James Franklin deserves all the credit for a decision that could have gotten him fired

Across his 11 years as the head coach of Penn State, James Franklin has yet to take his Nittany Lions to the College Football Playoff. That task has gotten substantially easier this year with the expansion to 12 teams, but at No. 4 in the country with a 10-1 record heading into the fourth CFP rankings reveal of the season after a 26-25 win over Minnesota on Saturday, Franklin’s team is one win away. 

Despite the security of a contract that runs through 2031, if Franklin had lost this road contest to PJ Fleck’s 6-4 Golden Gophers in Minneapolis and missed the CFP, a fed-up fanbase may have driven him out of town. Oh, and a win, after Indiana’s loss to Ohio State earlier in the day meant Penn State’s Big Ten Championship game hopes are still alive. That’s all that was on the line for Franklin and Penn State with his team up by one with 5:48 left in the fourth quarter, and he didn’t shy away from the moment. 

It’s been said that Franklin can’t win a big game, but as Franklin always says, every game is a big game. This one certainly was and Franklin deserves credit for winning it. On the final drive of the game, Penn State faced three fourth downs and converted on all three to salt away the clock and preserve the win. 

First, Franklin sent out the punt unit on fourth-and-1 from his own 34-yard line with 3:08 left:

Then four plays later, Franklin left his offense out for fourth-and-1 from the Minnesota 25 with 2:12 left, and Allar converted a QB sneak. That meant Minnesota had just one timeout left, and a first down would win it, so Franklin again gave his offense four tries to get 10 yards. 

After Nicholas Singleton picked up nine yards on third-and-10, Franklin didn’t just trust his offense, he trusted his former five-star quarterback, who has played up to the promise of that recruiting rating all season long:

So often, Franklin bears the brunt of every misstep the Penn State program takes. Whether that’s losses to Ohio State or on Saturday, blocked punts and extra points that nearly gave the game away. Even more so than the subsequent two decisions, had Luke Reynolds not gotten the first down on the fake punt, it legitmately could have cost Franklin his job. So, it’s only fair that when Franklin makes the difficult decision to play to win instead of just not to lose, with everything on the line, he gets the credit. 

In the postgame interview with CBS’s Jenny Dell, Franklin deflected, calling Allar over to praise his quarterback for winning the game. Sure, Allar deserved it for his gutsy 21/28, 244-yard, two-touchdown performance, but Franklin deserved much more. 

This was Franklin’s 30th straight win against an unranked opponent. He hasn’t gotten over the hump against the Buckeyes since 2016, but today, Penn State fans should be thankful that Franklin is their head coach because he has the Nittany Lions one game away from the College Football Playoff. Franklin wins nearly every game he should and with the expanded postseason, that will mean a lot more going forward.