The 2024 Penn State Football Season Comes to a Sad End

Last night was heartbreaking. That was the first time in a long time that a sports moment brought me to tears. I think I would be happier if Notre Dame had blown out the Nittany Lions, at least then I could just go “eh, maybe we were not that good.” But, no, this stings. This was a winnable game. Hell, it should have been a dominant win. A few different plays going a different way, and the Nittany Lions are playing for the National Championship. Instead, I had to watch Notre Dame kick a field goal to take the lead with a few seconds left in the game. 

I am proud of this team. They exceeded my expectations (and probably most fans). I had them making the playoffs, but I figured as like an 8th or 9th seed. Instead, they would have made the four-team playoff this year. I do not think enough fans have thought about that this year (although, the committee may have ranked things differently if they were going with the top four–but whatever, the final ranking had them at #4, so that is where they are). I absolutely loved watching this team play this year, even when they were frustrating me. I loved the crazy plays from Tyler Warren, or the dominant running of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. I loved watching the defense, especially Abdul Carter, but also guys like Zane Durant and Dani Dennis-Sutton. Drew Allar has grown as a quarterback, and even though he was not great last night, he still had a good season, and I am excited that he is coming back next year. 

It was a sad ending to the season, but I truly believe this could be the beginning of Penn State entering the next level. For years, I have felt they are just a step-down from that top tier of teams, and this season they seemed to be in that top tier, and if they are ever going to win a national championship, they must be at that level for more than just a season. 

Okay, so here are some of my random thoughts about the game…

-The interception sucked. It is hard not to be pissed at Drew Allar for such a terrible throw. And yet, fans have screamed at him for two years about always playing it too safe, for throwing the ball away, and not trying to make something happen. This was not the time to try it, but you can see why he would attempt it. 

-Full credit to Notre Dame for correcting their game plan at halftime. But I wonder how much of that had to do with two linemen falling on Abdul Carter’s injured shoulder (it definitely looked like a cheap shot, the second lineman seems to be past Carter, then turns around and falls on him). Also, Carter held practically every play. There was a play where the lineman is holding him back from Riley Leonard from behind with his arm around his neck, and the refs did not call it. There was another blatant hands to the face that was not called. 

-The wide receivers did not have a catch. It is crazy that a team made it this far with receivers that are this bad. Especially when you see the refs were allowing more physical coverage, which the Penn State receivers are not good enough to overcome. 

-The offensive line was pushing their way down the field. The Nittany Lions should have just kept running the ball down their throat. Especially early, the second drive (I think it was that drive), they tried two pass plays after running for five yards on first down, they then had to punt. I think if they keep running the ball, they get more points, then the pass game would have opened up more when Notre Dame starts to stack the box. It also did not help that Drew looked bad in the first half (he settled down in the second half, and played well during those drives in the fourth quarter before the interception). 

-It is hard to blame James Franklin for this loss. I know fans will scream that he needs to be fired because he cannot beat top teams, but honestly, his game plan was good. His team came out ready to play, and they were winning. I think the Riley Leonard injury at the end of the half actually hurt them. The defense was prepared for Leonard, but Angeli came in and totally threw a monkey wrench into the defensive plan. That is why coordinators love to have a backup QB who is a totally different style from the starter (either have a clone, and just run the same plays, or a totally different style and throw off the defense). There were no calls during the game that pissed me off. He was not overly conservative in the big moment, nor was he coaching like a crazy person (I still think going for it during the SMU game was insane, but it worked out well since they did not get it, but the defense made a huge play).

Thank you for a fun season! WE ARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!