Oregon Has Something to Prove — Penn State Has Everything to Prove

For the casual college football fan, Saturday brings a top-10 rematch between two teams still defined by what happened in last year’s Big Ten title game.

Oregon used that 45-37 victory to lock up the No. 1 seed heading into the 2024 postseason. For Penn State, it was a long-awaited shot at a conference title without Ohio State or Michigan in the way — and they let it slip.

This year’s showdown features two of the sport’s premier quarterbacks and has plenty of playoff implications once again.

Oregon’s Dante Moore is off to a sharp start, averaging 262.3 passing yards per game with an 11-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He’s supported by a backfield that’s averaging a staggering 9.1 yards per carry and 255.3 rushing yards per game.

Penn State’s Drew Allar lit up Oregon’s defense for 280 total yards and four touchdowns (with two picks) in last year’s title game. He returns alongside 12 other starters who know what it’s like to reach the postseason — and what it feels like to see a shot at a national title disappear on a single play. They’re hardened by sorrow. Powered by it. Fueled by a six-month fight to take the crown.

Drew Allar #15 of the Penn State Nittany Lions smiles during an interview after a game against FIU. (Photo by Isaiah Vazquez/Getty Images)

The Nittany Lions are showing their teeth early this season, averaging 44 points per game and outscoring their first three opponents, 132-17. They are 22–0 against unranked teams with Allar at quarterback, but unranked teams aren’t the ones standing between them and a national title. And make no mistake, that’s the goal.

This class — or litter — of Nittany Lions seek their first successful hunt: a big-time win against an opponent in their weight class. The Ducks are their first real shot this season.

Yes, this is Oregon’s first road game against a ranked opponent in 2024. But Penn State is battling more than just the Ducks. They’re fighting their own history.

• Penn State is 4-20 against top 10 opponents under James Franklin.
• Penn State hasn’t beaten a Power 4 top-10 opponent in 996 days (Jan. 2, 2023, Utah).
• Penn State has gone 3,217 days since its last win vs a top 10 Big Ten team (Dec. 3, 2016 vs Wisconsin).

If you’ve got the number 1-to-10 next to your name on a score bug, you’re likely to beat James Franklin at Penn State. That’s a tough reality for the Nittany Lions, who haven’t won a national title in the 21st century — just like their Saturday opponent, Oregon.

The Ducks have come close, reaching the 2015 national championship game before falling to Ohio State. And last year, they were decisively beaten in the Rose Bowl.

Head coach Dan Lanning of the Oregon Ducks speaks to this team during the second quarter against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the Rose Bowl Game. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Oregon’s offensive coordinator, Will Stein, said he couldn’t find a single play that allowed his team to run the ball forward in last year’s Rose Bowl game. The Ducks finished with minus-23 yards rushing, and fans watched in disbelief as Oregon fell behind Ohio State 34-0 in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, Penn State’s James Franklin surely took note, not just of what Ohio State did to Oregon, but what that Buckeyes’ defensive coordinator could bring to his own program.

Jim Knowles was the best playcaller in the country last year. He should’ve won the Broyles Award, given to the nation’s top assistant coach, after fielding a defense that ranked No. 1 in scoring defense (12.9 points per game) and looked as impenetrable as the Sphinx rhyming riddles. After losing Tom Allen to Clemson, Franklin and Penn State made Knowles the highest-paid assistant coach in the country, not just for what he did last year, but for what he’s expected to do this season: win games like this one.

Penn State wins games like this one against Oregon because that’s been its identity — and in the past, it also lost games like this for the very same reason. But I’m told this team isn’t that team. I’m told this team has been cooking in the lab, drinking gasoline like it’s water, sweating vinegar, chewing nails, making thunderclaps with every step and calling down lightning like Mjolnir is swinging in its right hand. Just look at the AP poll, where Penn State checks in at No. 3 this week. It’s clear this team isn’t like any other we’ve seen or heard about in State College.

OK, Penn State. Finish the magic trick. I’ve seen the pledge. I’ve seen the turn. Show me the prestige.

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him @RJ_Young.

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