INDIANAPOLIS – The No. 3 Penn State football team (11-2, 8-1) fell to No. 1 Oregon (13-0, 9-0), 45-37, Saturday night in the Big Ten Championship game.
Penn State's offense rolled up 518 yards for total offense against the Ducks’ defense, rushing for 292 yards and passing for 226 yards. Both of Penn State’s star running backs surpassed 100 rushing yards.
Running back Kaytron Allen tallied 124 rushing yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Running mate Nicholas Singleton added 105 yards on 10 carries, an extraordinary 10.5 yards-per-carry average. Quarterback Drew Allar also pitched in 54 yards and a touchdown on the ground. The Nittany Lion rushing attack averaged 8.3 yards per carry, well above its season average of 5.1.
Allar completed 20-of-39 pass attempts for 226 yards and three touchdowns, finding the best tight end in college football, Tyler Warren, on seven occasions for 84 yards. Warren became the fifth player (seven times) in Penn State history to surpass 1,000 yards receiving in a season, while also setting the Big Ten tight end record for single-season receiving yards. Additionally, Harrison Wallace III picked up 59 yards and a touchdown on four grabs, while Singleton chipped in 43 yards and a score on four catches. Omari Evans’ lone grab of the night was a 22-yard touchdown catch.
Kobe King amassed a career-high-tying 10 tackles (6 solo), including a tackle for loss, to lead Penn State’s defense. Zakee Wheatley added nine tackles (4 solo), while AJ Harris posted a career-high seven stops (5 solo), including a tackle for loss.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Oregon got on the board first after Penn State won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. The Ducks constructed a nine-play, 84-yard scoring drive to go up 7-0 in the first quarter.
A 33-yard field goal from Ryan Barker put Penn State on the board at the 7:30 mark of the opening frame. The Nittany Lions’ eight-play drive chewed 3:10 off the clock.
The teams traded touchdown drives, with Penn State scoring on a 22-yard toss from Allar to Singleton, before Oregon tacked on two touchdowns in a row to start the second quarter to go up 28-10 with 10:05 on the clock in the second period.
Penn State responded with two touchdown drives of its own. An eight-play, 75-yard trip was capped off by a 22-yard receiving score by Evans put the Nittany Lions within 11. Then a methodical 10-play, 64-yard touchdown march had Penn State within single digits, trailing 28-24 with 1:53 to play in the second quarter.
An Oregon field goal with seven seconds left in the second quarter put the Ducks up 31-24 entering the halftime break.
Oregon struck again in the third quarter, this time on a 48-yard touchdown pass from Gabriel to wide receiver Tez Johnson. The tally put the Ducks up 38-24 with 7:46 on the clock in the third quarter.
Penn State brought it back to a one-score game with 14:17 on the clock in the fourth quarter. A 97-yard drive capped off by a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Allen pulled Penn State within eight at 38-30. On the drive, Allen had more than 50 rushing yards and Beau Pribula set the Nittany Lions up at the 1-yard line with an 18-yard scamper.
Oregon responded with a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that increased its lead to 45-30. The trip took 6:49 off the clock, leaving the Nittany Lions with 7:28 remaining to mount a comeback.
A highlight-reel fourth-down touchdown pass from Allar to Wallace III kept Penn State’s hopes alive, cutting the Oregon lead to 45-37 with 3:41 still on the clock. The Nittany Lion defense rallied for a huge three-and-out, forcing an Oregon punt, but an interception on the ensuing possession ended what was Penn State’s final offensive opportunity in the game. Oregon used enough clock on its next drive to clinch the victory as Penn State fell, 45-37.
The 2024 Penn State football season is presented by PSECU.