Can a coach be disliked, maybe even hated, if his team is 11-1 and makes the College Football Playoff?
We might find out this season after Penn State’s James Franklin lost another game to Ohio State, 20-13 in depressing fashion for a Nittany Lions fan base that has been served a steady diet of disappointment in big games for, oh, the last decade.
“I own it all,” Franklin said after Ohio State’s goal-line stand against Penn State, which arguably had the worst four play calls in recent program history.
That comment by Franklin might only infuriate the fan base even more.
There is an interesting juxtaposition going on with Penn State and its coach.
The Nittany Lions are still clearly in the playoff hunt, ranked No. 6 after the Ohio State defeat. They will be favored probably by double digits in each of their final four games against Washington, Purdue, Minnesota and Maryland.
Franklin is 28-6 over the last two-plus seasons and barring a major upset will land PSU in the playoff, but fans are not only disappointed after Saturday – they’re fuming.
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I was inside Beaver Stadium for the Ohio State game and when the Buckeyes held Penn State out of the end zone late in the game to seal another victory, fans were enraged.
“Fire Franklin” chants erupted as he walked off the field. Many expletives were thrown around by fans of all stripes. Exhaustion was palpable.
Someone from the student section was yelling at Franklin about having four chances to get three yards and Franklin yelled back into the stands and asked for his name. There was a smattering of boos as Franklin walked through the tunnel.
Always being the bridesmaid but never the bride is wearing very, very thin on this Penn State fan base, no matter how many wins over second-rate Big Ten teams Franklin can compile.
Beat Ohio State and Michigan, or beat it, is their message.
The Buckeyes have now beaten Penn State eight times in a row, five times by only single digits and twice by only one point. Ohio State has won 12 of the last 13 meetings. Franklin is 1-10 against the Buckeyes.
And Saturday’s loss might have been the most excruciating of all.
Penn State went up 10-0 early after a pick-six by Zion Tracy of Ohio State QB Will Howard, who made headlines earlier in the week saying he always wanted to play for the Nittany Lions as a Pennsylvania kid but they must’ve not thought he was good enough. Later, Howard would seal the win by sliding down on a QB keeper to end it.
Beaver Stadium was rocking up 10-0. Even in the first quarter, fans believed this game would be different.
But it wasn't.
The final set of downs will live in Penn State infamy for a long, long time. First-year offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki choked in his playcalling and all Franklin was left to do was stand there and watch like everyone else. For all his inventiveness, Kotelnicki must have dusted off the early 1980s Penn State playbook on that final, fateful series.
First down: Handoff to Kaytron Allen up the middle went nowhere. Second down: Handoff to Allen up the middle that went for 1.5 yards. Third down: Handoff to Allen that went nowhere. Fourth down: A convoluted pass play into the short side of the field that resulted in an incomplete pass to backup tight end Khalil Dinkins, who had four defenders around him.
And just like that, Ohio State had continued its torment of Franklin and the Penn State fans.
"Ninety-nine percent of the programs across college football would die to do what we've been able to do in our time here,” Franklin said. “But I also understand when you're at a place like Penn State, there's really, really high expectations. I get it. I totally get it."
Penn State fans have heard that before. And they’re over hearing it again.
