Where does the blame lie for Penn State’s letdown at Ohio State? James Franklin: “It’s always on me”
Penn State coach James Franklin waited 35 minutes for a question to come that allowed him to say something that was clearly on his mind after last Saturday’s 20-12 loss to Ohio State, which marked the ninth setback against the Buckeyes of his 10 years with the Nittany Lions. Earlier in his Tuesday chat with reporters, he said that it is fair to judge his time here off his record in that game but also the entire body of work from his staff and players over the years. He also admitted that, after a loss, and especially this one, more film has been watched and additional discussions have been had about what went wrong and how it can be fixed.
All of that is fair, fine, and well. And true. But a large portion of the fan base, fairly or not, wanted the leader of the Lions to admit that the buck ultimately stops with him. He did so on the last question of the afternoon.
“Ultimately, it’s always on me when things don’t go well,” Franklin said. “When things do go well, trust me: I had all the things, when I talk about our process of being prepared for that game, and then literally what I was going to say in the press conference after getting that win, it was going to be, obviously, to praise the players. What was the difference this year being able to get that win? It was going to be about the players, and some other things that I wanted to talk about. But, that didn’t happen.”
Penn State coach James Franklin says there is no gray area on where responsibility for losing lies
There have been many discussions since Saturday about Franklin’s tenure. He has won New Year’s Six bowls. The program’s 10-year winning percentage is strong. And a lot of other things have gone well, too. But, ultimately, getting back to the Big Ten title game and earning a spot in the College Football Playoff is what the program wants but has only achieved once in the first regard and never in the second since 2014. Usually, that’s because Penn State loses to Ohio State and/or Michigan. And, when that happens, Franklin owns the reasons why.
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“When [a win] doesn’t happen, it is ultimately on me and my responsibility,” Franklin said. “There’s no doubt about that. There’s no gray area about that whatsoever. Is it nuanced? And is there a lot of things that go into that, that ultimately no one really cares about at that time? Yes. There’s no doubt about it.
“But at the end of the day, the most important thing is for me to take responsibility and do everything within my power to get it fixed. There’s no doubt about it.”
