No. 3 Penn State rallied from a two-touchdown deficit but came up short in double overtime, falling 30-24 to No. 6 Oregon on Saturday night in Beaver Stadium.
Playing before a White Out crowd of 111,015, the second-largest in stadium history, the Nittany Lions’ record under James Franklin against AP top 10 teams dropped to 4-21.
Trailing 17-3 with 12 minutes remaining after an impotent offensive performance through the first three quarters, Penn State scored the final 14 points of regulation. The Nittany Lions had a chance to win in the second overtime after Oregon failed on two-point conversion attempt, but Drew Allar threw an interception to the Ducks’ Dillion Thieneman to end the game.
It concluded an often poor passing night for the senior quarterback, who was 14-25 for 137 yards and a touchdown, along with 42 rushing yards. Kaytron Allen led Penn State’s 139-yard rushing effort with 12 carries for 54 yards and a touchdown.
The Ducks outgained the Nittany Lions 424-276, led by quarterback Dante Moore who completed 29 of 39 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns.
Penn State’s defense did well keeping the explosive Oregon offense in check for much of the game, holding the Ducks to three first-half points despite Oregon having kept possession for 19 of the first 30 minutes. Linebacker Amare Campbell led the way with 15 tackles.
The Nittany Lions hit the road next weekend to face UCLA at 3:30 p.m. EDT on CBS.
HOW IT HAPPENED
1st Quarter
Oregon controlled time of possession in the opening quarter, keeping the ball for nearly 10 minutes. But the Ducks came away with no points to show for it, punting once and failing to convert a fourth down.
The Nittany Lion offense, meanwhile, was virtually nonexistent until the final two minutes of the first. Drew Allar connected with Nick Singleton for a 15-yard gain on third and 16, and Singleton carried for 2 to convert on fourth down at the Nittany Lion 47.
As the quarter came to a close, Penn State faced a third-and-8 near midfield.
Penn State 0, Oregon 0
2nd Quarter
Allar hit Singleton for a 13-yard gain to start the second quarter and the Nittany Lions drove to Oregon’s 32, but stalled there. Ryan Barker came on to make a career-long 49-yard field goal, and Penn State led 3-0 with 13:26 left in the first half.
A 24-yard run by Dierre Hill got the Ducks moving on the first play of their next drive, and completions from Dante Moore to Malik Benson and Kenyon Sadiq had Oregon inside the Penn State 40. But Moore came up short on a third-and-8 run to the 29, and kicker Atticus Sappington’s 47-yard field goal attempt sailed wide to keep the Ducks scoreless.
After a Penn State punt, Oregon again moved into Nittany Lion territory, keyed by a 20-yard completion from Moore to Dakorien Moore. The Nittany Lion defense clamped down though, and Sappington came on to make a 42-yard field goal and tie the game 3-3 with 3:40 remaining in the second.
Allar ran 5 yards to convert one third down and made a terrific throw under pressure to Devonte to Ross for a 14-yard gain to convert another at the Oregon 46 with under two minutes remaining in the half. But a false start and three straight incompletions derailed the drive around midfield and Penn State punted.
The Ducks picked up two first downs but nothing more and the teams went into the locker room tied.
Oregon outgained Penn State 189 to 69 in the half and had possession for 19 of the first 30 minutes.
Penn State 3, Oregon 3
3rd Quarter
Penn State looked to be putting together some offensive momentum to start the second half, driving again into Oregon territory. A sack and two short runs, however, killed the drive and Oregon took over again after a punt.
The Ducks marched 80 yards in 10 plays, highlighted by a 23-yard third-down completion from Moore to Sadiq and Hill’s 7-yard scoring run that came after a fumble recovery by the Nittany Lions was overturned. Oregon had its first lead at 10-3 with 3:16 left in the third.
A quick Penn State three and out led to another punt, and Oregon went on the offensive again, driving past midfield as the third quarter ended.
Oregon 10, Penn State 3
4th Quarter
Moore opened the final period with a 29-yard completion to Dakorien Moore in the red zone and scrambled for 9 on third down to set up a fourth and 1 from the Penn State 8. From there Jordon Davison took a handoff up the middle and into the end zone.
Oregon led 17-3 with 12:25 remaining in the game.
The Nittany Lions answered in a hurry. Allar found Luke Reynolds for a 9-yard gain before Kaytron Allen broke off a 19-yard run into Oregon territory. After a 12-yard completion to Trebor Peña, Allar went deep to Ross, who got a step on two defenders and hauled in the 35-yard pass in the end zone for Penn State’s first touchdown.
The four-play, 75-yard drive took less than two minutes and narrowed Oregon’s lead to 17-10 with 10:30 left in the game.
An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty got Oregon behind the chains on its next drive, and a short 30-yard punt had Penn State back in business at its own 38.
A physical 20-yard Allar run on third and 9 got the Nittany Lions into Duck territory. Penn State continued to pound away on the ground as Allar, Singleton and Allen pushed the Nittany Lions into the red zone before the two-minute warning.
Out of the timeout, Allen took two carries for 5 yards, then Allar flipped a short pass to Ross who raced 7 yards to the end zone for the score. Barker’s extra point tied the game 17-17 with 30 seconds remaining.
Oregon picked up just 3 yards in the final seconds and the game headed to overtime.
Penn State 17, Oregon 17
1st Overtime
The Nittany Lions went to their rejuvenated ground game on the first possession of overtime. Allen ran for 5 and Peña went for 16 to the 4. Allen took it in from there, and another Barker PAT gave Penn State a 24-17 lead.
Oregon answered with a seven-play drive, converting a fourth-and-1 at the 5 before Moore tossed a short touchdown pass to Jamari Johnson. Sappington’s extra point sent the game to a second overtime tied 24-24.
2nd Overtime
Moore avoided pressure and found Bryant open across the middle for a 25-yard touchdown throw on the first play of the second OT. Penn State’s Dani Dennis-Sutton picked off Moore on the two-point attempt to hold the Ducks’ lead to 30-24.
The Nittany Lions had an opportunity to win on their next possession, but Allar through an interception to the Ducks’ Dillion Thieneman on the first play, ending the game.
Final: Oregon 30, Penn State 24
