And it has happened. See, Penn State was one of the surprise picks this season. After Drew Allar went OFF against West Virginia and got his team a 34-12 win, James Franklin and his roster went on to win their next 6 games back-to-back. To see the Nittany Lions come out of nowhere and dominate almost every single game with at least 30 points on the board was a visual spectacle. However, like every fairy tale story, this 7-0 run comes to an end and the fans are not happy.

In classic CFB fashion, we spotted James Franklin and a fan engage in a verbal spat near the sidelines. Unnecessary Roughness took to X to share the clip with the caption, “James Franklin and a fan got into it after Penn State’s loss to Ohio State.” Kinda makes you think that Franklin threw a mean hook at the fan, huh? But no worries, it was only verbal but kind of warranted. See, this game was the Nittany Lions shot at proving that they are capable of making the playoffs. Yes, multiple games are remaining on the board and they will make it to the playoffs if they end the season with 11-1 but the loss to the Buckeyes is going to stick out like a sore thumb in the committee board room.

Somehow, Ryan Day has managed to turn things around for his team, and much of the credit should go to Chip Kelly and his play-calling. See, coming off of a week against Oregon and Nebraska, Kelly had to find a proper balance, and well, he did.

Both Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson went on to grab 24 carries combined. This allowed them to grab 149 yards against the Nittany Lions. Now, why is this important? Because back on the board, the Lions stand on the No.2 spot in terms of rush defense metric. The Ducks and the Huskers managed to help Kelly get a footing over the rushing attack of the Buckeyes, and that single-handedly managed to turn things around for the Buckeyes,

But that ain’t all, though. Drew Allar just couldn’t put up a show for this showdown. Dude went 12-20 for pass completions and only brought in 146 yards with a single interception. On the other side, Will Howard managed to grab 2 touchdowns with 1 interception and 182 yards. Even if we talk about the rush and passing yards, the numbers were bad. 120 rushing and 150 passing only. However, not everything was Franklin and Co’s. fault.

Controversial officiating for Penn State

Back during the first half, a major red flag was spotted when an unsportsmanlike call was issued to the Nittany Lions. Now what happened? Well, Carnell Tate was going in for a rush when Lions Safety Elliot Washington II stepped in for a tackle and somehow got tangled up with Tate. Till now, everything was good.

However, Washington made one silly mistake. While getting up, he kind of walked over to Tate. There was no physical altercation or even verbal altercation. The dude just got up to get back in the game. But this entire act got Penn State a 15-yard penalty.

See, Penn State still has the Huskies, Purdie, and Minnesota on the board so they can still grab the playoff title of Franklin and Co. don’t mess things up. Getting heated right now won’t be the best call. They still have a shot at this, so let’s wait and watch.