Giger: Lions need to use reality check to fix their glaring problems
PSU point/counterpoint: What is your silver lining from the loss to Oregon?
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You don't get to skip steps in life on the way to achieving your goal. You have to earn every single thing.
Penn State did not earn the title of being an "elite" program. It's baffling that so many people seemed to be willing to bestow that distinction on the Lions throughout the offseason, when they had done nothing on the field to actually earn it.
Just because PSU reached the national semifinal last year doesn't mean it had earned the elite distinction. All the Lions did was beat a significantly inferior SMU team at home in the College Football Playoff, then a significantly inferior Boise State team in the second round.
Those are the games, against overmatched opponents, that James Franklin and Penn State always win.
And the Lions always lose the games against great teams, just like they did last year against Ohio State, Oregon and Notre Dame.
So, for this week's discussion, the only silver lining that I can come up with after the tremendously disappointing whiteout defeat to Oregon is this:
Reality check.
It seems to me that Franklin and Drew Allar and Nicholas Singleton, in particular, spent the offseason buying into the hype, believing they were better than they actually are. And now, with all three facing intense criticism, they — and everyone else in the program — need to look themselves in the mirror and realize that they were overrated.
Get mad about it. Furious. Be embarrassed. Use it as fuel to lock in 1,000%. Dig down deep into their most competitive juices and vow internally to prove that they can indeed be as good as so many people had hoped for this season.
Allar has been awful this season. No sugarcoating it. At this point in his career, his legacy is that he cannot make big throws when it matters most against great competition.
Franklin has been awful at developing Allar. This pro-style quarterback is not a good fit for this system, run by an offensive coordinator who would be much better off with a mobile QB.
Singleton has regressed immensely, and is clearly not a better running back than Kaytron Allen.
The good news, though, is that there's one more chance out there in the regular season for Penn State to fix all this. That chance will come at Ohio State on Nov. 1, and that's as much of a must-win game as it gets.
Here's why.
The math ain't mathing for Penn State right now. I've kind of assumed all along that a 10-2 record would be enough to get into the playoff because there will be lots of chaos around college football the rest of the season. And that still could be true.
But an ESPN story Tuesday night pointed out the Lions have only a 22.5% chance of reaching the playoff right now. A loss to Ohio State and 10-2 record simply might not be enough because the garbage non-conference schedule did nothing for PSU, and the rest of the schedule only provides a chance for one more quality win (Indiana).
So, long story short, if the Lions lose to Ohio State, their 10-2 record probably won't stack up very well against other 10-2 teams, and they could miss the playoff.
That would be devastating for Franklin, because this was supposed to be his best team ever and best chance at a national title.
The reality check for everyone in the program is to fully understand they still haven't beaten anybody that matters for a long, long time, so they'd better be working harder than ever on whatever it will take to finally rid themselves of that stigma against Ohio State.
Cory Giger hosts the new Blue & White Wrapup show following each Penn State game this season on WTRN-FM 96.9 and 100.7.