{"id":69564,"date":"2024-12-03T15:17:24","date_gmt":"2024-12-03T20:17:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=69564"},"modified":"2025-11-07T09:22:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T14:22:00","slug":"penn-state-has-more-at-stake-than-the-big-ten-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2024\/12\/03\/penn-state-has-more-at-stake-than-the-big-ten-title\/","title":{"rendered":"Penn State Has More at Stake Than the Big Ten Title"},"content":{"rendered":"

The third-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions take on top-ranked and undefeated Oregon on Saturday; however, they will have much more at stake than the Big Ten title.\u00a0 This game will be the latest in a long line of \u201cbig\u201d games where head coach James Franklin, quarterback Drew Allar<\/a>, and the rest of the team can prove themselves.\u00a0 The game is also an important primer for the College Football Playoffs (CFP).\u00a0 Barring an unlikely catastrophic fall, both Penn State and Oregon will be a part of the CFP.\u00a0 The winner of this game will earn a first-round bye and advance to the quarterfinals.\u00a0 There will be quite a difference entering the CFP as the Big Ten champs, versus coming off a loss.<\/p>\n

Nittany Nation is split on the benefits of Penn State even playing in this game.\u00a0 On one side of the argument, the team earned the right to play for the title and would earn a CFP bye with a win.\u00a0 On the other hand, a few weeks off before hosting a first-round CFP game in Happy Valley sounds good for a team that can use the rest.<\/p>\n

Following Penn State\u2019s 20-13 loss to Ohio State<\/a> in early November, the Big Ten Championship Game looked like a long shot at best.\u00a0 Now, the Nittany Lions will represent the \u201ctraditional\u201d Big Ten teams against conference newcomer Oregon for the Big Ten title.\u00a0 What a difference a month makes.\u00a0 For all these reasons, there is much more at stake for Penn State than the Big Ten title.<\/p>\n

#3 Penn State (11-1) Takes on #1 Oregon (12-0): More at Stake Than the Big Ten Title<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When & Where: <\/strong>Saturday, December 7th<\/sup>, 8:00 pm ET, in Indianapolis (Lucas Oil Stadium)<\/p>\n

Last Game\u2019s Results: <\/strong>Both Penn State and Oregon wrapped up successful regular seasons.\u00a0 Penn State beat Maryland<\/a> at home by a score of 44-7.\u00a0 Oregon defeated Washington 49-21 at home.<\/p>\n

Last Season\u2019s Results: <\/strong>Penn State finished ranked #13 after a 10-3 season that ended with a Peach Bowl loss to Ole Miss.\u00a0 Oregon finished ranked #6 with a record of 12-2, including a win over Liberty in the Fiesta Bowl after losing to Washington in the Pac-12 Championship Game.<\/p>\n

Series History: <\/strong>This is Oregon\u2019s first season in the Big Ten. The Big Ten Championship Game will be the fifth time the teams will meet.\u00a0 Penn State has won three of the four prior contests.\u00a0 They last met in January 1995, when Penn State won 38-20 in the Rose Bowl.<\/p>\n

Penn State vs. Oregon Preview: Nittany Lions to Watch<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Quarterback Drew Allar<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Overall, Drew Allar has had a great season at quarterback for the Nittany Lions.\u00a0 However, the questions linger regarding his ability to beat the best teams.\u00a0 The #1 team in the country, in the Big Ten Championship Game, is a perfect way to put those doubts in the rearview mirror.<\/p>\n

Coming into this game, Allar has completed a very efficient 71.6% of his passes.\u00a0 That 71.6% ranks fifth in the nation.\u00a0 He has thrown 18 touchdowns to go along with only five interceptions.\u00a0 Interestingly, the five interceptions are more than double the two he threw last season.\u00a0 Allar\u2019s 18 touchdowns are also below last season\u2019s 25.\u00a0 His efficiency rating of 167.55 ranks seventh in the country.<\/p>\n

Having weapons like Mackey Award (top tight end) favorite Tyler Warren<\/a> will certainly help Allar in this matchup.\u00a0 In his first year in new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki\u2019s offense, Allar has shown new dimensions to his game.\u00a0 He has run the ball more, and more confidently.\u00a0 He is fourth on the team with 225 rushing yards and tied for second with five rushing touchdowns.\u00a0 Allar has also taken more chances, as evidenced by his increased interceptions.\u00a0 However, the interceptions are a byproduct of him taking more chances in the passing game, which have paid off more times than not.<\/p>\n

Allar has another chance to put the questions about winning a big game to bed.\u00a0 He also has about as strong of a supporting cast at running back (Nick Singleton<\/a> and Kaytron Allen<\/a>) and tight end (Warren) as any quarterback in the country.\u00a0 Notwithstanding the struggles of the wide receivers<\/a> this year, Allar\u2019s chance to win on the big stage and cement his Penn State legacy as a Big Ten champ make him a Nittany Lion to watch.<\/p>\n

Defensive End Abdul Carter<\/h3>\n

Football teams are made up of different types of individuals, and this Penn State team is no different.\u00a0 On the offensive side of the ball, Warren has been a star-tight end.\u00a0 However, he is very quick to give his teammates (more than) the credit they deserve.\u00a0 Abdul Carter<\/a> leads the defense, is the unit\u2019s best player, and will tell you so.<\/p>\n

Carter made a big move before this season<\/a>, changing from linebacker to defensive end in new defensive coordinator Tom Allen\u2019s scheme.\u00a0 What did not change was Carter\u2019s #11 jersey, historically symbolic of the defense\u2019s best player.\u00a0 After a rocky start early in the season, with costly penalties and less impact plays, Carter has gone on to hit his stride.<\/p>\n

Entering the Big Ten title game, Carter has 10 sacks.\u00a0 This is tied for second in the Big Ten.\u00a0 His 19.5 tackles for loss lead the conference, with 15 by Mikail Kamara<\/a> of Indiana ranking second.\u00a0 Carter\u2019s efforts have earned him the nod as a finalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award, given annually to the outstanding defensive player in college football.\u00a0 However, he has his sights set on something bigger.\u00a0 After a sack against Maryland, Carter struck the Heisman pose.\u00a0 Discussing it after the game, Carter said \u201cThe Heisman is the top player in the country, the best player in the country and I feel like I\u2019m that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carter\u2019s antics and comments are not what you would expect from the traditional team-first Penn State culture.\u00a0 This is the program that does not even have players\u2019 names on their backs.\u00a0 While Carter\u2019s behavior and comments are questionable, his talent is unquestionable.\u00a0 His ability to prove that, in a big game on a big stage, make him a Nittany Lion to watch.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Photo Credit: Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The third-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions take on top-ranked and undefeated Oregon on Saturday; however, they will have much more at stake than the Big Ten title.\u00a0 This game will be the latest in a long line of \u201cbig\u201d games where head coach James Franklin, quarterback Drew Allar, and the rest of the team can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5172,"featured_media":69592,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,10906,2,35610],"tags":[34344,32817,493,2897,7983,1353,837,5653,277,309,1073],"class_list":["post-69564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bigten","category-cfb","category-featured","category-penn-state-nittany-lions","tag-2024-college-football-playoff-rankings","tag-andy-kotelnicki","tag-awards","tag-big-ten-championship","tag-big-ten-football","tag-chuck-bednarik-award","tag-james-franklin","tag-mackey-award","tag-oregon-ducks","tag-penn-state-nittany-lions","tag-tom-allen"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5172"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69564"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69564\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69593,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69564\/revisions\/69593"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}