Joel Klatt calls out James Franklin for clock mismanagement on final offensive drive before halftime

With just over a minute to go in the second quarter against Ohio State, Penn State had a fourth down with three timeouts in its pocket. But the clock kept ticking before the Buckeyes called timeout, and Joel Klatt called out James Franklin for clock mismanagement on the play.

Drew Allar scrambled on third down and came up a yard short to bring up 4th and 1 with 1:06 left in the half. Penn State lined up to go for it, but opted to let the clock tick all the way down to 31 seconds before Ohio State took one of its two timeouts. Nick Singleton converted the fourth down and got Penn State to the brink of the end zone, but a wild interception by Davison Igbinosun took the go-ahead touchdown off the board.

As the clock kept ticking, Joel Klatt said the Nittany Lions should’ve called a timeout to give themselves more time to get a touchdown rather than potentially settling for a field goal. Additionally, it’s worth noting Ohio State deferred after winning the coin toss, meaning the Buckeyes would get the ball to start the third quarter.

“If you’re gonna go for it on fourth [down], then you take the timeout to save the time because you’d much rather get a touchdown than a field goal,” Klatt said on the FOX broadcast. “So a mismanagement right now of the clock. I think taking one of your timeouts right now would’ve been the strategy.”

Penn State kept marching down the field after converting the fourth down. Allar scrambled for 14 yards before finding Trey Wallace for a 21-yard pass to get the Nittany Lions to the 3-yard line.

The two tried to connect again on the next play when Allar looked Wallace’s way in the back of the end zone. It appeared to fall incomplete, but replay review showed Igbinosun got possession with his foot in bounds to get the interception and keep Ohio State in front heading into halftime.

The first half turned into a wild one after Will Howard’s pick-six on the Buckeyes’ opening drive. He later fumbled at the goal line, resulting in a touchback, and Igbinosun’s interception was the latest twist. Ohio State started the second half with a field goal to extend its lead to 17-10.