James Franklin, reporter dispute Penn State's decision to go for 2 in final minutes of Michigan game

Down by nine points with just under two minutes remaining, James Franklin made a decision that left some puzzled, going for two instead of kicking an extra point after a touchdown to make it an eight-point game against Michigan. Penn State missed the conversion, leaving the margin at two scores when it could’ve been cut to one.

The ensuing onside kick was recovered by Michigan. Penn State had two timeouts but one first down by the Wolverines iced the game and had Franklin — who had also gone for two shortly before halftime, a chance the Nittany Lions failed to convert — testily defending his decisions during his postgame press conference.

“Again, very similar answer. We felt like points were going to be hard to come by. We were down by four. We wanted to put ourself in a position to get it back to a field goal game. Again, those were all the numbers we work through from an analytics standpoint. As a staff, everybody was comfortable. We thought it was the right thing to do. Obviously we didn’t pick it up,” Franklin said about the first half attempt that failed for two.

He was asked about the one in the late moments of the game.

“For the same reason,” Franklin said.

The reporter said that he didn’t agree with the decision.

“You don’t agree with it. I’m just telling you, that’s the decision —” Franklin said, pausing to listen to a response from the reporter, diving into the two score versus one score aspect of the decision. Franklin continued after listening briefly to the reporter: “We’re trying to get back, we’re trying to get back. We felt like points were going to be hard to come by. We wanted to get it back. I’ve answered the question.”

The reporter responded briefly before another reporter was called on for a question.

“I don’t think you did,” he said.

It was raw emotion for the Michigan sideline after the game

Over the last 24 hours, Michigan went through a rollercoaster of emotions. The Wolverines learned Jim Harbaugh was receiving a suspension from the Big Ten and, after filing an injunction, learned Saturday morning he wouldn’t be on the sidelines for the game against Penn State in Happy Valley despite optimism a ruling would come in time for kickoff.

Harbaugh’s absence meant offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore would take over as acting head coach for the second time this year. He previously did so Sept. 16 against Bowling Green. This time, though, the stakes were higher in a top-10 showdown that had both College Football Playoff and Big Ten East implications.

After Michigan pulled off the 24-15 victory, the emotions flowed — and although Harbaugh wasn’t with the Wolverines on the sidelines, Moore made it known the team was playing for him.

Michigan’s Sherrone Moore with an emotional post game interview〽️pic.twitter.com/pKsrnmnUIa

— On3 (@On3sports) November 11, 2023

“I want to thank the Lord,” Moore told FOX Sports’ Jenny Taft. “I want to thank Coach Harbaugh. F—ing love you, man. Love the shit out of you man. This is for you. For this university, the president, our AD. We’ve got the best players, best university, best alumni in the country. Love you guys. These f—ing guys right here, these guys right here, man. These guys did it, man.”