James Franklin is the king of competitive losses, and the latest Penn State misstep against Notre Dame adds to his unsettling track record
Another big game, another loss for Penn State head coach James Franklin. The Nittany Lions fell to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 27-24 on Thursday, coming up one victory short in their quest for a national championship berth. With the loss to the Irish, Coach Franklin is now just 1-15 versus AP top 5 teams […]
Another big game, another loss for Penn State head coach James Franklin. The Nittany Lions fell to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 27-24 on Thursday, coming up one victory short in their quest for a national championship berth. With the loss to the Irish, Coach Franklin is now just 1-15 versus AP top 5 teams as the coach in Happy Valley.
For comparison, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has more wins than that in the last ten days. He was also just 38 years old, which Coach Franklin felt the need to highlight coming into the game. The excuses are going to continue for why Franklin can’t get it done, but at some point, some soul-searching needs to happen.
There will be some Penn State fans out there who will try to deflect this major issue. All we are going to hear about is how he just won two playoff games, and completely ignore that those wins were over SMU and Boise State. Analysts routinely spoke about how the Nittany Lions got the easiest path for a title run, but that won’t fit the narrative for some.
The whole situation is eerily similar to former Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly during his time in South Bend. Fighting Irish fans, ironically, were also programmed to accept the floor. For the most part, Coach Franklin is revered for winning the games Penn State is supposed to, but forgiven for continuously falling short against the top teams in college football by some.
All week we heard about the semifinals being exhibitions between blue blood programs. Penn State has a proud tradition of winning games, and being recognized as one of the best programs in the country. That luster has lost some of its shine over the years.
It’s quite possible that Coach Franklin is a solid coach, a great recruiter, and still not the man to get this program over the hump. All of those things could be very true. A large portion of the Penn State fanbase wants to believe that there is another level, that a championship is on the horizon. The biggest question remains, after 11 years, what’s going to change to make anything any different?
