Sep 27, 2025; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin and quarterback Drew Allar (15) react after losing to the Oregon Ducks at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images

Penn State football's highly anticipated top-five-ranked matchup against Oregon ended all too similarly for Nittany Lions fans.

On the first play of Penn State's second overtime possession, Drew Allar threw an interception into the hands of Dillon Thieneman to give No. 5 Oregon a 30-24 win over No. 2 Penn State at Beaver Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 27 in State College.

The loss for the Nittany Lions was their 21st to a top-10-ranked opponent under James Franklin, moving Penn State's record against top-10-ranked opponents under Franklin to 4-21 and their all-time record against ranked opponents under Franklin to 5-29.

Allar, who is in his third season starting at quarterback for Penn State, orchestrated an impressive fourth-quarter comeback after the Nittany Lions faced a 17-3 deficit at the start of the quarter. The 6-5 quarterback threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Devonte Ross on first down to get the scoring going in the frame, before he found Ross again for a 2-yard touchdown to force overtime.

It wasn't until the fourth quarter that the Nittany Lions' offense began to click and create big plays. The Nittany Lions created just 276 total yards of offense on the night against the Ducks' defense, compared to the 424 yards of total offense Dante Moore and Oregon's offense created against Penn State's defense.

The loss for Penn State also marked the end of its six-game winning streak in its annual White Out game.

Where will the Nittany Lions fall in the latest top 25 ranking following the defeat? Here's where they could be ranked come Sunday afternoon:

Penn State football rankings: Where will Nittany Lions fall in top 25?

A loss to a top-five-ranked team like Oregon is certainly not a "bad loss" in the greater scheme of things, as Penn State's path to return to the College Football Playoff and the Big Ten championship game for the second straight season remains available.

However, a loss will drop Penn State a few spots in the top 25. It also doesn't make the path for those two events any easier since Penn State's road game at Ohio State has become even more of a "must-win" for the Nittany Lions than it already was to begin the season.

One thing that could work in the Nittany Lions' favor with voters is that No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 LSU also dropped games to No. 16 Alabama and No. 11 Ole Miss, respectively on Saturday. Since the Bulldogs and Tigers were ranked lower than the Nittany Lions, Franklin's squad could still — and should — stay in the top 10.

Final ranking projection: No. 8

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Where will Penn State fall in top 25 after Oregon loss? Where Nittany Lions may land

Reporting by John Leuzzi, USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY

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