Paul Finebaum adamant that James Franklin can be blamed for loss to Notre Dame

Paul Finebaum didn’t let James Franklin off the hook for Penn State’s College Football Playoff semifinal loss to Notre Dame.

The Nittany Lions and Fighting Irish were tied at 24-24 and could’ve played for overtime. Instead, Franklin gambled and had QB Drew Allar gun it downfield in the hopes of getting into field goal range.

Get your team’s official College Football Playoff watch from AXIA by CLICKING HERE: “Watches that tell so much more than time”

What resulted was an interception that set up Notre Dame for a game-winning field goal by Mitch Jeter.

“Some of our friends up and down the network are saying, well, you can’t blame James Franklin. Yes, you can,” Finebaum said on The Matt Barrie Show. “He knows all that. That’s his job. And he didn’t make the decision, but he gave the keys to the car to the guy who did, and I didn’t see the upside. You know, overtime is always risky, and I hate it, frankly, the way some of the overtime (games have gone). 

“But you know, with that defense, with the game wrecker that they have on that side of the ball, I mean, I want to take my chance, as opposed to just throwing (the ball up) and that’s exactly what he did. If you’re not going to make a good decision in that situation, when are you going to make a good decision? So why give him the chance?”

Allar made some good decisions and some bad decisions. Unfortunately for Franklin and company, that’s football.

But Finebaum’s point was that Franklin needed to share in the blame, not absolve him for going 2-1 in the postseason. Certainly, the interception was backbreaking in the end.

“Drew is a passionate guy. He invested so much into his development but also to his teammates and to Penn State, and he’ll handle this like he handles everything else, with a first-class approach and with an investment level that’s as good as anybody in the country,” Franklin said. “His jump as a year-one starter to a year-two starter was significant. He’s got a chance to take another step next year. 

“But he’ll handle it the right way. He’s hurting right now.  Should be hurting. We’re all hurting. This ain’t easy to get in here right after the game and have a conversation after you just poured your guts out on that field and really did it all year long.”