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James Franklin expresses frustration with officiating early in Penn State vs. Ohio State

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•11/02/24•

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Penn State HC James Franklin
© Ben Queen-Imagn Images

Early in the first half of Saturday’s game between Penn State and Ohio State, James Franklin was seen talking with the officials multiple times, according to FOX’s Jenny Taft. He called out multiple missed calls, specifically on the Buckeyes defense.

Franklin called out the officiating after they missed a holding call in the secondary at one point. Taft said that’s in line with something he said earlier this week about the Buckeyes’ unit and whether they should get more penalties called on them.

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“Coach Franklin has already been very animated with the officials, telling them they’ve missed some calls – specifically a missed holding call in the secondary – saying, ‘Don’t let them hold us. Make them play us,'” Taft said. “Franklin said earlier this week he believes that that Ohio State secondary gets away with too much. He has been frustrated early with the officiating.”

Ohio State entered Saturday’s Top-5 showdown with the fourth-fewest penalties in the Big Ten. On average, the Buckeyes were called for 4.9 flags per game and 34 total through the first seven games of the season. Penn State, meanwhile, has been called for 39 total penalties – an average of 5.6 across the first seven games.

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Saturday’s showdown has plenty at stake for both teams. For starters, the College Football Playoff is still in play even though Ohio State has a loss to No. 1 Oregon and Penn State entered undefeated. There’s also the race to the Big Ten Championship, especially since the Buckeyes have undefeated Indiana on their schedule.

But it’s a big game for the coaches, as well. ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit pointed out both coaches’ struggles against Top-Five teams, which is why he said Ryan Day and James Franklin are facing pressure, as well.

“The winning coach here is going to be in a great position. Things are going to be going well. They’re looking into the future,” Herbstreit said on College GameDay. “(The) team that loses, the coach that loses —  these guys that are cheering right now, there’s going to be a wrath for Penn State or Ohio State. Ryan Day is 2-7 against top five teams. If he loses his game, the Buckeye faithful are going to let — Ohio State fans (are going to) let him know. And if you look at what we’ve done here, I think what is (James Franklin), 1-12 against the top five?

“So, someone’s going to put a lot of that behind them, and someone’s going to have to continue to deal with it.”