James Franklin reacts to frustration from Penn State fans vs. Ohio State

James Franklin knew Penn State fans were frustrated after the loss to Ohio State Saturday and it seemed like the same old story.

The head coach put the onus on himself, rather than his players. It was a tough day for the Nittany Lions, who lost 20-13 after leading 10-0 early in the game following a pick-six.

Franklin had a whole different plan for his postgame press conference in the event of a win. But, it ended up being the latest loss in their losing streak against Ohio State.

“Nobody is looking in the mirror harder than I am,” Franklin said postgame. “I’ve said this before, but 99% of the programs across college football would die to do what we’ve been able to do in our time here. That’s all of us. But I also understand when you’re in a place like Penn State, there are really, really high expectations. When you’re in a place like Ohio State, there are really, really high expectations. I totally get it. We’ve looked at all these things really hard. We’ll continue to look at these things really hard. 

“There are a lot of things that I had planned on saying when I came in here today, but they are not appropriate to say right now. I’ll hold them ’til another time.”

Franklin appeared to have a verbal altercation with some fans going into the locker room after the game. Although it was quickly diffused.

“I understand the frustration,” Franklin said. “Guys in the locker room are just as frustrated, if not more. College football has changed, and we have an opportunity to move forward and right some wrongs from today. That’s what we’re going to focus on. I get it. We get an unbelievable crowd here. We get unbelievable support. You don’t do that without passion. There are great things that come from that, and there are hard things that come from that. That’s part of the job. I own it all. I own it all.”

Franklin and Penn State dropped to No. 6 in the latest AP Poll and finish the season against unranked Big Ten foes Washington, Purdue, Minnesota and Maryland.

The College Football Playoff is definitely within reach for Penn State, but Franklin’s team likely can’t afford many more slip ups.