Penn State 'Sucked' With Offense As Bland As Lions' Uniforms - 1 Of 16 On 3rd Down In 20-12 Loss At Ohio State

Remember when Penn State coach James Franklin was so cool.

He once said he judged prospective assistant coach hires' recruiting ability by what their wives looked like.

Franklin was pretty cool as Vanderbilt's coach in 2012 and '13 as he went 9-4 back-to-back before heading to State College, Pennsylvania. No one wins like that at Vandy.

And he has been very good at Penn State with four 11-win seasons since gradually turning the program around to a Big Ten title in 2016. But there have been no conference titles since and no College Football Playoff appearances.

This is his 10th season, and this one was supposed to be different.

But No. 7 Penn State remained just pretty good and far from great on Saturday in a 20-12 loss at No. 3 Ohio State (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten). It was 20-6 until a meaningless touchdown pass by quarterback Drew Allar 29 with seconds left for the 20-12 final. And it should have been worse. Ohio State didn't score on two shots inside the 2-yard line in the third quarter while up 10-6 and missed a field goal in the fourth.

Franklin is a very poor man's Ryan Day. He lost his seventh straight to Day and Ohio State and fell to 1-9 against the Buckeyes. It's not much better against No. 2 Michigan, against who he has a 3-6 record. Against everybody else, he's basically great. He is 17-0 against all other teams in 2022 and '23, but 0-3 against Ohio State and Michigan.

Penn State (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) came in averaging 40 points and allowing 11.8 against the others, but scoring just 24 and allowing 42 against the Big Two.

"I think we have closed the gap with what a lot of people would consider the top five programs in the country," Franklin said last week with his team at 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten.

James Franklin's Penn State Offense Is Dull, Lifeless

Pretty cool comment at the time. But the gap was all over Ohio Stadium Saturday.

Penn State's offense looks as dull and lifeless as those uniforms right out of the 1950s and almost as bad as what you might get at The Gap now. The Lions played like kittens on third down, going 0-for-15 to start the game and finishing 1-for-16. That includes 0-for-6 from four yards and in.

That is 6.3 percent on third down - the worst mark by a team ranked in the Associated Press poll in 10 years.

Penn State QB Drew Allar Doesn't Mince Words

"Sucked," Allar said of himself.

Asked why so hard on himself, he said, "Because I did. It sucks to lose like this."

That would be refreshing from Franklin, but you won't hear that.

"I'm not sure if we didn't watch two of the best teams in college football," Franklin said after the game. "Obviously, specifically, on the defensive side of the ball."

Yeah, glad you qualified that.

But that didn't stop a rush on social media from frustrated Penn State fans still locked in another generation.

"They don't give out participation points," one said.

Penn State Offense Plays Like Dog Water Under James Franklin

"Complete dog water," another one said. And I have not heard that one before. Fresh - not the water, the comment.

"And the first thing you say is that we looked like one of the best teams in the country," he said. Must not have waited around for the qualifier.

"First of all, like always, I want to give Ohio State a ton of credit," Franklin continued. He meant he always gives the opponent credit, which is admirable. But it depends how you read that. "Like always," Ohio State beat his team, except for the one 24-21 win over the No. 2 Buckeyes in 2016 that Franklin has seemingly lived off ever since.

The worst part of this loss is it seems like Joe Paterno is coaching Allar, who is a very talented quarterback. But he rarely threw vertically until it was too late, finishing 18-of-43 passing for 191 yards and the touchdown.

Ohio State Buckeyes Stifled Penn State Offense

Franklin showed very little confidence in his offense in the fourth quarter. Trailing just 13-6 with 7:17 left, he went for it on 4th-and-4 at the Penn State 43-yard line. Allar threw incomplete.

"We were trying to do what we usually do on offense," wide receiver Kaden Saunders said. "Steady the boat."

Steady the boat. What year is that from? Because the boat sank throughout the game.

"We were just trying to stay true to who we are and what we do best," Saunders said. "If that comes with not throwing the ball downfield, then that's what it comes with."

If Saunders sounds like he was reciting something. He was. This is what James Franklin said during the week.

Penn State coach James Franklin continues to be able to beat most teams, but rarely has success against the Ohio States and Michigans. (Photo by Corey Perrine/Getty Images)

"What you have to be careful of is you have to understand and figure out what the identity of your team is and embrace that identity no matter what the outside world is saying," he said. "You have to be comfortable in your own skin and own who you are and how you have to play. I think the Iowa game is a really good example. We went in at halftime and said, 'Look, let's not change who we are.' Those runs in the first half that were going for three to four yards started to go for eight to 10 yards."

Nittany Lions Need To Change Who They Are Vs. An Ohio State

Iowa? That's your example going into Ohio State. Iowa has the worst offense in major college football at No. 130 in total offense with 247 yards a game. Ohio State is No. 34. You can play 1950s football against Iowa and all those other teams you usually beat.

When playing a team like Ohio State or Michigan, you must change who you are. Unless you want to stay who you are and just beat everybody but Ohio State and Michigan. 
 
"For me, I think it's staying true to our identity and what has got us here," he said.

And that's where you are ... again. 

(Send your comments to Glenn Guilbeau at glenn.guilbeau@outkick.com or via X at @LSUBeatTweet.)