Penn State Football: Position grades versus Michigan State

Coaching

I have no idea what’s going on lately, but there seems to be a disconnect about what the fans think is going on, and what is actually going on. After James Franklin said that the team ran their best practice in four years on Saturday, and that they were going to from “great” to “elite,” I think everyone expected a bounce-back solid win. That just didn’t happen.

For whatever reason, the players seemed to come out with not a ton of energy. It also didn’t help that the play calling by offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne was subpar. Rahne was running the ball way too much against a team that was the best run defense in the country coming in.

In addition, he wouldn’t let Trace McSorley throw the ball down field. This coaching staff had two weeks to get their team prepared for a team that had just lost to Northwestern at home, and failed to do it. The game plan just seemed lazy.

Also, the blowing leads theme needs to be addressed. Between the Rose Bowl against USC, last season’s games vs. Ohio State and Michigan State, and this season’s games between Ohio State and Michigan State, all five of them have resulted in a loss after a blown fourth quarter lead. It’s unacceptable.

Yes, it’s easy to be critical of the coaching staff when the team has lost two straight games, but I also want to recognize the job James Franklin has done with this program. Penn State is going to be a consistent top-20 team in the country every year now. While there possibly may be some changes to some of the assistants after the season, Franklin’s job security is as safe as could be. People need to stop overreacting and calling for Franklin’s firing.

We’ll see how ready Penn State is to play in Bloomington, Indiana next Saturday against the Hoosiers.

Grade: D