Penn State head coach James Franklin addressed the media after the Nittany Lions’ 38-24 loss to Oregon in the Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday. Franklin’s team put up a good fight, but ultimately came up short against the top-ranked Ducks.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Franklin said. “I thought we fought hard, but we just didn’t make enough plays when it mattered most. Oregon is a great team, and they made the plays they needed to make to win the game.”
Franklin praised Oregon’s offense, which was led by quarterback Bo Nix. Nix threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 46 yards.
“Their quarterback is a really good player,” Franklin said. “He made some plays with his legs, and he made some plays with his arm. He’s a tough guy to defend.”
Penn State’s offense struggled to get going in the first half, but came alive in the second half. Quarterback Drew Allar threw for 223 yards and two touchdowns, and running back Nicholas Singleton rushed for 92 yards.
“I thought we did some good things on offense in the second half,” Franklin said. “We just couldn’t sustain it. We had some penalties, and we had some drops. We just didn’t make enough plays.”
Franklin also praised his team’s defense, which held Oregon to just 10 points in the second half.
“I thought our defense played well,” Franklin said. “They fought hard, and they made some plays. We just couldn’t get off the field on third down.”
Despite the loss, Franklin is proud of his team’s season. The Nittany Lions finished with a 10-2 record, and will likely play in a New Year’s Six bowl game.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Franklin said. “We had a great season, and we have a lot to be proud of. We just came up short tonight.”
Franklin also praised his team’s fans, who traveled to Indianapolis to support the Nittany Lions.
“I want to thank our fans,” Franklin said. “They were great tonight. They traveled well, and they were loud. We appreciate their support.”
Penn State’s loss to Oregon marks the end of the regular season. The Nittany Lions will now wait to see which bowl game they will play in.
“We’ll see what happens next,” Franklin said. “We’ll go back to work, and we’ll get ready for our next game.”
Franklin also reflected on the season as a whole, and what his team could have done differently.
“I think we had a great season,” Franklin said. “We just came up short in a couple of games. We’ll go back and look at the film, and we’ll see what we could have done differently.”
Overall, Franklin is proud of his team’s season, and is looking forward to the future.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Franklin said. “We had a great season, and we have a lot to be proud of. We’ll go back to work, and we’ll get ready for next year.”
