Paul Finebaum 'baffled' by James Franklin play-calling on late Drew Allar interception

Penn State and Notre Dame were tied at 24 when the Nittany Lions took over at their own 15-yard line with 47 seconds remaining in regulation of the Orange Bowl. James Franklin could have opted to play for overtime, but instead, Penn State decided to be aggressive.

PSU running back Nick Singleton ran for 13 yards on the first play of the drive, and Drew Allar and company rushed to the line to quickly get off another snap. Unfortunately for Penn State, on the next play, Allar’s pass over the middle was intercepted by Christian Gray. The pick set up a game-winning field goal by Mitch Jeter to send Notre Dame to the national championship game.

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ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum blasted Franklin for his decision to be aggressive late in regulation. Part of the reason Finebaum hated the decision was the fact that Penn State had not had a receiver catch a pass the entire game to that point.

“It was a massive mistake. … And I know that’s easy to say after the fact, but you just laid it out. They had not gotten any production [from receivers]. And I just don’t understand what James Franklin was thinking,” Finebaum said Friday on Get Up.

Finebaum added that he believes Franklin was so eager to prove that he could win a big game that he coached uncharacteristically.

“I think sometimes when you have the record that he does, you get tired of seeing it on Get Up, you get tired of hearing about it. So you do something out of character,” Finebaum said of Franklin. “It just baffled me why he would put such a high risk in a situation. You know, take a few shots but make them safe and go to overtime and try to win the game.”

Penn State jumped out to a 10-0 lead on Notre Dame and led 10-3 at the half. But the Fighting Irish fought back in the second half, outgaining Penn State 261-145. Ultimately, the game ended with James Franklin and the Nittany Lions dropping another game to a top-10 team.

“You lost the momentum early. You had the 10-0 lead. Remember, you had the 10-0 lead against Ohio State, too,” Finebaum said. “So I understand what’s working behind him, but it turned out to be an absolute mess, and he will pay for it.

“I know there will be those who defend him, that’s great. He’s an outstanding coach, but he still hasn’t won that big game.”