Yikes.

It wasn't so much that Penn State lost to Ohio State on Saturday afternoon at Beaver Stadium.

It was the way James Franklin's Nittany Lions lost.

The Buckeyes were the favorite, as they usually are against Penn State (7-1).

But a PSU team that had shown so much promise and resilience in its first seven games went out relatively quietly after taking an early 10-0 lead in front of the largest crowd ever in State College.

No touchdowns from Andy Kotelnicki's offense.

No resistance from Penn State's defense on Ohio State's final attempt to run out the clock. The Buckeyes ran the ball 11 consecutive times in a drive that began with the end of their own 1st.

PennLive's Penn State text message subscribers had a lot on their minds after the game.

So it's time for the mailbag.

Some comments have been edited for clarity. Before we get to them, remember that if you'd like to be part of our weekly Subtext mailbag and submit a question, you can find more details on our PennLive Sports Insider page, in addition to the other Penn State updates direct on Your phone will be sent.

Fair or unfair, one win in 11 tries against Ohio State overshadows everything else James Franklin did for Penn State (and he was a very solid coach). It's definitely safe to say that his teams will almost never step up and beat a team that has the talent advantage, even one as thin as today's. What is the hope at this point? For Penn State to win, make the playoffs and have that happen again? Seeing James Franklin constantly banging his head against the ceiling as a coach is not a fun experience for fans.

The numbers are the numbers, I agree. James Franklin is 1-10 against Ohio State and the 2016 win at Beaver Stadium was made possible by great special teams play and great defense that I didn't expect. He could easily be 0-11 against the Buckeyes. Penn State should win its final games of the regular season and advance to the playoffs. But aside from Tyler Warren, the Lions' talented players in the passing game aren't good enough to play against a strong defense. Ohio State's running backs were significantly better than Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton. Whether home or away in the playoffs, Penn State will struggle to find depth.

I hate to say it, but wasn't it exactly this kind of performance that got the last OC out of the can? Who really names the pieces? There seemed to be creativity, lots of movement, shifts, misdirections, but no points. The defense was hot from the start and then it faltered, barely holding on and unable to get off the field when needed. Stupid punishments, then simply by being gassed and tricked. This was a beatable OSU team, and this felt like a major coaching disappointment on both sides.

No touchdowns from Andy Kotelnicki's offense at home? I too was overwhelmed by this achievement. The last drive that died at OSU 1 with a failed PSU at seven? Just not very creative. Tyler Warren had to be a part of one of these plays, either as a receiver or Wildcat quarterback. This loss wasn't much different from the loss at Ohio State in 2023, 20-12 in that one and 20-13 in that one. Where I would disagree: I'm not so sure how beatable Ohio State was on Saturday. Without Will Howard's two big mistakes early on, this game could have been ugly. The Buckeyes have more talent in key spots. If Howard limits his mistakes until the end, Ohio State will be hard to deny. The Buckeyes lost by 1 at Oregon, and that result could have easily been reversed.

1/60

They didn't utilize Beau Pribula enough in the game. They never gave him a chance to beat Ohio State. In a way I was hoping that Drew Allar couldn't be there because I thought with Pribula we would have a better chance of beating them.

Yes, I wrote afterward that Pribula, a dual-threat quarterback who was effective at Wisconsin last week, didn't get enough work against Ohio State. Allar appeared to be healthy enough to play and he has been very good at times this season. He's PSU's starter, but Beau should have had more chances against an athletic Ohio State defense.

Losing stinks, but losing by seven points on a day when nothing is going isn't the end of the world. Getting back on our feet next week is the most important item on the agenda for this coaching staff.

An optimist! Refreshing. You're right. Penn State could be very flat in its white-out game against Washington on Saturday night. And yes, if James Franklin's Lions finish the regular season 11-1 with wins at West Virginia, USC and Wisconsin, as well as a home win over Illinois, that's a record worthy of inclusion in the top 10. But talent-wise, this isn't a top-five team. Georgia, Texas, Ohio State, Oregon, maybe Indiana (Indiana!) and some SEC teams are better.

(This text subscriber below gave me his full name, and here are his comments, word for word)

Hello Bob. Todd Snyder here. My heart hurts a little afterwards. I'll tell you three things that disappointed me the most. 1. Not a single shot down on Omari Evans or anyone else; 2. OSU had stuffed the run up the middle all day, and the best plays Mr. Creativity (Andy Kotelnicki) could imagine from the 1st-and-goal at the 3 were not 1, not 2, but 3 runs in the middle ? 3. The struggling OSU O-line was by most accounts their biggest weakness, and yet our D-line couldn't consistently win against them, and they imposed their will in the fourth quarter and iced the game.

Todd, I give you an “A” grade for these comments. Precisely. Their problems were also my problems with Penn State in the Lions' 20-13 loss to Ohio State at Beaver Stadium. The Lions had no answers after halftime.