James Franklin, Penn State loss to Ohio State, another tiring act

Penn State is probably going to the College Football Playoff for one reason only: because the bar has been lowered enough to let a James Franklin-coached team into this thing.

We are?

We are…what?

We are mediocre when the lights get bright. We are Ohio State is a perpetual supplicant. And we, the rest of us, can hardly watch these games anymore.

If it didn't happen Saturday, when will it ever happen for the Nittany Lions under Franklin?

Here's how it could have happened – and perhaps should have happened. Penn State was significantly outplayed and was fortunate to only trail 20-13 and be in position to tie or take the lead late in the fourth quarter. Penn State scored first at the 3-yard line.

If he scores there, Franklin will face the biggest decision of his career: draw or deuce?

Remarkably, he never had that chance.

After three straight plays, Penn State handed off to Kaytron Allen. All he could do was get them closer to the goal line. Then, on fourth down, Franklin and offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki needed just one yard and put quarterback Drew Allar in a position where he had to make a quick throw into a tight window under pressure.

He didn't come any closer. Ohio State got the ball. Ohio State, for 12th^Th times in the last 13 years to beat Penn State.

Franklin will get a lot of attention for this sequence, and he deserves it. It was predictable. It was shy. It was emblematic of a decade in which the nickname “Big Game James” existed only as a tongue-in-cheek insult.

When was the last time Penn State won a game that really impressed you? Was it in 2016 when he beat Ohio State for the only time in his career?

Since then, Franklin has beaten like many top-10 teams: Two.

One of those was Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship that same year. The other was Utah in the Rose Bowl after the 2022 season – a game in which the Utes lost their quarterback to injury in the third quarter.

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Franklin fans will point out that he is 28-6 over the last three seasons. It's a pretty good record. And to secure its spot in the College Football Playoff this season, Penn State will most likely just need to beat Washington, Purdue, Minnesota and Maryland to finish the year.

Even Franklin should be able to do this.

And then what?

Should we have a party because Penn State has mentored a lot of Big Ten hangers-on? Should we take the Nittany Lions seriously as a national title contender when the overwhelming majority of evidence suggests that Franklin can't get a home win against an Ohio State team in 11th grade, even if all the intangible factors point to Penn? Direction of the state?

This is tiring. And yet, that's what you get as a program when you give Franklin a 10-year contract that takes him through the 2031 season at $8.5 million per year.

Even if the administration of Penn State wanted Firing him would cost $56.7 million.

And there's not necessarily a good argument for Penn State should fire him. It would be a risk. Things could absolutely get worse.

But at this point, anyone who has followed Penn State over the last decade knows exactly what to expect in these games. If the Nittany Lions don't have a clear talent advantage, they will lose. That's what they do. That's what the Franklin era was all about.

Given the way the schedule has sunk — no Oregon, no Indiana and a Southern California team that imploded in the fourth quarter — Penn State doesn't actually have to do much to get into the 12-team playoffs this year. This is celebrated as a great achievement. In reality, it's the bare minimum this team was capable of.

Franklin's moment of truth this season came Saturday at the 3-yard line, offering a clear opportunity to kill the Giant. Instead, Penn State fell short — a microcosm of his entire tenure.

James Franklin, Penn State loss to Ohio State, another tiring act

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