The Morning After
By Chris Snyder
How significantly will Illinois loss impact Penn State Football’s program trajectory?
And I’m going to frame the “Where does Penn State Football go from here?” question as a very broad question.
Which does not include the fact a clearly injured Sean Clifford suited up for a game against one of the worst B1G teams at home following a bye week.
This also does not include whether or not Penn State has a viable FBS quarterback currently on its roster outside of Clifford.
Nor does this include the fact the Fighting Illini racked up 357 yards on the ground and Penn State was able to muster a measly 62 yards against one of the worst rush defenses in the country.
This also does not include the hiring of OC Kirk Ciarrocca for one season to then turn around and let him walk after a disastrous season to hire the highly coveted OC Mike Yurcich. Who has been borderline brilliant at every stop he’s been to since Shippensburg University.
We’re also going to throw out the fact Penn State has hired countless Offensive Line coaches and yet despite a two-deep of 4* recruits, the offensive line can be generously considered “not a huge liability” even on a good day.
Nope. None of these matter for where the Nittany Lions and their football program go from here. This is the only question which matters.
“Can Penn State do better than James Franklin as their head football coach?”
Bingo.
Look, I know there are a lot of Penn State fans, fair weather Penn State fans, and people who are anything but Penn State fans who have been asking for Franklin to be let go for awhile.
“He can’t win any big games! He should be fired!”
“Penn State will never be a national power until James Franklin leaves!”
“Good! I hope he goes to USC or LSU!”
Okay. So who do you want to replace him?
Who is going to come in here immediately and contend for the B1G East title which will always include toppling perennial College Football Playoff contender Ohio State?
The B1G East currently has three other teams ranked in the AP top 10. Who are you bringing in who can run that gauntlet each season?
Which candidate is going to be willing to come to Penn State and deal with an administration which is not exactly going down the right path when it comes to taking their football team to the next level.
On a side note, if you are in charge of an athletic program who wants to take their football team to the next level and beyond, the only correct answer to the question when your head football coach comes to you to ask for money is “How much?”.
No questions asked just simply how much do you need and we will get it. Big boy college football is an arms race and if you don’t understand that then I don’t even know where to begin to have a conversation with you.
Moving on.
And which candidate is proven and ready to step into the huge spotlight of Penn State Football so he can appease your winning needs? Which includes moving to a town which has objectively some of the worst weather in the entire country.
Here are some more facts:
-Penn State last won a national championship 35 years ago (1986)
-Penn State last had a chance to contend for a national title after the last day of the regular season 27 years ago (1994)
-Penn State has not made the College Football Playoff
-Virtually the same teams make the College Football Playoffs each year (Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma, [insert team other than Alabama from the SEC])
Has James Franklin hit his ceiling at Penn State several years ago when Trace McSorely and Saquon Barkley were in the backfield?
Unfortunately the answer is most likely “yes”.
But, I still contend Penn State Football would be in a dramatically better spot had they beaten Ohio State in both 2017 and 2018. But in the end, they didn’t.
So back to the question. Who are you going to replace James Franklin with if you let him go?
Because unfortunately, I firmly believe he is the best and the most realistic coach Penn State Football can have.
My only other hope lies in the quarterback talent coming in next season and for James Franklin to shake those not-so-great trends Penn State fans are now accustomed to.
Was it fun watching Saturday’s game? Nope. But now that some time has passed, I believe we all need a little more perspective when it comes to Penn State Football and where they go from here.