James Franklin explains why Penn State did not provide availability report vs. Boise State

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin has turned his attention to the Orange Bowl, which is acting as a College Football Playoff semifinal. That game is against Notre Dame, but as he prepares for it he did go back to explain a decision made before the Boise State game and the Fiesta Bowl.

Franklin explained to media members ahead of the Orange Bowl why Penn State didn’t provide an availability report ahead of the Fiesta Bowl.

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“We did not submit, and I want to say this to you guys because it affects your job, we did not submit the availability report in the Boise game,” James Franklin said. “And the reason why, again, I know that impacts you guys doing your job but the reason why is the College Football Playoff, it’s not a requirement.”

This came in Penn State’s second College Football Playoff game. In that first one, the Nittany Lions did submit an availability report. However, their opponent, SMU, did not. Without consistent rules, James Franklin explained that media and therefore fans shouldn’t expect one moving forward.

“And what happened the week before is SMU did not do one, and we did,” Franklin said. “So until this is a consistent mandate across college football, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for us to do one when they are not. So, just so you guys know, I want you to understand, that was the reason behind that.”

This comes, notably, as Penn State has some serious injury question marks going into the Orange Bowl. The most notable question mark is to edge rusher and one of the country’s best defensive players Abdul Carter. He went down with an apparent left arm injury against Boise State. However, Franklin isn’t going to give an availability report update on him this week.

Despite that, James Franklin has shared an update on Abdul Carter ahead of the game.

“He’s doing great, his attitude is great, his mentality has been really good,” Franklin said. “We’ll see. I think he’s taking the right approach and mentality. It’s going to come down to how he feels and how much practice he’s able to get during the week. At this point, I don’t think there’s anything that is stopping him from playing. But it’s just going to come down to, is he able to play? And, we’ll see. But his mentality is great. He’s got a big smile on his face. I think he’s excited about this week. But it’s too early to say at this stage.”

The Orange Bowl between Penn State and Notre Dame is set for 7:30 p.m. EST on Thursday, January 9th. The winning team will go on to play for a national championship.