The last two weeks have not gone well for James Franklin. The Oregon loss was tough, but what really exposed the program was their embarrassing defeat to a winless UCLA Bruins. The team touted to be a natty contender in preseason predictions lost to a team with an interim head coach and an offensive coordinator calling his first game. Earlier, Penn State under Franklin had an issue winning against ranked opponents, but they always bullied the teams they were favored against. Not this time, though. The hype train has left the Beave Stadium, and it’s time for a reality check.

On the 7th October episode of the ESPN College Football show, Greg McElroy asked Josh Pate who he thought would be more of a challenge for Oregon between the two teams, to which Pate immediately replied, “Definitely Indiana.” Indiana, so far, has achieved something Penn State can dream of. Undefeated status. They faced a ranked team in Illinois at home and demolished them. The same can’t be said of Penn State.

Ironically, Pate believes PSU did a much better job against Oregon than on Sunday. “The level of pushback that the Penn State team in that moment gave Oregon was a lot more significant than what UCLA obviously got from them last week in the Rose Bowl,” said Pate.

Though they may have given Oregon some troubles, Pate believes Indiana has a better chance of troubling Oregon in their coming matchup. “Watching that Indiana helmet come in there, what kind of respect level do Oregon’s players, just the roster, have for them if they got it? I mean, it’s not that they couldn’t get beat, but it could also be a case where we’re right about our feeling about Indiana,” said Pate.

It is not surprising to see the analysts praising Indiana. They are on a five-match winning streak, sitting near the top of the Big Ten conference. They are the No. 7-ranked team in the country. Oregon took care of Penn State, and they’d be an even more difficult force at home.

Struggles continue for James Franklin and his men

The loss against Oregon was close but not unforgivable. After all, it was their first loss of the season, and that too against the Ducks. People saw Penn State’s trip to the Rose Bowl as its way of getting back on track, but James Franklin didn’t believe an upset loss could happen.

PSU had a huge deficit on the ground, running for 127 to UCLA’s 280 yards. They also failed to stop UCLA from converting its third downs (10/16). They did try to attempt a comeback, but it was too late. The fumble in the 4th & 2 essentially sealed the game. Nico Iamaleava played an outstanding game, and the PSU defense just couldn’t hold him. He threw for 166 yards with 2 passing touchdowns. He also added 128 rushing yards with 3 rushing touchdowns on 16 carries.

The only positive sign for PSU was their QB Drew Allar. Despite the loss, he had a respectable performance. He managed 2 TDs and ran for 79 yards. He also completed 19 out of 26 throws for 200 yards. But his efforts were not enough to pull off the comeback. PSU got found out at the Rose Bowl, and James Franklin has to come up with a solution. PSU faces Northwestern this week.