They took that axe and chopped off their legs. Might sound extreme, but hear us out. Penn State has had an amazing run this season. While one might argue that their strength of schedule was far weaker than compared to an SEC team, one still cannot refute the fact that James Franklin managed to achieve an 11-1 run. Their only loss was to the Buckeyes and despite that, angry fans confronted the HC.

“I understand the frustration. Guys in the locker room are just as frustrated, if not more, but college football has changed. We have an opportunity moving forward to right some wrongs from today, and that’s what we’re going to focus on,” Franklin stated later. “I get it (the fan frustration). We have an unbelievable crowd here today, we get unbelievable support. You don’t do that without passion. There are great things that come from that and there are hard things that come from that. That’s part of the job. And I own it all.”

Still, here is the problem: With those 11 wins, Franklin and Co. secured their spot for the B1G championship game against the undefeated Ducks. Will they win it? Hard to say because Dan Lanning has been on fire after taking his team to 12-0. Could the Ducks cost Penn State their playoff run? We think so.

Penn State has the #4 seed on the playoff list. This gives them a bye week and a home game in the playoffs. If they crack it, then they make their way to the national championship. But before all that, there is the conference title. If Penn State wins against Lanning and the Ducks, they will most likely get the 2nd seed. A first-round bye here will be followed by the 7th seed in the Quarterfinals which is likely to be a dominant SEC team.

But if they face a loss, they will get pushed further down in the rankings, bowing out of the top 8 in all likeliness. Franklin would miss out on his home game advantage for the first round, and would also encounter a tougher opponent.

They have also missed out on a bye week opportunity for week 15, and if they lose, they will also be playing in week 17—causing a scheduling nightmare. Avoiding the B1G Championship Game would have secured a 5th or 6th seed for PSU and given them an easier path in playoffs.

The 5th seed gets paired with the 12th seed and 4th seed, who are the worst conference winners, and the 6th seed goes up against the 11th and the 3rd. There is also another argument that if Penn State somehow loses to the Ducks and gets the 6th seed, then it could still work out in their favor. If they are lucky, then they get the Hoosiers, and if they are not, then the playoff is going to be hard for Franklin. But let’s focus on the current picture: the conference title game.

Penn State vs Oregon Ducks!

Raise your hands if you think the Lions would eat the Ducks. Jokes aside, do we think Franklin can win this? Well, Oregon has had a weird season so far. Their SOS has been solid, and they have won every single game. But their offense, though, was somewhat of a problem. Now that wide receiver Tez Johnson is back, we could see things improving.

But here is the thing. With that one shaky game against Wisconsin and almost two losses to either Boise State or Buckeyes, are the Ducks reliable enough to pressure Penn State’s offense and defense? Kind of. From an offensive perspective, Lanning has a much better team out there.

They managed to overpower both Boise State and Ohio State. You can argue that it was for 2-3 points, but a win is a win. Franklin choked pretty hard when it came down to the Buckeyes game, and the Lions were even struggling against Bowling Green early on in the season.

Now Drew Allar is an amazing quarterback and has kept the Lions’ offense afloat. In fact, Dan Lanning had some good things to say about him: “I think composure is certainly one of the things that sticks out, and understanding of their offensive scheme. I think it’s about taking what’s there. But he’s also a guy that’s made some really tight throws in some great windows this year. I think he understands his personnel and his strengths, knows who he wants to get the ball to, but more than anything, just a composed operator that goes out there and can execute a really high level and create explosive.”

But he just isn’t enough for a defense that is capable enough to stop someone like Ashton Jeanty. Now, if we do give Franklin the benefit of the doubt and say they win over Oregon, then it is going to be by a very small margin. Additionally, let us not forget that the HC has quite a sad record against top-five opposition, which has held them back from joining the elite ranks of college football.

Regardless, one thing is for sure. The winner of this game will be the first Big Ten Championship Game winner not named Ohio State or Michigan since 2016.