James Franklin on Penn State's season opener against West Virginia: 'It's a hornet's nest'
Penn State will start its season with a road matchup against West Virginia Aug. 31. James Franklin gave his thoughts at Media Day Wednesday.
Media Day: James Franklin on Penn State's season opener against West Virginia: 'It's a hornet's nest'
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Is Franklin right here? Think some context is needed - but, glad he’s aware….
he's correct. everyone knows we beat the sisters of the poor (Rutgres I'm looking at you) but what happens in the big games? 10 schmen wins, who cares?
He's 100% correct. He knows that Penn State is a program that can and should be competing for B1G and NCAA titles more frequently than we have. Very few think we should be annual contenders because most understand and agree with being a program that is about more than just Wins and Losses. However, we should be winning the big games like UM and OSU at a higher percentage than we have been.
Do you think Franklin thinks he should get more credit/admiration for winning 10/11 games 50% of the time (while losing the 'biggest' games on the schedule)?
I will say this - he's 100% better in front of a crowd than DeShaun Foster is.
Franklin & Foster... It looks like one went to college to play football and the other to get an education/non-playing skill set.
I hope for his sake that his game prep is better than his media prep cuz he clearly did nothing in preparation for his time at the podium.
I think Franklin is a better coach than most Penn State fans give him credit for. He brought us out of our darkest period and has gotten us back to being a Top 10 program. One only needs to look to Nebraska to see the other side of how things can turn out when a program doesn't value a good coach.
Even with sanctions we never had a season with a losing record, unlike the early 00’s. The closest is Franklin in 2020, which is notable for the worst start in Penn State history (0-5) and worst overtime loss. Still, that was a weird year.
Here is the list of active college football coaches with more than 10 years head coaching experience with a better won-loss percentage than James Franklin:
Dabo Swinney 16 170-43 .798
Brian Kelly 20 186-69 .729
Mike Gundy 19 166-79 .678
James Franklin 13 112-54 .675
That's it, and none of them, I retype, none of them, were a head coach in the SEC at VANDERBILT.
And in case you were wondering:
Dabo Swinney is 54 years old and has won 170 games all at Clemson. If he averages 10 wins a year for the next 24 years he'll have 410 wins at the same school and be 78 years old. It's highly, highly unlikely, but not out of the realm of possibility. Especially with expanded seasons and multiple rounds of playoff games now. Joe coached till he was 85.
Some years ago, Bob Stoops, Urban Meyer and David Shaw were ahead of Joe's win pace for their respective ages. All three no longer active college coaches.
Dabo Swinney 16 170-43 .798
Brian Kelly 20 186-69 .729
Mike Gundy 19 166-79 .678
James Franklin 13 112-54 .675
That's it, and none of them, I retype, none of them, were a head coach in the SEC at VANDERBILT.
And in case you were wondering:
Dabo Swinney is 54 years old and has won 170 games all at Clemson. If he averages 10 wins a year for the next 24 years he'll have 410 wins at the same school and be 78 years old. It's highly, highly unlikely, but not out of the realm of possibility. Especially with expanded seasons and multiple rounds of playoff games now. Joe coached till he was 85.
Some years ago, Bob Stoops, Urban Meyer and David Shaw were ahead of Joe's win pace for their respective ages. All three no longer active college coaches.
Partially agree. The worst OT loss was the 9 OT debacle against Illinois. That’s 4 hrs and 11 minutes of my life I will never get back.
Yes, sorry - that is definitely the worst OT loss; for some reason I thought it was in 2020.
This has become Franklin’s calling card for excusing his losses in big games the last few years.
He generally starts off placating the main criticism he gets by saying (paraphrasing) we need to be better against Ohio St and Michigan…… followed by but it’s really ok because we win 10 games and most college football teams would be happy with that.
The bottom line is his record against Ohio St and Michigan and really any top 15 team, (6-22, (.215)), or top 25 team, (14-25 (.359)), is pretty bad but as long as he gets 10 wins against mainly OOC and Big Ten cupcakes then he thinks people should be happy.
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2020 was the OT loss vs Indiana. It was also brutal, but for different reasons. Devyn Ford scored when he should have went down to milk the clock and I’m sorry, but when Penix Jr reached for the endzone the ball touched out of bounds first. I’m convinced that if they win that game, the season has a much different outcome. It was like that game took the wind out of them for the whole (shortened) season.
Right, right. Wow. Still think Illinois is worse, but that Indiana game was brutal. Should have never been that close given the talent disparity though in hindsight Indiana had a player in Penix.
Penix is a historic player. No one has ever won a game by jumping out of bounds.
It makes me so angry to think about how clear evidence was.
Two losses - 10-2 at the end of the schedule, any or every year, will not make the Playoffs. The selection of Notre Dame, Bama, Texas as contenders not winning their league will eliminate Penn State ..... and who said PSU will be 11-1 in any year and be a virtual lock.
Two losses or more and PSU will be in a 'minor bowl game'.
Even with his extensive coaching resume - game experience at East Stroudsburg did not prepare him for the 'Big Boys and Big Games'. Playing Kutztown or Shippinsburg is far different than USC, Oregon, UMich and OSU. We perceive he is trying, but the final outcome is not consistent.
Two losses or more and PSU will be in a 'minor bowl game'.
Even with his extensive coaching resume - game experience at East Stroudsburg did not prepare him for the 'Big Boys and Big Games'. Playing Kutztown or Shippinsburg is far different than USC, Oregon, UMich and OSU. We perceive he is trying, but the final outcome is not consistent.
That’s not what he said and you damn well know it. Stop with the BS.
I think 10-2 gets you in but also think with the shifting of power teams in the SEC and B1G, there will be pressure to keep the number of teams from those conferences to no more than three each. Assume that is the case, and you have five guaranteed conference winner slots, that leaves two more open spots for your conference. PSU has to be seen as no worse than the 3rd best team in the B1G this year, and go at least 10-2, to get a spot IMO.
Just an awful representative of the university. Just awful.
10-2 in the Big 10 or SEC is a near guaranteed lock to make the playoffs in the new format.
But back to the 'eers. I like their QB, two good TBs with good numbers and they have Gallagher at WR whom we wanted badly. I think they'll be tough on O. We need to bludgeon them on O with our new straight from Kansas scheme! Play some at Auburn ball and create two key turnovers. That's my early take. More to come or not after summer camp really gets going and we hear every detail from Coach.
Agree with the need for contextual clarification. Whom did he mean by "people"? Fans? Football program personnel?
Well, you would be correct if that is why he said what he said. He acknowledged that 10 wins is good but not enough to make many Penn State fans happy as they have higher expectations (a fact which he agreed with in his statements and Q&A). It wasn’t meant as an excuse nor was it meant to say that Penn State fans have u realistic expectations. If you actually watched the presser, it was him acknowledging his shortcomings in this area.
The context here is that we have many fans who fondly remember a past we never had and cherish a place at the pinnacle of the sport that we never occupied.
@laKavosiey-st lion
What do you think of this? ESPN had NFL odds to make the Super Bowl today for the NFC. 49ers were the highest at 25%. The Lions were second with an 18% chance. I would have thought your Eagles were up there, but not according to this. At least, not in the top two.
What do you think of this? ESPN had NFL odds to make the Super Bowl today for the NFC. 49ers were the highest at 25%. The Lions were second with an 18% chance. I would have thought your Eagles were up there, but not according to this. At least, not in the top two.
You know the easiest way to tell that Franklin haters are wrong...they always have to lie about what he said or put words in his mouth in order to prove their point. They're like the Cancel-Culture of today in which they think their feelings are more important than facts and truth.
Agree with Biochem, particularly with the way the Big Ten and SEC have redone their schedules after expansion. Conceivable for one or both conferences to have four teams at 10-2 or better.