The Penn State Football Report Card: Orange Bowl Edition

MIAMI GARDENS | All three of Penn State football's losses in the historic 2024-2025 season danced on a razor's edge. The “what-if” questions loomed over each of them. What if Penn State gets the ball to Tyler Warren on the goal line late against Ohio State? What if Drew Allar fails to attempt the deep shot to Trey Wallace against Oregon in the Big Ten Championship Game? What if a backup quarterback doesn't lead Notre Dame to a field just before halftime, or if a cornerback doesn't slip into coverage, in a 27-24 win over Penn State in the Oranjekom?

“There's probably eight to 12 plays in that game and if we could have found a way to get a couple more plays in that game, we're so close,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “It's a game of inches.”

For the last time this season, to the Penn State football report.

VIOLATION: C

Another taxing night for running backs Nicholas Singleton (84 yards, three touchdowns) and Kaytron Allen (19 carries, 82 yards) against a fierce Notre Dame defense should have been enough. And then Penn State ran five times for minus-3 yards in the third quarter. Another star turn from Tyler Warren (six catches, 75 yards) should have been enough. But Penn State's receivers failed to intercept five targets. A good night from Drew Allar should have been enough. But the quarterback had his most frustrating game of the postseasonpunctuated by an interception late in the fourth quarter that Notre Dame converted into the winning field goal. One undercurrent: Penn State went 3-for-11 on third down and Allar went 1-for-3 through. The what-if: Allar and Singleton couldn't connect on an open third-down touchdown pass late in the first quarter. That can be just as costly as the interception.

DEFENSE: B-

Abdul Carter (two TFLs and a pass breakup with a drifter), Dani Dennis-Sutton (two TFLs, an interception and a forced fumble) and Zakee Wheatley (16 tackles, interception) had excellent games for a defense that was largely good enough was winning. The defensive front shut down Notre Dame's run game as well as could be expected, though Jeremiyah Love shook off three tackles for a touchdown. It's stunning to think that despite all of this, Notre Dame scored 24 points in the second half. One undercurrent: Notre Dame converted 11 of 17 third downs and its quarterbacks were 8-for-11 on third downs. The what-if: Penn State's defense struggled late in the first half against Notre Dame's fast-paced offense with backup quarterback Steve Angeli, leading to a crucial field goal. And cornerback Cam Miller simply lost his footing on a punt return in the second half, giving Jaden Greathouse a free catch and a 54-yard touchdown.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B

Punter Riley Thompson (42-yard average) and kicker Ryan Barker (field goal) were fine. Zion Tracy had an adventurous evening of fair catches, taking one at the 2-yard line and deftly holding the football after plowing through it when he didn't make the fair catch. The what-if: Penn State didn't have a return for a touchdown all season (Singleton had one called back on a penalty) and was content to accept fair-caught punts. In a match like this, a return could have changed things.

COACHING: B-

Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki removed the blame for the interception from Allar's shoulders and placed it on his own, as any coach does. The same goes for defensive coordinator Tom Allen, who thought he could have made better decisions on third down. However, the players own this loss as much as the coaches. They often seemed to be in the right formations, fronts and coverages to run successful plays. Many were successful; those who didn't succumb to Notre Dame's massive execution or a Penn State collapse. That's the micro version of Penn State's version. The what-if is a macro view of Penn State in Big Games that will follow the program into next season.

GENERAL: B-

Penn State played a sometimes great, sometimes flawed, but always intense Orange Bowl. They took a lead of 10, regained a 24-17 lead and had the ball with 47 seconds, two timeouts and a chance to make history. A remarkable season ended without a legendary moment. That stings brutally. It also ended with enough what-ifs to make the Nittany Lions heartbreak.

More Penn State football

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For Drew Allar, an unstable Orange Bowl ends an inconsistent postseason

What we learned from Penn State's Orange Bowl loss to Notre Dame