STATE COLLEGE — Penn State Nation did its part.

It was all dressed up in white, louder than ever, and set a new Beaver Stadium attendance record – 111,030 – in anticipation of breaking a now eight-game losing streak to Ohio State on an otherwise perfect Saturday afternoon.

But, yet again, James Franklin and the Nittany Lions couldn’t live up to their end of the bargain.

In a sick rerun, Penn State lost to the Buckeyes, 20-13, in almost the same script as last year at the Horseshoe, when the score was 20-12 and contributed to the firing of offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich.

This time, it was Andy Kotelnicki whose offense melted down.

Twice the Nittany Lions were inside the Buckeyes’ 5-yard line and failed to come away with any points.

“That’s the story of the game,” Franklin said.

When the final, fatal series screamed for Tyler Warren, Kotelnicki — with Franklin presumably signing off — instead ordered up three straight plugs up the middle to Kaytron Allen before a fourth-down pass into traffic fell incomplete.

It was caveman football at its finest.

The defense then suffered a letdown, allowing Ohio State, from its own 1, to grind out four first downs in the last 5:13 to clinch the game.

“We did not play well in an obvious running situation,” Franklin said.

All in all, the Nittany Lions got what they deserved.

Their offense not only couldn’t score in the red zone, in the waning moments of the first half or at the end of the game, but it didn’t muster a touchdown all day.

The defense staked the Lions to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter on Zion Tracy’s well-timed interception and 31-yard return.

But Penn State didn’t hold it. Vulnerable to the pass all year, the Lions allowed a pair of touchdown receptions as Ohio State took a 14-10 halftime lead.

Those, however, were the physical plays.

The Lions opened the game with an impressive possession and gained four first downs to the Ohio State 12 before guard Sal Wormley was whistled for an illegal man downfield flag that helped turn the drive into a field goal.

After Ohio State made it 10-7 on a pretty wheel route TD from Will Howard to Emeka Egbuka, the Lions’ generosity really kicked in.

On third-and-2 from the Buckeyes’ 27, Abdul Carter jumped offside, gift-wrapping a first down. Worse, when the Lions had Carnell Tate stopped on third-and-11, PSU cornerback Elliot Washington decided to step over Tate for a taunting penalty, leading to another TD.

It was inexcusable.

“We can’t do that,” Franklin said. “Can’t, can’t, can’t do those things. (Taunting penalty) happened last week, happened this week. That’s on me.”

Then again, how is the team supposed to have poise when Franklin himself engaged in a viral interaction with a fan afterward, something he’s also done in the past?

There’s no question it was a bitter day. There were several key calls that went against the Lions – “50-50 calls you can call in either direction that are critical,” Franklin said.

One reversal took away a called touchdown for Ohio State, costing the Buckeyes a 21-10 advantage. Another changed a PSU incompletion in the end zone with 11 seconds remaining in the half to an Ohio State interception, allowing the Bucks to escape to intermission with a 14-10 lead instead of being down 17-14.

The officials were booed off the field at half.

They weren’t the only ones.

When the game was over, and fans were invited to “join head coach James Franklin” and the Lions to sing the alma mater, the mere mention of Franklin’s name brought another noticeable chorus of boos along with “fire Franklin” chants as he exited the tunnel.

Franklin acknowledged the fans for their “unbelievable support” and added, “I understand their frustration.”

Most frustrating was the fact that although Ohio State showed great resiliency, and made the plays at crunch time, Penn State played lousy on offense, converted just 3-of-11 on third downs and yet was still in the game.

“Are they good on defense? Yes, but we have to find a way to manufacture points,” Franklin said.

The Buckeyes were beatable, but as happened too often in this series, the Lions couldn’t seize the opportunity.

Wormley apologized to the fans. Senior Dvon J-Thomas, noting his six losses to OSU, said, “You chase perfection, and then to not come through is heartbreaking.”

Franklin was asked about his 1-10 record against the Buckeyes, not to mention being 1-13 at PSU vs. the AP Top 5.

“Nobody’s looking in the mirror harder than I am,” he said. “I own it all.”

And right now, his stock could not be much lower.

Neil Rudel can be reached at nrudel@altoonamirror.com.