STATE COLLEGE | Once again, Penn State coach James Franklin planned to say things after a game, but held back. He already did it, when State of Pennsylvania lost to Ohio State or Michigan, and he intended to make a statement about the statement his team had just made by winning. But then the Nittany Lions lost and Franklin bit his tongue — as he did again Saturday after Penn State’s eighth straight loss to the Buckeyes.

“There are a lot of things I planned to say when I got here today,” Franklin said Saturday at Beaver Stadium, “but it’s not appropriate to say them now, so I’ll save them for another time.”

Of course, Franklin could have been referring to the officiating, the replay or any of the countless interferences during Penn State’s 20-13 loss to Ohio State on Saturday. The game featured five replays, including three against the Nittany Lions, and a series of high-intensity moments. Most seemed to be spreading in the direction of Ohio State.

But it’s just as likely that Franklin wanted to clean up his team’s history in those games, emphasizing a program blazing a new path, one that would lead it to becoming elite. Instead, Penn State left Beaver Stadium bitter and frustrated, and it leaked out shortly after the game. Franklin had a brief interaction with a fan as he entered the tunnel, the same way he left the field last season. When fans booed him off the field after a loss to Michigan. There were more boos on Saturday, during the Alma mater, bottles thrown on the field and anger perceptible in the stands.

In the Penn State locker room, the frustration was just as palpable. Several players, like defensive tackle Dvon J-Thomas and offensive lineman Sal Wormley, were part of six teams that lost to Ohio State. It’s not easier.

“As you know, not being able to get a win against a team that you’ve played against for many years, it’s always going to be difficult,” J-Thomas said. “You invest a lot into the game and if you’re not producing the results that you want, especially the recurring results that you want, then it’s obviously going to be difficult.”

Wormley added: “It’s just annoying, it’s just frustrating. We’ve been close a few times since I’ve been here and we just haven’t gotten over that hurdle yet.”

Every loss has a theme. In the past, Ohio State has had individual performances from players like JT Barrett, Chase Young, JT Tuimoloau and Marvin Harrison Jr. against Penn State. On Saturday, the Buckeyes wore down Penn State with a line-crushing run defense, complete package shutdown Beau Pribula, tight secondary coverage and a stand-up, four-man defensive series in the fourth quarter.

Penn State scored first and goal at the Ohio State 3-yard line. Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki called three instinctive runs to Kaytron Allen, who gained a total of 2 yards. On fourth down, quarterback Drew Allar looked left toward tight end Tyler Warren (whose big plays energized the series), but he was covered. By the time Allar turned back to No. 2 tight end Khalil Dinkins, the window was closed.

“I think offensively we stopped more than them,” said Allar, who went 12-for-20 for 146 yards. “I really believe that, even though they’re a really talented team. They made a lot of plays across the board, like we knew they would, but we can do a better job of executing the techniques and making the calls that we were requested.

The Nittany Lions also lost a stat package they call the “Dirty Dozen.” That encompasses the bad plays and mistakes a team can make: penalties, sacks allowed, dropped passes, “whatever equates to bad football,” Allar said. Penn State’s goal is to limit these plays to 12% of its snaps.

“I don’t know what we did today, but it was definitely more than 12 percent of our total plays,” Allar said.

And that, as always, is at the heart of Penn State’s losses to Ohio State. While the Nittany Lions continue to improve their talent, they lack the elite playmakers of the Buckeyes. They must therefore win by being more efficient, capitalizing on opportunities, limiting their mistakes and playing cleaner. This did not happen.

Penn State was assessed five penalties, but they counted. An ineligible receiver penalty disrupted a successful first offensive series and led to a field goal. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty given to cornerback Elliot Washington II gave Ohio State a first down on a third down that was not converted, leading to a touchdown. Another unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, after a pick-6 that gave Penn State a 10-0 lead, gave Ohio State a chance to come back on the kickoff. The Buckeyes scored on this drive. And a 3rd-and-2 offsides penalty kept another Ohio State goal alive.

“I can’t, I can’t, I can’t do these things,” Franklin said. “It happened last week (the pick-6 penalty) and it happened again this week. It’s my fault. We have to be a disciplined football team. We weren’t disciplined at times today.”

Once again, the fans were frustrated, the players were frustrated and Franklin showed his frustration in a heated moment after the game. Nothing new for the Nittany Lions. In fact, it all felt very familiar.

“I understand their frustration; the guys in the locker room are just as frustrated, if not more,” said Franklin, now 1-10 against the Buckeyes. “But college football has changed, and we have an opportunity to right some of the wrongs of today, and that’s what we’re going to focus on. I get it. We have an incredible crowd here. We’re getting support incredible. I can’t do this without passion. And there are great things that come from it, and there are difficult things that come from it. It’s all part of the job, and it’s all mine.

More Penn State football

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