Anyone who is a Pittsburgh Pirates fan likely remembers the late, great Stan Savran's postgame commentary on Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS. After the Pirates suffered a heartbreaking, walk-off loss against the Atlanta Braves Savran said that this one hurts and it will hurt for a long time. Penn State's heartbreaking 27-24 loss against Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff semi-final at the Orange Bowl is a similar loss. It is one that hurts, and will hurt for a long time.
The Nittany Lions had every opportunity to defeat the Fighting Irish on Thursday night and advance to the National Championship Game for the first time since the 1987 Fiesta Bowl. Penn State probably should have been ahead by double digits at halftime, but only led 10-3. Despite Notre Dame controlling most of the 3rd quarter, the Nittany Lions rallied and found themselves leading 24-17 with 7:55 remaining in the game. They also took over with :47 seconds left with an opportunity to drive into position for a game winning field goal.
However, too many mistakes were made. Their most important player struggled in the biggest moment of the season. It all culminated in probably Penn State's most heartbreaking loss since the 1999 Minnesota game.
It may not be easy to read right now and could be a struggle to take in right now, but it's time for day after thoughts. Let's dive into the day after thoughts from Penn State's heartbreaking 27-24 loss against Notre Dame with a trip to the National Championship on the line.
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Wide receivers finish a miserable season by going out without a whimper
All season long Penn State's biggest problem was the wide receiver room. It burned them in their loss against Ohio State, and there was always the fear the group would cost them in the College Football Playoff.
Well, that is exactly what happened in the Orange Bowl.
By my count, Nittany Lion wide receivers finished the game with just four targets, two each for Trey Wallace and Omari Evans, and zero receptions. The fact the box score will show Wallace with zero receptions but -3 receiving yards due to the lateral play to end the game is a fitting close to the season for this wide receiver room.
Fixing the wide receiver room needs to be toward the top of the priority list for Penn State this offseason. Adding Kyron Hudson and Devonte Ross in the transfer portal is a good start, but, ultimately, improvement needs to come from within. If they return, Wallace and Evans both need to improve. Younger receivers such as Tyseer Denmark and Peter Gonzalez need to emerge. It's also fair to wonder if Marques Hagans should continue as the team's wide receiver coach.
Drew Allar played his worst game of the season
After making some salivating throws against Boise State only to be letdown by his wide receivers, Drew Allar put together the worst game of his season in the Orange Bowl. Yes, Penn State's wide receivers were bad and failed to get any sort of separation throughout the night, but Allar missed plenty of opportunities.
While many will point to him attempting to force a ball to Evans in the final minute resulting in a Notre Dame interception that set up the game winning field goal, that was not the worst throw of the night for Allar. When Penn State took a 3-0 lead in the 2nd quarter, that drive should have ended in a touchdown. Nicholas Singleton will be the first person to tell you he should have caught Allar's 3rd down pass that would have resulted in a walk in touchdown, but it was a poor throw. If Allar leads Singleton, or even hits him in the chest, instead of throwing the ball behind him, Singleton easily walks into the end zone and the Nittany Lions go up 7-0 instead of 3-0. In a 3 point loss, that one looms large.
Allar also over threw a wide open Singleton for what would have been a 90-yard touchdown on a wheel route in the 2nd quarter. This throw will also likely get overlooked since Penn State still scored a touchdown that drive, but hitting that throw still could have been a game changing play in many ways.
We said after the Boise State game that Allar's film and box score would not match. Well, this game film and box score will match, Allar finished the game 12/23 for 135 yards and an interception. His footwork and mechanics were woeful throughout the night and he never could get into any sort of a rhythm. This performance is one that will likely haunt Allar throughout the offseason.
Abdul Carter should be no. 1 on NFL Draft boards
The game Abdul Carter played against Notre Dame deserves to go down as one of the most impressive in recent Penn State history. Despite playing with essentially one arm, Carter played the majority of the snaps for Penn State's defense and was completely dominant.
Carter finished the game with 5 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, a sack, and a pass breakup. He also had another sack negated by a penalty on Zane Durant. Overall, the stats do not tell the story. Notre Dame could not block Carter without holding him, which once again was never flagged, he was disruptive, and by far the best player on the field.
In a game Carter easily could have sat out due to the shoulder injury, he still played in an effort to help his team reach the National Championship Game. He then proceeded to play a dominant game with just one arm. If I were in the Tennessee Titan front office, Carter would undoubtedly be my pick in April.
One last tip of the cap to Carter who will go down as one of the best defensive players in Penn State history.
A game of 3rd downs
The ability of an offense to convert on 3rd down, and a defense to get off the field, can often times decide a football game. In the Orange Bowl, Notre Dame was much more effective on 3rd down and that played a big role in the Irish victory.
Notre Dame finished the game 11/17 on 3rd down. Any team will take a 65% success rate on 3rd down conversations, especially against a defense like Penn State. As for the Nittany Lions, despite being one of the best 3rd down teams in the country this season they were a woeful 3/11. Even if you lump in the Nittany Lions converting both of their 4th down attempts, that's still just a 38% conversion rate. Not good enough.
Two tough luck defensive plays
Quite possibly the two biggest defensive plays of the game were two plays in which Penn State flat out got unlucky. Right before halftime, Dan Dennis-Sutton, who had another tremendous game, had a strip sack of Notre Dame quarterback Steve Angeli. I still do not know how neither Dvon J-Thomas nor Abdul Carter recovered the ball. Had the Nittany Liosn recovered this fumble, instead of the game being 10-3 at halftime it would have been at least 10-0, if not 13 or 17-0. That could have been a game changing play.
After Penn State took a 24-17 lead with less than 8 minutes go, Notre Dame tied the game on a 54-yard touchdown pass to Jaden Greathouse. On this play, Penn State cornerback Cam Miller slipped and fell when he went to turn and run in coverage. If Miller does not fall down, odds are the play does not result in a 54-yard touchdown pass to Greathouse. If that play does not occur, the Nittany Lion defense may have forced a stop that series and given the offense a chance to run the clock out to win the game.
Tough luck on both plays.
This loss was not due to coaching
Every and any head coach will tell you everything that happens to their team falls at his feet. We all know the narrative of James Franklin in big games at this point, but to blame this loss on coaching is just not accurate.
The coaching staff had good game plans across the board. Franklin had his team ready to go. He handle the clock and 4th down decisions just fine. Ultimately, when your quarterback struggles the way Allar did it's hard to win the game.
No matter what anyone wants to say or believe, James Franklin is a great football coach. He had his team on the doorstep of reaching the National Championship Game and they came up 3 points short.
There was growth from Franklin as a coach this season. He was more aggressive with 4th down decisions, which had long been one of his biggest flaws as a coach. His clock management improved as well. Penn State is still lucky to have Franklin in charge.
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