Penn State Falls Short in Big Ten Title Game, Awaits Playoff Seed

The Nittany Lions fall to Oregon 45-37 in a tense Big Ten Championship Game that was entertaining and curiously called.

Oregon Ducks wide receiver Tez Johnson (15) runs for a gain during the fourth quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions in the 2024 Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. / Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

INDIANAPOLIS | Penn State turns toward the College Football Playoff on Sunday after running head first into Oregon's tactical-strike offense, which took apart its defense more than any team has since the 2016 Rose Bowl. Oregon receiver Tez Johnson caught 11 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown, quarterback Dillon Gabriel threw for four scores and the Ducks outlasted Penn State 45-37 in a wild 2024 Big Ten Championship Game.

Oregon (13-0) won the Big Ten title in its first conference season, securing the No. 1 overall seed in the College Football Playoff and a likely first-round bye to the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1. Meanwhile, Penn State (11-2) waits for its playoff fate when the selection committee releases the bracket at noon ET Sunday.

What might get Penn State the No. 5 seed in the playoffs was its offensive performance, which scored a season-high 37 points against the Ducks and rallied from a pair of 18-point deficits to get the game into striking range. However, Oregon won enough of the game's timeliest moments to score 45 points, the most against Penn State since USC scored 52 in the 2017 Rose Bowl.

Penn State sought to win its fifth Big Ten title and first since 2016. The Nittany Lions must settle for their first playoff berth, in which they can get coach James Franklin his 100th career win in 11 seasons with the program.

The breakdown from Indianapolis.

The turning point

Allar had Tyler Warren open across the middle on Penn State's first drive of the third quarter. But the quarterback, off his balance, couldn't connect with his tight end, who tried to make a juggling catch. Allar wanted a late hit on third down, which didn't arrive. And kicker Ryan Barker missed a 40-yard field goal, a frustrating second-half start for the Nittany Lions.

Oregon capitalized with Johnson. The Ducks' leading receiver scored the first third-quarter touchdown against Penn State all season, racing through zone coverage for a 48-yard score and a 38-24 lead. Instead of potentially tying the game to start the second half, Penn State quickly fell behind by 14.

Johnson was the best player on the field, averaging 16.5 yards per catch and totaling six plays of 16 yards or more.

An epic rushing day goes unrewarded

Penn State took advantage of Oregon in the run game, generating 292 yards, its highest total against a Big Ten opponent. The Nittany Lions averaged an astonishing 8.3 yards per attempt, both Kaytron Allen (124) and Nicholas Singleton (105) topped 100 yards and Drew Allar rushed for 54.

The little plays that cost Penn State

In a game that required precision, Penn State didn't win some key moments:

• On Penn State's first series, Singleton burst right on an outside zone and had a lane to the end zone. But he got his feet moving too fast, stumbled slightly and was brought down after a 41-yard gain. The Nittany Lions settled for a field goal.

• Oregon's first scoring drive included a missed tackle and facemask on the same play by Coziah Izzard. Ducks tight end Kenyon Sadiq scored the first of his two touchdowns, leaping over cornerback Jalen Kimber in the process.

• After Allar scored late in the second quarter to cut Oregon's lead to 4, Johnson turned two Penn State defenders inside out and got out of bounds after 25 yards. The Ducks ended the half with a field goal.

• Early in the fourth quarter, after a Kaytron Allen touchdown, Penn State called Tyler Warren's name on the reverse option throw. However, Warren got caught between decisions, run or throw to Drew Allar, and slipped.

• On Oregon's next possession, Penn State's Smith Vilbert stripped quarterback Dillon Gabriel of the ball. But Gabriel got the turf bounce and recovered.

• With 9 minutes left in the fourth, Oregon converted a hinge-moment 4th-and-2 through the air. Gabriel rifled a ball to 6-5 tight end Terrance Ferguson for the conversion.

• After a fourth-quarter defensive stop, Zion Tracy delicately waved his right arm to the side starting his return. Tracy got to the Oregon 45-yard line, but the play was brought back after Tracy was ruled for calling for a fair catch. More on the officiating in a bit.

• Allar had Trey Wallace in single coverage in the final 2 minutes, but Oregon's Nikko Reed made a brilliant play, going under Wallace for Oregon's second interception of the game. Reed got a hand on Wallace's collar, which went unnoticed, and slithered under Wallace's over-the-top attempt.

A bonkers first half

Penn State and Oregon tied a Big Ten championship game record with 55 first-half points. The Ducks scored more first-half points against the Nittany Lions than any team has in a game all year. And yet, Penn State outgained Oregon 283-254, largely because Oregon had a 1-yard scoring drive.

Oregon lit into Penn State in the first half, scoring touchdowns on its first three possessions, and four of its first five. The Nittany Lions felt a boot on their throat after Dontate Manning intercepted a lapsed throw by Allar and returned it to the 1-yard line, from where Oregon scored on the next play.

Yet Allar recalibrated Penn State's offense, and from his own gilded error, to guide a pair of nervy touchdown drives and cut the Nittany Lions' 18-point deficit to 14. The turning point of the first half came when receiver Omari Evans slipped behind the Oregon secondary for a 22-yard touchdown, the first of Penn State's consecutive scores. Allar capped the next series, which included Kaytron Allen's fourth-down conversion, with a rushing touchdown that gave the Nittany Lions life.

Allar's first half ran exceptionally hot and cold. He went 12-for-23 for 154 yards and two touchdowns but also gave up that interception, which Oregon turned into a touchdown one play later.

Penn State's defense, meanwhile, got a glimpse of real offensive speed. Oregon's receivers, notably Tez Johnson, ran and cut around the middle of Penn State's defense for 157 yards receiving. Meanwhile, Singleton had 116 first-half all-purpose yards, averaged 13.7 yards per carry on the ground and caught three passes for 34 yards.

After Penn State cut its deficit to 4 point late in the first half, Oregon shoved the Nittany Lions downfield, with Johnson darting around two defenders on a dazzing catch-and-run. But Abdul Carter prevented a touchdown with an assertive third-down stop, chasing down a short throwm after dropping into coverage. Oregon settled for a field goal, taking a 31-24 halftime lead.

A terrible first half of penalties

Penn State reset itself after an early season run of undisciplined penalties, but the trend re-emerged in the first half against Oregon and proved costly. Penn State committed five penalties for 65 yards, a list that included two unnecessary roughness penalties and two facemasks. Penn State stretched the penalties across the offense, defense and special teams, and each was a factor.

A facemask helped push Oregon to the Penn State 23-yard line on a scoring drive. Another facemask helped Oregon convert a fourth down. And an unnecessary roughness after a kickoff pressed an Oregon drive start to the 40-yard line.

But this was a difficult day for the Big Ten officials, who called this an incomplete pass in the fourth quarter.

James Franklin was not happy after this was ruled incomplete. pic.twitter.com/g1OJYeNrKy

— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) December 8, 2024

Up Next

Penn State will learn the details of its first playoff appearance during ESPN's selection show reveal, which begins at noon ET Sunday.

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