This will all be nicely resolved in the next few weeks. All I will say at this point is that yesterday was a great day for Penn State football, Penn State University and State College. Having lived here since the end of 2001 this trifecta, IMO, may be a first.
Hey Franklin haters, is a playoff game a big game? Win or go home. Elimination. Season ends.
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The goal post being set at only a MNC is you setting the goal post, not anyone else. So setting more realistic goal posts is not moving them.
Yes coach Franklin did win a big game. The Nittany Lions played and soundly defeated SMU. Unfortunately the team was overmatched. News flash, every program that won this past weekend played a big game against an overrated and overmatched opponent. The only exception being Texas vs. Clemson.
From what I’ve read on blogs and listened to on sports shows the survival of the playoff format will heavily depend on making changes next year. One SEC guy went as far as saying changes to this format are imminent if not guaranteed.
From what I’ve read on blogs and listened to on sports shows the survival of the playoff format will heavily depend on making changes next year. One SEC guy went as far as saying changes to this format are imminent if not guaranteed.
Why did we even accept this playoff bid? Just go home, we won 10+ games. Good enough.
isn’t James on record with wanting to be the first African American coach to win the MNC? Did I make that up? Did he tell me what his own standard was and I made the mistake of believing him?
He’s done really well this season. This is a tough battle tested team. This team can come back from a deficit. They fight back. Survive and advance. Can’t count them out.
I think changes are coming as soon as next year. The issue is it seems that the most widely preferred change is playoff expansion, which in turn will allow more overmatched teams (or at least not eliminate the automaticbids for the current overmatched ones).
That’s everyone’s hope, but it’s not the only acceptable outcome. The NC or bust attitude is what needs to stop. We haven’t won one in a long time, so if that’s the only goal, we should have given up on the team in 1988.
Unless you have NIL donors willing to pony up $30 million a year like Ohowihate, MNCs, IMO, will be difficult to achieve.
"Birth" and "berth" are 2 different words. And they mean very different things. Our board standard is basic literacy. You are failing to meet that standard.
Phrasing things in this manner ... that the "goal" is a Natty, and not obtaining that goal is a failure, is childish Veruca Salt nonsense. Otherwise, Penn State football has been a colossal failure in 135 of its 137 years of existence. So, by that measure, the PSU standard is failure. Thus, Franklin would be a success at reaching the PSU standard.
Yes, every team wants to win it all - that's their "goal." But it doesn't mean the coach, or the team, is a failure if that goal isn't reached. It's more like a dream, than a goal, but when you're competing, you can't phrase it that way.
We don't consider it a success if we win a Natty, then go 1-11 for 10-15 straight years ... and we don't expect to win a Natty every year. So, the reasonable, mature way to look at this is to create a goal of being competitive for a top spot, most years. Now you'll whine that this is setting the bar low and other childish rantings, but that's the reality.
Obviously it’s a big win, even if it wasn’t a big-name opponent. To argue otherwise is ridiculous.
Now that said, going for it on 4th and 2 from your own 19 at that point in the game is also inarguably bad coaching.
Now that said, going for it on 4th and 2 from your own 19 at that point in the game is also inarguably bad coaching.
I can argue it. PSU was up 2 scores and it was a half yard that they had been picking up all year long. It was also a poor spot as they did actually pick it up. Had it been a one score game or a tie I don't think he does it. If you're only aggressive when your trailing, you're not aggressive and you are playing catch up.
You cannot say your an aggressive coach and then bail when it's time to actually be aggressive. The O needed a jumpstart at that point in the game. It also shows the defense he has 100% confidence in them. You can nitpick any call after the fact and the only ones that ever get called out are the ones that fail. I get that people didn't like it which is completely fair, but with the lead and all of the time left...I can see it.
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I do think Penn State can beat tOSU, or any other team remaining in this playoff. I saw a couple of definite, positive signs yesterday that Penn State is ready to beat tOSU or whoever else they play for the MNC.
First, I didn't see our defense running around like rodeo clowns after making a play yesterday. I saw much more of a businesslike, professional approach. That focus will be needed as we get deeper into this tournament.
Second, I saw James go absolutely bonkers in the middle of the fourth quarter, like he had been zapped with a cattle prod. The game was well in hand, but Penn State was starting to play sloppy football, making dumb mistakes, throwing interceptions, and having mental lapses. James was having none of that from this team any longer. The last time I saw a guy do this, it was Nicola Jokic during the NBA Finals when his Denver Nuggets won the championship. I think this is a sign that James is growing as a coach. He is locked in, and he is not going to treat his players like they are his buddies for the rest of the season. He is likely going to use that 4th quarter against SMU to scream at the players for the next week in order to keep them focused in preparation for the Fiesta Bowl.
They can make this happen.
I think the perspective has to be more than one year. C'mon, they were the standard for a decade plus and will be back again. This is our first shot at a Natty in 30 plus years.
It was idiotic. The upside is a first down at your own 20 and a continued 14-0 lead. The downside was ceding momentum to what to that point had been a severely overmatched opponent. You do not risk giving them momentum and a short field. Add in the fact that the offense had done virtually nothing to that point and you have an imbecilic decision. The type of which he has made repeatedly in “big” games.
Yeah...like the fake punt in our own end that allowed us to run out the clock and make the playoffs late in the game away at Minnesota. I know it wasn't a "big game" at Minnesota, right, and it worked so it doesn't count that time. The fact is we have been pretty damn successful with under a yard this year....they didn't get a good spot. I love these "big game" BS cliches you people parrot from the media....then complain about the media out the other side of your mouths. He went for it...it didn't work...oh well. Had they gotten the spot, not a word would be spoken about this.
Super pumped we won the first ever home playoff game but we must consider the smu qb play was not impressive
Nah. He did a much better job this season of fighting his urge to make stupid moves like that. This was a major flub that luckily didn’t effect the outcome.
False. Words would still have been spoken. It was dumb beyond belief. He got bailed out by the interception and we won in a blowout yet it’s a topic of discussion because of its sheer stupidity. I actually like Franklin overall but he is a master of WTF moments in yes, big games. You can like someone and still be aware enough to criticize when warranted. The “hater” term has lost all meaning with overuse and misuse.
No- I was agreeing with you. If he doesn't deliver the MNC that is our standard fire his *** and hire that other guy who can give us what we deserve every year. What was that guy's name? I forget.
Right,,,,run with it. I just saw Sirianni go for it on 4th and 7 (not 4th and half a yard) at midfield while chasing a point. 6:30 on the clock with 2 timeouts....he got it though so you won't hear a word. Sorry it's not 1982 anymore and new more aggressive coaches are taking over the game. Again PSU was up 2 scores at the time and he was trying to jump start the offense....if he had punted I wouldn't have blinked too. I get feaux outrage is the norm online but you can be pretend upset all you want to...later.
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Touché on the grammar catch.
I get fired if I fail to meet standards or goals or whatever my employer wants to call it. What's in a name? In reality, nothing. The final result is what matters. The goal/standard/dream/target/holy grail/plan/purpose/idea was always a MNC. I'm not sure why we would even compete in this playoff tournament if the true standard/goal/plan/dream/target wasn't to win it all. Why didn't we stop after we won 10/11 games and go home? We did that every other year...oh but wait...we actually got invited to the championship tournament this year, count us in! One of the players actually said that in an interview this year that they would usually, and I am reading between the lines here on the quote, "give up" after they were eliminated from the 4 team playoff.
As I indicated earlier, people were willing to lower the bar for James in order to give him the time he needed to get the program to the point where it could make a MNC run. PSU has shown it can compete for one. Interestingly, look at what happened to Alabama...
I guess the right coach really CAN make that big of a difference for a program.
You mean the SMU team that beat Pitt 48-25, the Pitt team that beat WVU?
As soon as they got stopped short on third down, I said go for it. We’ve been getting that all year with the tush push and our punter is terrible….just because you disagree with it, doesn’t make it dumb beyond belief. In the playoffs, play to win, not play it safe.
Exactly I thought the second it was just short on 3rd down he may go. It really wasn’t a surprise after this last year and the success they had all year long. Had he punted it would not have been a surprise too. I wish I saw all of these coaches who never missed a conversion or who were perfect all the time. The fans after the fact are batting a thousand though. We never miss.
You try really hard to find negatives in things. Why not just enjoy the ride? Why be so bitter?
Wasn’t the goal all these years to make the playoff? Is that what they are currently doing…still playing IN THE PLAYOFF. Was Paterno’s goal not the national championship? Does that mean he was a failure 44 out of his 46 years? Of course not, stop and listen to yourself for a minute.
No...I mean the SMU team that lost to BYU, the BYU team that lost to Kansas, the Kansas team that lost to West Virginia.
That SMU QB who was "not impressive" had been impressive all year long, and was talked up by all the commentators as being a stud ... maybe it was the impressive PSU D that made him rattled?
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As long any rule that is applied is something other than the Matt Ruhle.
Scooby, your employer has standards for you ... standards that, if you don't meet them, you get fired. You might also have a goal for yourself ... or, your employer may have a goal for you - to be the bestest biochemist (who repeatedly doesn't know the difference between "birth" and "berth") that ever did live. You're not going to get fired if you don't meet that goal. You're not going to be a failure if you don't meet that goal. You're not going to be raked over the coals by fans of biochemistry companies on BiochemistsIllustrated.com for not meeting that goal.
The rest of your post? I have no idea what you're babbling on about. The point being ... stop being an over-critical d-bag of Franklin. The program's in great shape. We're having a great season. Franklin's kicking ***. And you're failing as a poster.
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Lose to SMU and then see if it's a big game or not.
More likely to happen:
a) raise for CJF
b) extension for CJF
c) both a & b
d) nothing - stay the course
e) some school with deep pockets makes CJF an offer he can’t refuse….
a) raise for CJF
b) extension for CJF
c) both a & b
d) nothing - stay the course
e) some school with deep pockets makes CJF an offer he can’t refuse….