the Nittany Lions since the 309 yards against Kent State.
Drew Allar also showed up, despite being more inaccurate that we've seen him this season. The Nittany Lions' junior signal caller finished with a mark of 20-39 for 226 yards, and had three total touchdowns in the first half, but two interceptions were too much to overcome.
It was the offensive attack of the Ducks that proved to be the crushing blow to Penn State's Big Ten title hopes on Saturday night, particularly quarterback Dillon Gabriel and wide receiver Tez Johnson. Gabriel threw for 283 yards and four touchdowns, while Johnson accounted for 181 yards of that, as well as being one of three Oregon pass catchers with a touchdown.
The Ducks became the first team since Ole Miss last season to put up 450 yards or more on Penn State. Oregon also eclipsed the 45-point threshold, which hadn't been done against the Nittany Lions since 2017, when USC scored 52 in the Rose Bowl that season.
Despite the defeat, Penn State now heads into College Football Playoff selection Sunday in position to extend its season and compete for a national championship beginning in just a couple of weeks. James Franklin and company will await their seeding and matchup for that quest.
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Oregon got off to a blazing fast start in Indianapolis. The Ducks used a run heavy approach on the game's opening drive to methodically move down the field before Dillon Gabriel began to strike. After getting inside the Penn State 30-yard line, Gabriel connected with Kenyon Sadiq for a 28-yard touchdown catch and throw, taking an early 7-0 lead, at the 10:40 mark of the first quarter.
It was Oregon's eighth game opening touchdown drive this season, the most in all of college football.
Penn State looked poised to respond with a touchdown of its own on the subsequent drive, quickly moving into Oregon territory thanks to a 41-yard burst by Nicholas Singleton. After the big run, the Nittany Lions went three-and-out, being forced to settle for a field goal attempt. Ryan Barker sank the 33 yarder to make it a 7-3 Oregon lead at the halfway point of the first quarter.
The Penn State defense was unable to utilize the break to settle in, however, as the Ducks kept their foot on the gas with their second drive. Noah Whittington got the party started with a 26-yard scamper, setting up Oregon on the plus side of the field.
The Nittany Lions had an opportunity to get off the field on a fourth down and one, but a face mask on Tony Rojas extended the drive for the Ducks, putting them inside the Penn State 25-yard line. After moving it inside the five, Gabriel found Sadiq for their second touchdown connection of the night, this time from two yards out.
A second score on as many drives handed Oregon a 14-3 advantage, putting Penn State in a hole early.
Good thing for the Nittany Lions, they have Drew Allar. The junior signal caller came up big when Penn State needed a response. Allar was 4-6 for 79 yards on the drive, with all four completions going for 13 or more yards. The connection that loomed large was a 16-yarder to Trey Wallace while facing a 3rd and 15 situation. Allar then connected with Tyler Warren and Nicholas Singleton on consecutive plays, the second of which was a 22-yard touchdown to Singleton.
That response made it a 14-10 Oregon lead, with less than two minutes left in the opening frame.
Oregon continued its offensive firepower into the second quarter, proving to be too much for Penn State's shaken defense. The Ducks marched down the field for a third straight drive, thanks to 24 and 31 yard strikes to Tez Johnson. Gabriel then found another tight end on third and goal, Terrance Ferguson, for his third touchdown toss of the first half.
Ferguson's touchdown extended Oregon's lead to 21-10 early in the second quarter.
After a three-and-out by the Penn State offense, largely due to an unnecessary roughness call on Olaivavega Ioane, Tom Allen's unit was able to stop the bleeding. The Nittany Lions forced its first punt of the day, one that was much needed after Oregon scored on its prior three possessions.
It was then Drew Allar's turn to fight through adversity. Allar threw a pass behind Khalil Dinkins, getting picked off by Dontae Manning and returned to the one-yard line. It was Allar's first interception since November 2nd against Ohio State and handed Oregon another touchdown.
Jordan James punched it in from a yard out to give the Ducks a 28-10 lead with 10:05 left in the first half.
Allar and the Nittany Lions were then able to bounce back behind the run game, as Kaytron Allen scampered for 24 yards, followed by Singleton for 17 yards, putting Penn State inside the Oregon 25-yard line. Allar then capped off the drive by finding a wide open Omari Evans in the end zone to begin clawing the Nittany Lions back into the game.
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Following another stop by the Penn State defense, The ground game led to another Nittany Lion score. The trio of Singleton, Allar and Allen rushed for 42 yards on the drive, capped off by a seven-yard touchdown rush by Allar, who powered his way into the end zone. Allar's third total touchdown of the day cut the deficit to just four with 1:53 left in the first half.
It was just a little too much time for Dillon Gabriel and the Ducks, however, who went down the field and extended the lead back to seven with an Atticus Sappington field goal from 32-yards out. The late chip shot gave Oregon a 31-24 lead heading into halftime.
Penn State got the kickoff out of halftime with an opportunity to make a brand new ball game in Indianapolis. Kaytron Allen galloped for 22 yards and Tyler Warren had a 14-yard reception to put the Nittany Lions inside the Oregon 30-yard line. Allar and company were unable to extend the drive, however, and were forced to settle for a field goal attempt.
Ryan Barker, who has been steady all season, hooked his kick right for just his third missed field goal of the season, this from 40 yards.
Oregon quickly took advantage of the special teams miscue. It took just five plays for the Ducks to add to their total, as Gabriel hit Tez Johnson for a 48-yard catch, run and touchdown. The connection was Gabriel's fourth touchdown pass of the night and extended the lead back to 14 points, making it a 38-24 Oregon lead halfway through the third quarter.
After both teams had drives stall out near midfield, the Nittany Lions showed some life offensively.
Penn State was pinned inside its own five-yard line but Oregon's Derrick Harmon was called for illegal hands to the face, which gave Allar and the offense come breathing room. Kaytron Allen then ran it on three straight plays, picking up 32 yards on the first and 26 yards on the last to powered Penn State into the red zone at the end of the third quarter.
Beau Pribula scampered for 16 yards to give Allen a breather before the thundering running back re-entered the game and punched it in from a yard out. Allen's touchdown cut the deficit to eight, but a failed two-point conversion kept it a 38-30 game in favor of the Ducks.
The Ducks then began imposing their will down the stretch, storming down the field en route to another scoring drive, which proved to be the final nail in the coffin. Gabriel came up clutch on two occasions for Oregon, connecting with Tez Johnson to convert on 3rd and six, then finding Terrance Ferguson for a 20-yard gain on 4th and two. Those conversions helped extend the drive, which was capped off by Jordan James, giving the Ducks a 45-30 lead with 7:28 to play.
The Nittany Lions had another charge in them, though, mounting a 13-play, 75-yard drive to get back within one score of the Ducks. Drew Allar was the focal point of the Penn State offense during the drive, accounting for all 75 yards, between 35 rushing yards and 40 passing yards, including a gutsy touchdown pass to Trey Wallace of fourth and 10 from the 14-yard line. Wallace came down with the contested catch to make it a 45-37 game with 3:41 left in the fourth quarter.
A three-and-out gave Penn State the ball back with a chance to tie and potentially force overtime, but another rare Drew Allar mistake sunk those chances. Allar aired it out looking for Trey Wallace along the sidelines, but the 50/50 ball was intercepted by Nikko Reed to hand the ball back to the Ducks. That allowed Oregon to run out the clock and clinch its first Big Ten title in its first year in the conference.
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