Joel Klatt criticizes James Franklin for game management, 'poor decisions' vs. Michigan

Penn State suffered yet another loss at the hands of Michigan or Ohio State this weekend. As many, including Joel Klatt, are pointing out now, this one falls right on the shoulders of the head coach in James Franklin.

Klatt shared his critiques of Franklin’s management and decision making during their nine-point loss to the Wolverines on Saturday on his show on Monday. To him, it looked as though the Nittany Lions did not understand who they were and, therefore, didn’t rely on their strengths that could have given them the edge in a crucial conference contest at home.

“James Franklin made some really poor decisions on Saturday, really poor decisions. As a coach, you’ve got to understand who you are as a team, where you’re going, and how you’re going to get there. If you understand who you are? Then you make the decisions that put that version of your team in the best position to succeed,” explained Klatt. “The problem is that James made decisions as if they were an offensive oriented team and had to be aggressive with that unit versus what they are, which is a defensive oriented team which should always play to extend the game and play for field position. That’s what defensive teams do. That’s what they are right now.”

“They have a clouded vision of who they are as a team and that needs to change,” Klatt said.

Klatt then dove into the specific instances where he felt Franklin cost himself and his team. He pointed directly to their turnover on downs on their own 30-yard line with under five to go as well as both of their missed two-point conversions as moments where Penn State was too aggressive about their offense rather than focusing on their more effective areas.

“Going for it on the fourth down when they did? It effectively ended the game because they’re giving the ball to Michigan at that point. It’s fourth & six on the minus side of the 50? And you’re giving it to them, basically, in field goal range, which would have created a two-score game. Why do that right then?” Klatt asked. “There’s four plus minutes left, there’s two timeouts in the bag – play for field position. Your best unit is the defense. You’ve got to lean on that.”

“Going for two too early in the game requires you to chase points for the rest of the game. Then, the last one, down nine? USC did it, Penn State did it. No reason to go for two. I don’t care what the analytics crowd tells me about what it’s going to tell me down the road and now I can fix mistake. Well, guess what? You turned, basically, what should have been a one possession game into a two possession game,” said Klatt. “No decision should ever add possessions to what you need as a team in the fourth quarter. I just vehemently disagree with that. Someone could sit here and show me all the analytics in the world – but the nine-point, go for two? I don’t buy it – not in the fourth quarter.”

To Klatt, Franklin didn’t put the Nittany Lions in their best position to win because he forgot their identity. That’s why, once again, Penn State finds themselves in a familiar spot when it comes to the loss column and their hopes of taking it to the next level.

“Again, you’ve got to know who you are and how you’re going to win that game,” said Klatt.