STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — James Franklin doesn’t want his players to dwell on a loss that might not be as costly as it would’ve been a year ago. That’s going to be tough for Penn State players, who lost their eighth straight to rival Ohio State 20-13 on Saturday, this one in front of the biggest crowd in Beaver Stadium history.
“The reality of college football is everything is still ahead of us,” Franklin said. “And we need to do a great job of making the corrections, eliminating the things that were unforced errors that happened today. And then we've got to find a way to get a win next week at home.
” Franklin, who is 1-10 against the No. 4 Buckeyes, was booed as he made his way through the stadium tunnel behind his players trickling into the No. 3 Nittany Lions’ locker room.
Many stared straight down at their cleats. Others consoled one another after another one-possession loss in a matchup that’s been one-sided for nearly a decade. The ultimate consolation? Losing to Ohio State doesn’t necessarily doom Penn State’s postseason outlook with the College Football Playoff now expanded from four teams to 12.
The Nittany Lions (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) host Washington on Saturday. They travel to Purdue and Minnesota before hosting Maryland in the season finale on Nov. 30.
“The thing we talked about is we can’t let one turn into two, turn into three," quarterback Drew Allar said. "We have to right the wrongs that we made today. Offensively, we’re not going to.
