Some proper perspective Franklin haters....

[marshall23]

Suck on the following pesky truths......

Franklin has had plenty of success at Penn State, but has struggled against the nation's best competition. While Franklin has led the Nittany Lions to four 11-win seasons, he also now holds a 3-17 record against top 10 teams.

He also holds a dismal 4-16 record against Ohio State and Michigan. Against the Wolverines individually, he is now 3-7.

Penn State is just 1-12 against top-10 teams in the coaches poll since it defeated Wisconsin in the 2016 Big Ten championship game. For the size of Franklin's paycheck, there's much to be desired, including a College Football Playoff berth.

Here's a look into how Franklin has fared in the last 10 contests against top-10 teams.

Timeline of James Franklin's failures in big games: record against top 10 teams, contract details | Sporting News

Looking into how Penn State head coach James Franklin has fared in big games.

www.sportingnews.com

Date	Opponent	Final Score
Nov. 11, 2023	No. 2 Michigan	L, 24-15
Oct. 21, 2023	No. 3 Ohio State	L, 20-12
Jan. 2, 2023	No. 10 Utah	W, 35-21
Oct. 29, 2022	No. 4 Ohio State	L, 44-31
Oct. 15, 2022	No. 3 Michigan	L, 41-17
Nov. 27, 2021	No. 9 Michigan State	L, 30-27
Oct. 31, 2020	No. 2 Ohio State	L, 38-25
Nov. 23, 2019	No. 3 Ohio State	L, 28-17
Nov. 9, 2019	No. 10 Minnesota	L, 31-26
Sept. 29, 2018	No. 3 Ohio State	L, 27-26

Utah was also missing their highly talented starting QB in the 2023 Rose Bowl. Do you have any further questions?

You're very perspicascious...so all WE need to do is hire the coach who beats Michigan and Ohio State. By the way Rising played in THE Rose Bowl till mid 3rd quarter and was knocked out of the game at that point with PSU leading.
I'll await your list of coaches that will beat UM and OSU.

 

[marshall23]

I have one: What have YOU succeeded at?

He'll succeed in watching James Franklin 8 more years and being a message board weasel.

 

[marshall23]

@BW Lion has been extremely successful at failing on this board. It's kinda his thing and now he just leans into it, like a court jester.

This is why he desperately wants a Natty ... while he can't succeed, he feels that rooting for a winner will bring some kind of vicarious self worth.

Bingo. Fanboy hall of fame candidate. Sadly he won't get it. Likely never has or will.

 

[psuro]

i saw the Josh Pate video and thought it might bring out the usual suspects saying the usual things on this board.

 

[LaJollaCreek]

Nothing Pate saying here is even mildly controversial. If you say JF isn't a good coach, you're a GD moron just like you are if you say he is a top 5 or elite/great coach. Right now his label is a good coach that needs to take the next step, but that last one is a big one. For those comparing tOSU/Day to PSU, maybe take a look at the recruit rankings for the last decade and watch the draft every now and then......or pull your head out of the sand and acknowledge they have a better roster annually. They are KILLING it in recruiting right now as they prioritize winning from the fans and the school at a different level. Even so they struggle when you cherry pick ranked top 5 teams. JF's job isn't in doubt or in trouble. It's a handful of people that feel that way who repeat it daily/weekly, but it's not reality.

As far as BW goes if you knew his history you know he was NEVER going to like JF and it had zero to do with football. He didn't even mask it when he was hired.

 

[PSUAVLNC]

I've pretty much lost all interest in college football in general and Penn State football in particular. That said, I don't consider those who offer legitimate criticism about Franklin to be "haters". Given the resources at his disposal, he should have a better record against good teams. If I was still investing time and money in this program I would not be happy with perennial 9 win seasons. Apparently lots of fans are and that's fine. There are much more important things in life than beating Ohio State and Michigan.

Bingo!!!

 

[Midnighter]

Nothing Pate saying here is even mildly controversial. If you say JF isn't a good coach, you're a GD moron just like you are if you say he is a top 5 or elite/great coach. Right now his label is a good coach that needs to take the next step, but that last one is a big one. For those comparing tOSU/Day to PSU, maybe take a look at the recruit rankings for the last decade and watch the draft every now and then......or pull your head out of the sand and acknowledge they have a better roster annually. They are KILLING it in recruiting right now as they prioritize winning from the fans and the school at a different level. Even so they struggle when you cherry pick ranked top 5 teams. JF's job isn't in doubt or in trouble. It's a handful of people that feel that way who repeat it daily/weekly, but it's not reality.

As far as BW goes if you knew his history you know he was NEVER going to like JF and it had zero to do with football. He didn't even mask it when he was hired.

Fine but would disagree in your assessment of coach satisfaction with PSU fans. It’s 50/50 at worst and everyone I know personally is over him and has been for a few years. The vocal minority here shouts down anyone who expresses any issue whatsoever with Franklin so it’s not worth saying anymore (10 wins, who would you hire?, etc.). You will see the ‘real’ temperature of fans during the season when Franklin loses.

He recruits well enough to win and doesn’t. He is the constant through 10 years of top players, solid recruiting classes, predictable losses, and a revolving door of blame wrt OC/DC.

 

[LaJollaCreek]

Fine but would disagree in your assessment of coach satisfaction with PSU fans. It’s 50/50 at worst and everyone I know personally is over him and has been for a few years. The vocal minority here shouts down anyone who expresses any issue whatsoever with Franklin so it’s not worth saying anymore (10 wins, who would you hire?, etc.). You will see the ‘real’ temperature of fans during the season when Franklin loses.

He recruits well enough to win and doesn’t. He is the constant through 10 years of top players, solid recruiting classes, predictable losses, and a revolving door of blame wrt OC/DC.

LOL, so the real temperature can only be taken following a loss and your vocal minority is another opinion, nothing more than that. Yeah as in game threads are a great indicator as well of sane thoughts of fans. Come on now, just because you want him out don't lose all of your common sense.

The vast majority on the more active and informed site feel differently than you do, that much I do know. Then again they actually are engaged and reading what is put out by those closest to the program. You're not a victim of some vocal minority either so that card can be dropped too.

 

[GrimReaper]

From the comments - can anyone verify this budget number?

Closer to $2.9mm, but let's not quibble.

 

[Midnighter]

LOL, so the real temperature can only be taken following a loss and your vocal minority is another opinion, nothing more than that. Yeah as in game threads are a great indicator as well of sane thoughts of fans. Come on now, just because you want him out don't lose all of your common sense.

The vast majority on the more active and informed site feel differently than you do, that much I do know. Then again they actually are engaged and reading what is put out by those closest to the program. You're not a victim of some vocal minority either so that card can be dropped too.

This and other Penn State football news sites are not a microcosm representative of the average Penn State fan; they're more for die-hards, old-timers, and recruitniks who are defeated into thinking Penn State can't do better. Sites where there is much more broad fan representation and discourse around Franklin (such as X/twitter, reddit, The Athletic) show fans to be mostly dissatisfied and tired of his failure to win any meaningful game. His national reputation - despite what Pate's Meemaw says - is the same; better than average recruiter who flops when it matters.

And it doesn't matter what anyone on the inside says about the program, it's not stopping Franklin from making bad in-game decisions over and over and over again. I will say La La Land on the pay site sounds very much of an Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless (Hive) Mind-set and why wouldn't it? Who wants to pay for disappointment and negativity? Everything is wrong (NIL, PSU Admin., fans, etc.) except for Franklin - pay us and we'll tell you more! Amazing.

Next time anyone says something negative (but true) about Franklin, let's see if you and others have the restraint to not respond.

 

[LaJollaCreek]

This and other Penn State football news sites are not a microcosm representative of the average Penn State fan; they're more for die-hards, old-timers, and recruitniks who are defeated into thinking Penn State can't do better. Sites where there is much more broad fan representation and discourse around Franklin (such as X/twitter, reddit, The Athletic) show fans to be mostly dissatisfied and tired of his failure to win any meaningful game. His national reputation - despite what Pate's Meemaw says - is the same; better than average recruiter who flops when it matters.

And it doesn't matter what anyone on the inside says about the program, it's not stopping Franklin from making bad in-game decisions over and over and over again. I will say La La Land on the pay site sounds very much of an Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless (Hive) Mind-set and why wouldn't it? Who wants to pay for disappointment and negativity? Everything is wrong (NIL, PSU Admin., fans, etc.) except for Franklin - pay us and we'll tell you more! Amazing.

Next time anyone says something negative (but true) about Franklin, let's see if you and others have the restraint to not respond.

Hey pot, meet the kettle....but POT has OCD and cannot handle the fact not everyone is holding that torch. JF makes so many bad decisions but keeps on winning the majority of his games.....clearly a sign of a bad coach. LOL, I'm not putting him in the HOF nor am I rushing him out the door as I know he is doing a good enough job. If you can only point to1-2 games a year or a couple of decisions a year, yeah.....maybe try and use the whole data set. I'm not the guy starting threads only that fit my opinion looking for some validation....that is all you and others have called you out on it too.....just saying. He's not getting fired so you can wait for the losses and thump your chest champ....awesome.

Nothing Pate said was even remotely controversial. If you disagree....so be it.

 

[Moogy]

When do your Jr High classes resume?

Your mom only does Jr. High school dudes? That shouldn't surprise me, I guess ... that kinda stuff is "learned/inherited." Still gross. And illegal. But you already knew that.

 

[laKavosiey-st lion]

Bro, I could roll in on game day week on a Tuesday learn a few names and how to operate the head set and win GO STATE BEAT DELAWARE. Always end your pro coach sentences with “meaningful games’ at the end

 

[PSU_Lions_84]

When do your Jr High classes resume?

Why, are you in the 7th grade class I teach AGAIN? What is this - your fourth attempt to get through pre-algebra?

 

[PSU_Lions_84]

I think what grinds my gears the most about the Franklin haters is they NEVER have viable alternatives to him for next coach. It's criticism, but not constructive. It's hate for James Franklin - not support for a better Penn State football team. He's too loyal (Donovan). He's too quick to fire guys (Yurcich). He makes horrible in-game decisions - some merit in that but let's not forget he has an OC and DC who are supposed to be the tactical decision-makers. He lets recruits escape the Penn State net - these kids have freewill (or maybe interfering parents cough Finney cough cough).

Finally, the haters totally ignore the larger CFB environment. There are tons of teams vying for the natty each year, and if you look even casually in the 21st century one can find certain teams have dominated for a few years, only to give way to next dynasty. USCw was strong under Carroll, Clemson was on top for a while, Bama/Georgia have had a run. So in there is a cautionary tale: Maybe it'll be Penn State's turn - for a couple years. Will the haters be satisfied with that, or will they immediately begin to whine again? I'm placing my bet on the latter - most people, unfortunately, do not change.

Off to enjoy more of Glacier Park. Enjoy your day, citizens.

 

[LB99]

I think what grinds my gears the most about the Franklin haters is they NEVER have viable alternatives to him for next coach. It's criticism, but not constructive. It's hate for James Franklin - not support for a better Penn State football team. He's too loyal (Donovan). He's too quick to fire guys (Yurcich). He makes horrible in-game decisions - some merit in that but let's not forget he has an OC and DC who are supposed to be the tactical decision-makers. He lets recruits escape the Penn State net - these kids have freewill (or maybe interfering parents cough Finney cough cough).

Finally, the haters totally ignore the larger CFB environment. There are tons of teams vying for the natty each year, and if you look even casually in the 21st century one can find certain teams have dominated for a few years, only to give way to next dynasty. USCw was strong under Carroll, Clemson was on top for a while, Bama/Georgia have had a run. So in there is a cautionary tale: Maybe it'll be Penn State's turn - for a couple years. Will the haters be satisfied with that, or will they immediately begin to whine again? I'm placing my bet on the latter - most people, unfortunately, do not change.

Off to enjoy more of Glacier Park. Enjoy your day, citizens.

We are headed to Glacier in August. Looking forward to it. Have fun.

 

[PSUJam]

Bro, I could roll in on game day week on a Tuesday learn a few names and how to operate the head set and win GO STATE BEAT DELAWARE. Always end your pro coach sentences with “meaningful games’ at the end

Even Sherrone Moore could coach a chamionship team for six games with 13 NFL draft picks last season.

 

[Grant Green]

I think if you swapped staff, Day is Penn State’s head coach and Franklin is tOSU’s. Day still wins every time.

Every time? No chance.

 

[LaJollaCreek]

Every time? No chance.

Yeah but since it cannot be proven he can just make it up and state it as fact. It's completely made up and can never be proven so it's a great straw for him to stand on.

 

[PSU_Lions_84]

We are headed to Glacier in August. Looking forward to it. Have fun.

Start soon to get your Going to the Sun pass - the allocation fills up quickly. You need a vehicle pass in addition to park pass. Or, be prepared to drive around the park and drive the GTTS from east to west. Not quite as dramatic but still awesome! (Sorry if already known. This is our first visit and some rules have changed due to Covid/post-Covid.)

Heading out for a river cruise shortly.

If you hike and use a guide, check out Glacier Guides. (Shameless plug for the company older son works for.) They also offer rafting trips through Montana Raft.

 

[fairgambit]

I understand that there are differences of opinion on Franklin, and I also understand that people on both sides can be passionate in their beliefs. What I cannot understand is why some find it necessary to resort to name calling and other ad hominem attacks in an effort to win their argument.

 

[Midnighter]

Even Sherrone Moore could coach a chamionship team for six games with 13 NFL draft picks last season.

Franklin had his best D ever, top two in the country, and couldn’t stop the predictable pounding from Michigan (sans their HC). How many draft picks did PSU have? Eight. And game wasn’t close.

 

[PSUJam]

Franklin had his best D ever, top two in the country, and couldn’t stop the predictable pounding from Michigan (sans their HC). How many draft picks did PSU have? Eight. And game wasn’t close.

I agree. That's why Michigan won the MNC. (Along with blatant cheating and recruiting violations)

 

[Train027]

It is ironic that Franklin has more job security than Ryan Day and Lincoln Riley.

 

[LaJollaCreek]

I agree. That's why Michigan won the MNC. (Along with blatant cheating and recruiting violations)

They also beat Bama as well as tOSU both who clearly recruit at a higher level than PSU and the rest of the nation so using them to say fire coach is yet another weak take. Now to be fair the UM faithful had fans just like Midnighter who were yelling fire coach just 3 years ago, so he took a pay cut and then decided to cut corners and cheat. JH was complaining the whole time how he played against a stacked deck until he stacked his own.

 

[saturdaysarebetter]

A quick comparison-

RYAN DAY-

OSU coach- 5 years, 3 games
Overall record- 56-8, (.875).
Conference record- 39-3, (.929).
Big Ten Titles- 2, (.400).
NY6 bowls- 5, (1.00).
Playoff appearances- 3, (.600).
Top 25- 15-7, (.682).
Top 15- 11-7, (.611).
Top 10- 8-7, (.533).
Top 5- 2-6, (.250).
(Top 5 games included 3 playoff semifinals, 1 playoff final).



JAMES FRANKLIN-

PSU coach- 10 years.
Overall record at PSU- 88-39, (.693).
Conference record- 56-32, (.636).
Big Ten titles- 1, (.100).
NY6 bowls- 5, (.500).
Playoff appearances- 0, (.000).
Top 25- 14-25, (.359).
Top 15- 6-22, (.214).
Top 10- 3-17, (.150).
Top 5- 1-12, (.077).

Ryan Day inherited an annual national championship contending team from Urban Meyer. James Franklin inherited a sanctioned ridden, scholarship-reduced team from Bill O'Brien. Keep comparing apples to grapes.

 

[PSUJam]

It is ironic that Franklin has more job security than Ryan Day and Lincoln Riley.

That's because their boosters pay absurd amounts of money and demand better while ours refuse to pay and have no pull. But some of our fans demand better because the coach gets paid a lot of money.

 

[Midnighter]

Hey pot, meet the kettle....but POT has OCD and cannot handle the fact not everyone is holding that torch. JF makes so many bad decisions but keeps on winning the majority of his games.....clearly a sign of a bad coach. LOL, I'm not putting him in the HOF nor am I rushing him out the door as I know he is doing a good enough job. If you can only point to1-2 games a year or a couple of decisions a year, yeah.....maybe try and use the whole data set. I'm not the guy starting threads only that fit my opinion looking for some validation....that is all you and others have called you out on it too.....just saying. He's not getting fired so you can wait for the losses and thump your chest champ....awesome.

Nothing Pate said was even remotely controversial. If you disagree....so be it.

What validation? Franklin's record speaks for itself for better or worse. He can't win a big game to save his life. He can't beat a bad team when the season is on the line. Everyone knows this. Want to know why no one cares when we get a four star recruit? Franklin has shown he doesn't know what to do with them. No one cares anymore. He squandered class after class by blaming OCs for his failures and soon it will be fans for not ponying up NIL money (same stuff you and others say). The fact that he puts so many guys in the NFL should raise a lot of questions, namely, why can't they win anything worthwhile at PSU? Because he's not good. Beating teams you should beat does not make you a good HC. It makes you minimally competent at the one thing you should do.

 

[Midnighter]

That's because their boosters pay absurd amounts of money and demand better while ours refuse to pay and have no pull. But some of our fans demand better because the coach gets paid a lot of money.

What was the reason pre-NIL? Meyer I guess. Shows what an accomplished coach can get you....

 

[BobPSU92]

Doesn’t being at PSU automatically make anyone worse? Isn’t that how it works (or it doesn’t work)?

 

[PSUJam]

What was the reason pre-NIL? Meyer I guess. Shows what an accomplished coach can get you....

Legalizing NIL just made what they were already doing legit. Same with all the other big dogs. They already had their NIL system set up with boosters illegally but now can just be upfront with it. We were taught to be the clean program that didn't need to get in the "arms race". So here we are, behind on facilities, behind on donating to NIL, and behind on MNC runs. We're a second tier team unless everyone buys in.

 

[Moogy]

Bro, I could roll in on game day week on a Tuesday learn a few names and how to operate the head set and win GO STATE BEAT DELAWARE. Always end your pro coach sentences with “meaningful games’ at the end

So after everyone has done all the work, you could come in and take credit for it?

The problem is, you would never figure out how to use the headset. You'd just sit around getting drunk/high, calling your mommy asking for permission to go to a punk concert that weekend, surfing the internet looking at cars, thinking to yourself "I'm totally buying that rad vehicle when I grow up ... no, wait, I'm totally buying THAT gnarly car ... no, no, THAT car would be so awesome!" And then you'd post that if you were yourself, you could coach better than yourself. And yourself is just a hack that can't win a meaningful game, so you should replace yourself with yourself. And then you'd shoot up the place because you'd think all the people sitting around your mommy in the stands were there to accost her.

 

[LaJollaCreek]

What validation? Franklin's record speaks for itself for better or worse. He can't win a big game to save his life. He can't beat a bad team when the season is on the line. Everyone knows this. Want to know why no one cares when we get a four star recruit? Franklin has shown he doesn't know what to do with them. No one cares anymore. He squandered class after class by blaming OCs for his failures and soon it will be fans for not ponying up NIL money (same stuff you and others say). The fact that he puts so many guys in the NFL should raise a lot of questions, namely, why can't they win anything worthwhile at PSU? Because he's not good. Beating teams you should beat does not make you a good HC. It makes you minimally competent at the one thing you should do.

You believe the BS you type which is fine. I think you are completely FOS at this point and just want to pout because you don't even make rational points. You compare him to schools that actually are invested fully in winning and were long before NIL......that wasn't PSU and hasn't been in 3 decades.

There aren't these long lines of HC's with incredible records against the top 5 teams, it's some fan myth to believe when you don't want a HC. It's not based in any sort of reality and this holds true over 50 years. This idea that coaches are killing it against top 5 teams is a myth that is easy to shoot holes in.

Kirby Smart is 1-5 verus Bama. Harbaugh was tOSU's b!tch boy until he cheated. Ryan Day is 2-5 against the top 5. LSU was 1-9 versus Bama until they finally broke through for one year. Now mind you none of those schools had the BS that Franklin walked into initially at PSU. They also had athletic departments that knew football was king and bragging about grad rates like PSU did for 40 years wasn't going to cut it in the long run. They actually kept up in the facilities arms races and didn't fall behind. They were oversigning to make sure they had an advatage. It's as if some PSU fans just woke up out of their Joe slumber and now want to compete for a title, but want to piss on NIL or anything else until they get what they want.

Then you want to dismiss NIL.....tOSU averages 235k, UGa 165k, LSU 239k, Bama 139k......all of these teams do compete for MNC's and recruit better annually. Do you even know what PSU's average is....I doubt it because it might not fit your little made up narrative. For someone who is saying he doesn't care about recruiting it didn't take you long to post about a decommit, but when an even more highly rated kid jumped onboard....it was crickets.

 

[Midnighter]

You believe the BS you type which is fine. I think you are completely FOS at this point and just want to pout because you don't even make rational points. You compare him to schools that actually are invested fully in winning and were long before NIL......that wasn't PSU and hasn't been in 3 decades.

There aren't these long lines of HC's with incredible records against the top 5 teams, it's some fan myth to believe when you don't want a HC. It's not based in any sort of reality and this holds true over 50 years. This idea that coaches are killing it against top 5 teams is a myth that is easy to shoot holes in.

Kirby Smart is 1-5 verus Bama. Harbaugh was tOSU's b!tch boy until he cheated. Ryan Day is 2-5 against the top 5. LSU was 1-9 versus Bama until they finally broke through for one year. Now mind you none of those schools had the BS that Franklin walked into initially at PSU. They also had athletic departments that knew football was king and bragging about grad rates like PSU did for 40 years wasn't going to cut it in the long run. They actually kept up in the facilities arms races and didn't fall behind. They were oversigning to make sure they had an advatage. It's as if some PSU fans just woke up out of their Joe slumber and now want to compete for a title, but want to piss on NIL or anything else until they get what they want.

Then you want to dismiss NIL.....tOSU averages 235k, UGa 165k, LSU 239k, Bama 139k......all of these teams do compete for MNC's and recruit better annually. Do you even know what PSU's average is....I doubt it because it might not fit your little made up narrative. For someone who is saying he doesn't care about recruiting it didn't take you long to post about a decommit, but when an even more highly rated kid jumped onboard....it was crickets.

You, as fairgambit noted, attack people rather than ideas. Over and over again. You have no legitimate response to any point. In fact, you only chime in when it’s to defend Franklin. Instead of NiL average, tell me what our recruiting ranking average is relative to Michigan, who beats us regularly (wait - they cheat!). Or what our win percentage is relative to Top 25 teams. Or how many bowls we lost because Franklin doesn’t know how to use a timeout.

It’s been fun. Won’t see whatever you type next so have at it.

 

[LaJollaCreek]

You, as fairgambit noted, attack people rather than ideas. Over and over again. You have no legitimate response to any point. In fact, you only chime in when it’s to defend Franklin. Instead of NiL average, tell me what our recruiting ranking average is relative to Michigan, who beats us regularly (wait - they cheat!). Or what our win percentage is relative to Top 25 teams. Or how many bowls we lost because Franklin doesn’t know how to use a timeout.

It’s been fun. Won’t see whatever you type next so have at it.

Run away then as you basically disregard ANY point you don't like just like you just did. You never respond to any real questions because you apparently cannot figure out how to. It's a shame as you used to be a decent poster, but now just want to cry I want a new HC knowing he's not in hot water, but want to pretend you're doing something bold. Stay sour and only watch the 2 games a year you care about I guess.

 

[laKavosiey-st lion]

So after everyone has done all the work, you could come in and take credit for it?

The problem is, you would never figure out how to use the headset. You'd just sit around getting drunk/high, calling your mommy asking for permission to go to a punk concert that weekend, surfing the internet looking at cars, thinking to yourself "I'm totally buying that rad vehicle when I grow up ... no, wait, I'm totally buying THAT gnarly car ... no, no, THAT car would be so awesome!" And then you'd post that if you were yourself, you could coach better than yourself. And yourself is just a hack that can't win a meaningful game, so you should replace yourself with yourself. And then you'd shoot up the place because you'd think all the people sitting around your mommy in the stands were there to accost her.

so AGGRESSIVE today lol

 

[saturdaysarebetter]

Assessing James Franklin's 10-Year Run At The Helm Of Penn State Football

When judging Franklin's entire body of work at the helm of the Nittany Lions, it's important to keep the program's state upon his arrival at the forefront of your opinion.

onwardstate.com

 

[saturdaysarebetter]

Evaluating James Franklin's First 10 Years at Penn State

Penn State football coach James Franklin has had an eventful first 10 years with the Nittany Lions.

www.si.com

 

[LB99]

Start soon to get your Going to the Sun pass - the allocation fills up quickly. You need a vehicle pass in addition to park pass. Or, be prepared to drive around the park and drive the GTTS from east to west. Not quite as dramatic but still awesome! (Sorry if already known. This is our first visit and some rules have changed due to Covid/post-Covid.)

Heading out for a river cruise shortly.

If you hike and use a guide, check out Glacier Guides. (Shameless plug for the company older son works for.) They also offer rafting trips through Montana Raft.

Thanks! My wife is on top of it. She already got us road to the sun passes for everyday we are there. She also got us 2 passes for a specific area where we want to hike and a pass is needed to get there? She booked a raft ride already and paddle boarding in one of the lakes (McDonald?). Flying into to Kalispell and staying in a house in Columbia Falls. The house looks really nice and backs up the the woods. Fire pit. I’m really excited. I need a vacation.

 

[CDLionFL]

My party line on Franklin -- really good recruiter, does OK in the transfer portal (more importantly, doesn't seem to lose players who then thrive somewhere else), represents the university in an exemplary way, cares immensely for his players not just when they're on campus but when they move on in life, but can't win the big game. It had become expected up until the last 2 years that there would be 3 losses per season -- Michigan, Ohio State, and some BS team who they came out flat against often after a bye week and many times a noon start. That last one has stopped the last 2 seasons so we've plugged that gap for now. Yes, you can put some blame on OCs and DCs but ultimately, it comes back to the head man. There are a ton of big games that could have gone the other way if not for collapses or questionable scoreboard math or just having the team properly ready to play (or in the Iowa 2021 case, a backup QB ready to play). In the end, it comes down to what the scoreboard says and when it's come in a game against the biggest obstacles in the conference, Penn State has been on the losing end. But now the era has changed and 12 teams make the Playoff. If Penn State is missing those, then that drum is gonna get a lot louder. Making that should be the ground floor of expectations at this point. Of course, given the track record, it'll likely be a first round exit (yes, I want to be grossly wrong about that). The other part that fans have to be cautioned about is the Nebraska effect -- dropping a guy that wins 9-10 a season and trying to chase the flavor of the week young coach. I don't want PSU football to become as irrelevant as Nebraska has become. But making the Playoff and winning a game or two will be a great benchmark to hit this year or next.