What Penn State Coach James Franklin Said About Final Play Call in Loss to Oregon

The dust has nearly settled on No. 2 Oregon's win over No. 7 Penn State, but Nittany Lions coach James Franklin spoke about the final play call of the game during his Monday press conference.

Oregon won in double overtime after Ducks safety Dillon Thieneman intercepted a pass from Penn State quarterback Drew Allar, and some are questioning the play call from Franklin as well as Nittany Lions offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki.

"If you study that play of our time here, it's almost always run to the boundary, and probably can find some tweets and other things where you loved it," Franklin said on Monday. "We've run that play to the boundary, a similar variation of that, for probably the last 12 years. Most people run that play to the boundary. We've had a lot of success with it."

Sep 27, 2025; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar (15) warms up before a game against the Oregon Ducks at Beaver Stadium. | James Lang-Imagn Images

"They did a really good job of coaching it and covering it, especially when it complemented the run that we've been running all game. Like I mentioned earlier, I think, you gotta give them credit. You gotta throw the ball away or take a check down or run, to give us a chance to to play another down. But yeah, that that play is typically run into the boundary," continued Franklin.

As mentioned by the Penn State coach, the Ducks did defend the play successfully. Oregon defensive end Teitum Tuioti successfully took away the screen pass to the running back, allowing Thieneman to shift his focus to Allar's eyes and his target, Nittany Lions tight end Luke Reynolds.

Looked like a 4-Down 3-High 5-man pressure with Quarters behind it.

Safety sees the Wheel open up once he opens to trail the Post, then caps.

4-Load has the underneath players cut #2 & #3 (#2 Weak).

DE appears to slightly peel to get a jam.
-- https://t.co/sCCTKXiIrd pic.twitter.com/BiOAQCAreP
— Cody Alexander (@The_Coach_A) September 29, 2025

Oregon defensive back Dillon Thieneman speaks with reporters during Oregon football’s Media Day on July 28, 2025, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Meanwhile, Oregon safety Aaron Flowers was also closing in on Reynolds before the ball ever left Allar's hand.

The rest is history as the Ducks came away with the win, but Franklin defended the decision to run the play into the boundary side of the field, even if it appears to limit the offense's spacing:

"Again, you got to give them credit, and again, I understand the question. A lot of times when you run plays into the boundary, whether it's the run game or whether it's the pass game, and they don't work, that always gets questioned, right? Because from a common sense approach, the field has more space. The issue with that is. . . a lot of times defenses call field defenses, which actually creates more space, creates more angles, creates more leverage into the boundary," Franklin said.

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning celebrates his win with Duck fans as the Oregon Ducks face the Penn State Nittany Lionst — Oregon head coach Dan Lanning celebrates his win with Duck fans as the Oregon Ducks face the Penn State Nittany Lions on Sept. 27, 2025, at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oregon coach Dan Lanning appeared Bussin' with the Boys, a popular podcasted hosted by former NFL players Taylor Lewan and Will Compton, and he shared his perspective of the finaly play:

"We'd held them all game, but we felt like they found something. They found a place to get extra hats, and we didn't have a great answer. I just remember flipping over to defense and saying, 'Hey look. You guys gotta come up with something for this play," Lanning said.

And then we have to have a plan for the score route, which is the route they ran there at the very end there. So we need something that stops both, right? And we ran a call we hadn't ran all game, but we had practiced for this game," the Oregon coach continued.

Lanning and the Ducks ultimately won the chess match against Penn State, but the Nittany Lions' year is far from over. Might these two teams meet again in the postseason?