The James Franklin era is still a bit too fresh in the minds of Penn State fans to reminisce fondly, but Franklin did provide some unforgettable moments during his 11.5-year tenure in Happy Valley. Chief among them is the Block Six, Marcus Allen’s blocked field goal against Ohio State in the 2016 White Out that Grant Haley returned for the game-winning touchdown over the Buckeyes.
Ironically, the losing coach from that Saturday night at Beaver Stadium is the one conjuring up those positive memories for Nittany Lions fans on his podcast, The Triple Option. With Dan Worthington, Meyer highlighted that play as one where a penalty, in this case one that wasn’t called, cost him a game.
“By rule, you can’t physically pull the field goal protector out of the way for the guy jumping through. And Penn State, the one win they got against us in 2016, they blocked a field goal,” Meyer said, describing the play. “I turned it in, and I didn’t bitch a lot about it; my fault that we ran the field goal team on late.” Adding, “they later came back and said that could have been and should have been a penalty.”
Urban Meyer thinks the Block Six vs Penn State came from a missed penalty.@danWorthington @TheScriptOSU pic.twitter.com/LlzU9zt8Yv
— The Triple Option (@3xOptionShow) July 14, 2026
Urban Meyer turned in the Block Six over a no-call
As you can see in the video, Curtis Cothran, then a senior defensive tackle for the Nittany Lions, pulls Brady Taylor out of his position so Allen can fly through the middle and block Tyler Durbin’s attempt. So, Meyer is correct to say that it was a penalty, but hearing him bemoan a missed call brings back some good memories of that night.
It’s almost hard to call Penn State/Ohio State a rivalry because the Buckeyes have done so much winning. Franklin only got Ohio State that one time during his tenure, which is one of the main reasons he’s now in Blacksburg and not in Happy Valley. So, when it comes to a little back-and-forth, Penn State fans don’t have much of a leg to stand on. In this case, though, it’s pretty funny to hear Meyer complaining a decade later about losing to what was at the time an unranked Penn State team.
Penn State’s 2016 CFP snub is still a painful memory
That play was the catalyst for Franklin’s only Big Ten title, but frustratingly, there’s a painful memory tucked in this as well. Though Penn State had the head-to-head win, the Nittany Lions had two losses that year, an early-season defeat to Pitt and a 49-10 loss at Michigan two weeks later. Those losses were enough to keep Penn State out of the College Football Playoff and let Ohio State slide in as the No. 3 seed, joining Alabama, Washington, and the eventual champions, Clemson.
Ohio State lost to Clemson in the CFP semifinals, which was then the first round, 31-0. It took Penn State eight years to finally reach the CFP, which it did in 2024, despite falling again to Ohio State in the regular season.
Luckily for Matt Campbell, he gets a reprieve from the Buckeyes in 2026. Ohio State is not on Penn State’s schedule, so he’ll have a bit of time to build up the program before testing himself against Meyer’s successor, Ryan Day.
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