Tag: Penn State Nittany Lions

How Oregon Ducks can clinch a Big Ten title appearance, and who they might face

A deep dive into the scenarios for how the Oregon Ducks can clinch a spot in the Bit Ten Championship Game, and who they might face.

In their first year in the Big Ten Conference, the Oregon Ducks are leading the way as we near the end of the regular season. With a spot in Indianapolis for the Big Ten championship game up for grabs, Dan Lanning’s Ducks are in great position.

All they need to do is win on Saturday against the Wisconsin Badgers, and they’re in. With a 10-0 record and a 7-0 record in the Big Ten, the Ducks just need to go 1-1 over their next two games in order to clinch a spot in the conference title game.

Who they might face in Indianapolis, though, is a bit more complicated. Let’s run through the potential opponents.

Indiana Hoosiers (10-0, 7-0)

What a story the Hoosiers have been this year under Kurt Cignetti. With an undefeated record going into its bye week, Indiana is in a similar position to Oregon: Win and it’s in.

However, it gets a little bit more complicated because of who Indiana plays. The Hoosiers go on the road to Ohio State in Week 13 for one of the biggest games in program history. If they beat the Buckeyes, they clinch a spot in Indianapolis. However, if they lose, a potential tiebreaker scenario comes into play, assuming Ohio State beats the Michigan Wolverines. Indiana can beat Purdue, and both teams will finish 11-1 (8-1).

In that case, Ohio State would get in due to the head-to-head tiebreaker over Indiana.

Ohio State Buckeyes (8-1, 5-1)

At this point, it seems as if the Buckeyes are the best bet to meet Oregon in Indianapolis. All they need to do is beat Indiana — no small feat — and then beat Michigan in the final week of the season to secure a spot in the Big Ten championship game. Should they win both of those games, it would give them the same record as the Hoosiers — and the Penn State Nittany Lions, assuming they win their final three games of the year, more on that in a second — but hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Because of that, the game between the Buckeyes and Hoosiers in Week 13 is being viewed as a play-in game for the conference championship. Whoever wins is almost undoubtedly in, provided they take care of business the following week.

Penn State Nittany Lions (8-1, 5-1)

The Nittany Lions are the last team who technically have a shot at getting into the Big Ten championship game, though it is a long shot at this point. To get to Indianapolis, they need to win the three remaining games on their schedule — at Purdue, at Minnesota and vs. Maryland. They also need both Ohio State and Indiana to lose one of their two remaining games.

If the Nittany Lions finish with an 11-1 (8-1) record, they would lose in a tiebreaker to Ohio State. If Penn State tied with Indiana, they don’t have a head-to-head matchup, so it would fall to record vs. common opponents, which would get incredibly consuming. Thankfully for all of us, it is unlikely to happen, as well.

In Conclusion…

To sum up, the Ducks have a great chance to make it to the conference title game, assuming that they can win one of their next two games. They will most likely play either Indiana or Ohio State, and it will almost certainly be decided by who wins that game in Week 13.

Who are you putting your money on?

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Ohio State head coach Ryan Day Penn State postgame press conference

If you didn’t get a chance to watch it, Ryan Day was awfully pleased after the win at Penn State Saturday. Watch and hear what he had to say. #GoBucks

Well, if you are an Ohio State fan, another close victory over Penn State — the Buckeyes’ eighth straight in the series had to be sweet. For the Nittany Lions, it was like another punch in the gut for a team that just can’t seem to win the biggest of games.

At the end of the day, both teams still have plenty to play for with both having an overall record of 7-1 and 4-1 in the Big Ten, but with OSU now seeming to be in better shape with the head-to-head victory over James Franklin’s squad.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has had to be critiqued and judged for some recent shortcomings over the last few years, so going to State College and getting a massive win over the No. 3 team had to feel good.

In fact, Day met with the media after the 20-13 win on Saturday and it was hard to wipe the smile off his face and the glee that dripped from his comments and voice. If you missed any of his comments, we are able to repurpose them here thanks to the WBNS 10TV YouTube channel.

In it, Day discusses the toughness of quarterback Will Howard, the play of the defense, the importance of winning this game, and more.

Ohio State will now get back to practice and prepare for a reeling Purdue team at home. That seems like a bit of a breather, but the Buckeyes would would be ill-advised to take the Boilermakers lightly.

We’ll have coverage of that game as well leading up to it so come back often.

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WATCH: What Penn State head coach James Franklin said about Ohio State after the game

Watch and listen to what Penn State head coach James Franklin said about Ohio State after the game. #GoBucks

Ohio State went on the road to play No. 3 Penn State and got the job done, coming home with a 20-13 victory. It was a win the Buckeyes sorely needed to stay in the thick of the Big Ten and College Football Playoff race.

On the other sideline, the loss by the Nittany Lions was the eighth-straight to OSU and furthered the narrative that head coach James Franklin can’t beat Ohio State and can’t win the big one. Now, both teams sit at 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the league, tied for third place with just four games to play, and just one game out of first place, behind Oregon and Indiana.

After the game, Franklin met with the media in State College to basically face the firing squad of judgement after coming short again but was quick to credit Ohio State.

If you missed any of his comments, we have the entire press conference for your viewing pleasure thanks to Blue White Illustrated YouTube channel. Watch below as Franklin credits Ohio State, laments on losing big games, owns up to falling short again, and more.

After the big win, Ohio State will now focus on preparing to host a Purdue team that has derailed before leaving the station. Game time has yet to be determined but we’ll continue the coverage leading up to the contest this coming weekend.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.

Best photos of Ohio State football’s win over Penn State

Check out some of the best photos of Ohio State’s win over Penn State. #GoBucks

After hearing many doubts nationally and within its own media, the Ohio State football team traveled to Happy Valley and beat No. 3 Penn State 20-13, to run its record to 7-1 and keep all of its very lofty goals still in reach.

The Buckeyes wore their traditional away whites in State College and that always provides a great contrast against the backdrop of colors the home team in the middle of fall provides.

We like to share some of the  best high-resolution photos of the action with you after every Ohio State game and we had plenty of photos snapped that we’ve sifted through to add to our latest picture gallery.

Here are some of the best photos of Ohio State football’s victory over Penn State on Saturday afternoon.

James Franklin continues Penn State’s annual tradition of losing the biggest game of the year

Penn State fans can’t be happy with James Franklin’s team dropping another big game.

This was James Franklin’s moment. This was his chance to make a statement, to show his Penn State teams can beat the best of the best, to beat Ryan Day for the first time and Ohio State for the first time since 2016.

And yet, the Nittany Lions whiffed on their big opportunity, losing another big game. And fans, again, were clearly livid with Franklin — but they shouldn’t be too surprised with the unfortunate annual tradition.

Saturday during No. 4 Ohio State’s 20-13 road win against No. 3 Penn State, the Buckeyes had that seven-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, but the Nittany Lions were making moves. With less than seven minutes left in the game, Penn State was first-and-goal on the Buckeyes’ three-yard line.

Run play for no gain, run play for a one yard, another run for one yard. It was then fourth-and-goal on the one-yard line with a chance to tie the game (with a good extra point) with about five minutes left.

Penn State quarterback Drew Allar took the snap and dropped back to pass. But instead of looking to tight end Tyler Warren, who was covered by a single Buckeye while standing just shy of the goal line, Allar attempted a needle-threading throw to tight end Khalil Dinkins, who was in the end zone with three defenders surrounding him. The pass was incomplete, Penn State turned it over on downs and Ohio State ran out the clock to hold on for the victory.

With the loss, Franklin is now 1-10 against Ohio State, 13-27 against ranked opponents and 1-13 against AP top-5 teams as Penn State’s head coach. Franklin, who has been in Happy Valley since 2014, is also now 0-6 against Ohio State coach Ryan Day. Not great.

Unfortunately for Franklin and the Nittany Lions (and their fan base), this is par for the course. Losing a highly anticipated game and opportunity for a desperately needed signature win is peak mid-season Penn State under Franklin.

Penn State usually enters each college football season with a sizable amount of hype behind it. The Nittany Lions are usually considered Big Ten title and College Football Playoff contenders. But somewhere through their schedule, usually around Ohio State and/or Michigan, they drop a game or two and miss out on a shot at a conference title — and a shot at something bigger when the playoff was still limited to four teams.

A seven-point loss to Ohio State won’t wreck Penn State’s season, and a loss that close to a top-5 team shouldn’t drop it too far in the rankings after previously being undefeated. And with a 12-team College Football Playoff, there’s still a solid chance the Nittany Lions will make it.

Maybe a win or two in the playoff would make regular-season losses more digestible for Penn State fans. Maybe a back-door route to the Big Ten championship game — and a win — would make regularly losing to Ohio State more tolerable. Or maybe fans are getting really tired of Franklin’s talented teams coming up short in big game after big game, season after season.

Penn State probably isn’t ready yet to fork over Franklin’s $56,666,667 buyout to fire him, even if angry fans call for his job. But coming up short in big-time regular-season games has to be getting old.

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James Franklin gets into it with heckling fan after Penn State loss

James Franklin confronted a heckling fan after the Penn State loss

Ohio State defeated Penn State to turn Happy Valley into Unhappy Valley on Saturday.

As Nittany Lions coach James Franklin walked off the field a fan was heckling the head coach.

Franklin responded, saying: “If you’re man enough to talk, what’s your name?”

The fan decided discretion was better and turned and walked away.

Franklin took in the fans chanting “Let’s Go Bucks” and then was booed during the Penn State alma mater.

How much is Penn State coach James Franklin’s buyout in 2024?

If Penn State ever decided to fire James Franklin, it wouldn’t be cheap.

There’s a ton of money floating around college football, and head coaches make a lot with monster contracts that deliver them millions of dollars. Sometimes, college football coaches are even the highest-paid public employees in their respective states.

With their huge contracts also come very large buyouts — the money a school would owe the coach if it decided to fire him without cause. And it can sometimes be enough money to force a school to ride it out a little longer, rather than cough up several million dollars.

So how much would Penn State have to pay James Franklin if the Nittany Lions ever decided to fire their head coach?

Franklin — who has been the Nittany Lions’ head coach since 2014 — has the sixth-largest buyout among college football coaches as of 2024, according to USA TODAY Sports’ database of salaries and contracts. As of December 1, 2024, Franklin’s buyout is $56,666,667.

That’s definitely not the largest — Georgia’s Kirby Smart has the biggest buyout at $118,083,333 — but still a huge chunk of change if Penn State ever decided to fire Franklin.

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Watch Davison Igbinosun with the unreal interception to keep Ohio State up at halftime

Unbelievable! #GoBucks

What a half of football and unbelievable swings in momentum as Ohio State battles Penn State. After falling to a 10-point deficit early in the game, Ohio State didn’t panic and just kept fighting. The Buckeyes rattled off 14 unanswered points and were on their way to taking a 21-10 lead before Will Howard fumbled the ball out of the endzone.

Fast forward to less than a minute in the half, and the Nittany Lions are driving, looking for the score before halftime. Davison Igbinosun had something to say about that. After a nice scramble from Drew Allar, the Penn State quarterback tried to hit a Nittany Lion receiver in the corner of the endzone. Initially, the pass was ruled incomplete. However, Igbinosun would emerge with the ball in hand.

After an extensive review, replay would show that the OSU cornerback caught the ball off the receiver miscue and would get one foot down, completing the interception. It was a huge play for the Buckeyes, who would close out the half with a kneel-down and will receive the ball to start the second half. Check out the unreal score-saving pick below.

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Replay review nullifies Ohio State touchdown at Penn State

Replay review negates an Ohio State touchdown

Ohio State thought it had a 20-10 lead over Penn State in the second quarter on Saturday at Happy Valley.

Will Howard appeared to cross the goal like for what looked like the Buckeyes’ third straight touchdown.

The officials signaled touchdown. However, further review saw that Howard fumbled the football on the play.

It was up to the replay booth to make the final determination.

The decision worked in Penn State’s favor as it was ruled Howard fumbled the football in the field of play and it flew over the pylon and out of the end zone.

Instead of an Ohio State score, Penn State had the ball on a touchback trailing 14-10.

Pat McAfee trolls Big Noon Kickoff’s Penn State broadcast boycott on College GameDay

“This game is not at night, this is a big noon kickoff.”

In case you missed it, Penn State fans have been pretty irate this week over the fact the No. 3 Nittany Lions are hosting No. 4 Ohio State at noon on Saturday instead of in prime time.

Fans were hoping the matchup of the year in the Big Ten could be played under the lights — and in an official Penn State white out game — but with Fox owning the broadcast rights to the game, the network opted for the more ratings-friendly noon kickoff.

The response on campus was to sell anti-Big Noon Kickoff shirts and attempt a boycott of Fox’s signature college football show each Saturday morning.

But with both Big Noon Kickoff and ESPN’s College GameDay at Penn State on Saturday, it was pretty much a guarantee Pat McAfee would get off a few jokes at the expense of his show’s top competitor.

Barely 10 minutes into the broadcast, McAfee couldn’t help himself.

“This game is not at night, this is a big noon kickoff.” McAfee trolled. “…That’s on them, not on us!”

For what it’s worth, it doesn’t appear the Penn State boycott of Big Noon Kickoff was too successful, but the fans in Happy Valley won’t forget what the network did to them any time soon.

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