Fans react to James Franklin coming up small in another big game vs. Ohio State
By Josh Yourish
It’s the same story year after year for Penn State and in James Franklin’s 10th season, Nittany Lion fans are tired of it. After today’s loss to Ohio State, he is 1-9 against the Buckeyes and the only win came off a blocked field goal that was returned for
a touchdown in 2016 at home. Franklin is 2-12 on the road against top 25 teams and 0-10 on the road against top 10 opponents.
Franklin has kept the Nittany Lions nationally relevant, but he’s been unable to get over the hump and into the College Football Playoff. With the playoff expanding to 12 teams next season, Penn State may not need to beat Ohio State and Michigan to get in, but some Penn State fans don’t seem interested in keeping Franklin around that long.
Give me any reason why James Franklin should keep his job and I’ll tell you why you’re wrong. He’s literally never won anywhere he’s gone. He beats up on shitty teams but gets embarrassed by Michigan and Ohio state every year. Oh he won a rose bowl last year against Utah’s backup
— Isaac Viereck (@IsaacV_4) October 21, 2023
I could tweet this every single year when Penn State plays Ohio State and it would ring true.
— Kevin Adams (@KevinAdams26) October 21, 2023
James Franklin is a great recruiter but an average Head Coach.
The big decision came with 7:22 remaining in the fourth quarter when the Nittany Lions trailed 13-6 and faced a 4th & 3 from their own 43-yard line. Franklin opted to keep his offense on the field, despite the struggles of his offense to that point. Allar was 10/23 for 118 yards prior to that play, but Penn State dropped him back again. Allar was pressured, the pass was tipped out of his hand and fell incomplete.
Ohio State responded with a touchdown drive to extend the lead to 20-6 and functionally end the game. Penn State fans were quick to decision Franklin’s decision to go for it.
WTF was that???
— Cory Giger (@CoryGiger) October 21, 2023
I can't believe James Franklin just did that.
Penn State is 6-1 after the loss and will face Indiana at Beaver Stadium next week. The Nittany Lions will likely host Michigan on November 11 with an 8-1 record and a chance to salvage the season, but this game revealed serious flaws with the coach and the quarterback so that matchup could be even worse.
James Franklin is 3-6 head-to-head against Michigan.