No. 3 Penn State still sees a path to the postseason despite another tough loss to Ohio State

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — James Franklin doesn't want his players to dwell on a loss that might not be as costly as it was a year ago.

This will be tough for the Penn State players who lost theirs Eighth in a row against Ohio State 20:13 on Saturday, this one in front of the largest crowd in Beaver Stadium history.

“The reality of college football is that there is still everything ahead of us,” Franklin said. “And we have to do a great job of corrections and cleaning up the things that were unforced errors today. And then we have to find a way to win at home next week.”

Franklin, who is 1-10 against the No. 4 Buckeyes, was booed as he walked through the stadium tunnel behind his players, who trickled into the No. 3 Nittany Lions' locker room. Many stared directly at their football boots. Others consoled each other after another one-possession loss in a one-sided contest that has been lopsided for nearly a decade.

The ultimate consolation? A loss to Ohio State doesn't necessarily mean Penn State's postseason prospects will be doomed, as the College Football Playoff has now expanded from four to 12 teams.

The Nittany Lions (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) host Washington on Saturday. They travel to Purdue and Minnesota before hosting Maryland in the season finale on November 30th.

“We talked about how we can't let one turn into two and then three,” quarterback Drew Allar said. “We must make amends for the wrongs we committed today. Offensively, we won’t point fingers. It’s not one person who ruined the game for us.”

They couldn't – and haven't – found a way to get past Ohio State, despite holding their own against their border-state rival for most of the last eight meetings.

Since Penn State's last win over Ohio State in 2016, the Buckeyes have won every game by an average of 7.8 points.

This replay in front of 111,030 fans was no different. The Buckeyes led 14-10 at halftime, forced two turnovers, made the most of five Penn State penalties and controlled the ball at the end.

Meanwhile, Andy Kotelnicki's offense, which had been so explosive and unpredictable all season, failed early and often. The Nittany Lions converted just three of 11 third downs and failed to score a touchdown for the first time this year.

A disastrous sequence on their final possession resulted in the Nittany Lions running three straight runs up the middle before Allar threw an incomplete throw to tight end Khalil Dinkins with 5:13 to play.

They wouldn't get the ball back.

“It comes down to the little things that caught up with us today,” Allar said. “Playing behind the posts is something we don’t want to do against a talented team and obviously a good defensive coordinator.”

Over the last two seasons, Penn State is just 4-for-27 on third down against Ohio State and has managed just one offensive touchdown.

Running back Nick Singleton, who has experienced the last three losses to Ohio State, was speechless after running for just 15 yards. He sat in the media room after the game and pulled his shirt over his mouth.

“Everyone’s upset,” Singleton said after a long sigh. “We felt like we weren’t finished yet. We just gotta finish, man.”

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