Penn State defense throwing up on itself with abysmal start against Oregon… literally

Penn State backdoored its way into the Big Ten Championship Game against No. 1 Oregon after Ohio State’s shocking upset loss to Michigan in the final week of the regular season. However, it didn’t look like the No. 3 Nittany Lions were ready for the big stage against the only remaining unbeaten team in the country. 

Oregon marched down the field for back-to-back touchdowns to take a 14-3 lead. The Nittany Lions struggled to tackle and had coverage miscommunications. You could say that James Franklin’s team was throwing up on itself, and you could say that because it actually happened. Whether it was nerves or just the pace of the Duck’s offensive attack, linebacker Kobe King puked on the field before tight end Kenyon Sadiq’s second score of the game. 

King was just named second-team All-Big Ten after the regular season finale against Maryland. He’s one of the best linebackers in the conference but has had a rough start to his Big Ten Championship game. 

The good news for the Nittany Lions is that Andy Kotelnicki’s offense appears more prepared for the moment. Quarterback Drew Allar has answered each of Oregon’s scoring drives with one of his own, leading the Nittany Lions on a field goal and a touchdown drive in the first quarter to cut the lead to 14-10. 

Defensive coordinator Tom Allen will have to scramble to get his players, not just to stop dinner from coming up, but to stop Oregon from running the ball down their throats. That could be a very tough task against Dillon Gabriel, Jordan James, and the Ducks.