Could Penn State football’s future under coach James Franklin be forever changed after one of the riskiest fake punts in program history in the 26-25 nail-biter victory at Minnesota on Nov. 23? I believe that gutsy call at that critical moment (3:38 remaining) and then passing on a fourth and 1 with just :27 left, may be a turning point in CJF’s coaching career.
Why do I believe this? Because he coached to WIN the game instead of not losing the game. This is something he has shown a reluctance to do in the past, by choosing the established conventional wisdom like so many football coaches do at critical times late in close games by playing it safe. The 2017 Rose Bowl loss to USC and several winnable games against Ohio State immediately come to mind.
On a weekend that saw playoff bubble teams Alabama, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, BYU and Colorado all lose to unranked teams, CJF’s team found a way to win with poise under pressure. Two gutsy calls on fourth-down plays, the fake punt and the great read-and-react pass by Drew Allar to his superman of a tight end, Tyler Warren.
Warren wisely took a knee to run out the clock instead of scoring a touchdown that would have kept the Gophers hopes of sending the game into OT alive. Remember when Devyn Ford failed to take a knee against Indiana in 2020? The Hoosiers scored a TD, converted their two-point conversion to tie the game and then prevailed in overtime. Just one more reason why Warren should be at the Heisman ceremonies… No. 44 really is a complete football player.
When I think of the courageous fakes that have occurred in sports history, a few of them pop into mind immediately: The Philly Special in the 2018 Super Bowl; Nebraska’s “Fumblerooski” in the 1984 Orange Bowl; Boise State’s hook and ladder and Statue of Liberty plays to beat Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl: and the lesser known but equally impressive 2010 Presbyterian College “Bounce Pass” play vs. Wake Forest. The fake punt vs. Minnesota will certainly go down as one of THE most courageous calls in PSU football history, keeping alive Big Ten and national championship dreams.
Am I placing too much emphasis on this one play? Perhaps in some fan’s minds, but not in this old coach’s noggin. If you have coached, then you know how easy it is to default to the conventional wisdom (CW) especially when the game is on the line. There are times when analytics matter and times when the situation calls for a head coach to use their intuition to overrule the data. That’s why I believe the final drive at Minnesota could be THE watershed moment when CJF starts trusting his gut more than the hordes of analytics staff muddying up the decision-making process. I counted 30 — yes, 30 — coaching staff members listed in the football game program. Can someone say paralysis by analysis?
Case in point: This past Friday Georgia Tech squandered a 14-point lead against Georgia with 5:37 remaining, ultimately costing them the game in eight overtimes. How did this happen? By playing to the CW — going into the “prevent victory” defense (rushing only three men and playing a loose zone) and using an ultra-conservative offense (three running plays) instead of more assertively trying to get a first down to run out the clock. Moral victories don’t win championships. A close loss is, well, a loss.
I have tried to remain a loyal fan and to give CJF the benefit of the doubt in my previous columns on PSU football. But privately I must admit to being critical in my evaluation of his game day strategies at crucial times in the biggest games. This includes his poor judgment on when to call trick plays and his conservative play calling when we’ve needed a crucial first down. I, like many others, am especially critical of his clock management gaffes. But based on his crafty navigation of that final drive against Minnesota, I am bullish on his ability to learn from past mistakes and to make the gutsy calls going forward.
Coach has stated publicly that he badly wants to win a national championship. He wants Penn State to be an elite program. The program is elite, it just needs to find a way to seal the deal. Well, I want to encourage CJF to keep going for it. If you want to be elite, then make elite, gutsy calls when it matters the most. I certainly hope that the painful loss to Ohio State this year will be a reminder to throw caution to the wind and be more creative when you have the ball inside the 5-yard line (twice) and don’t come away with any points.
If you don’t put the team in a position to “go for it” then you risk being remembered with the list of coaches below who are all Hall of Famers who never won the big one.
- Bud Grant, the former Minnesota Vikings coach, and Marv Levy, the former Buffalo Bills coach, are remembered more for their four Super Bowl losses than their HOF careers.
- Marty Schottenheimer is eighth in NFL career wins at 205 but is remembered as having the most wins among the league’s head coaches without winning an NFL championship.
- Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech won seven conference titles, but in 1999, with Michael Vick at QB, lost to Florida State 46-29 in his only BCS National Championship game.
- Bo Schembechler at Michigan is perhaps the one that most fans aren’t aware never won a national title. He was 234-65-8 and won 13 Big Ten titles in 20 seasons! But his record in bowl games was just 5-12, including 2-10 in the Rose Bowl. He also held a 5-4-1 advantage over archrival Woody Hayes. But Woody led Ohio State to five (yes, 5!) national championships during his career.
I realize you have accomplished a lot and places like Florida, Florida State, USC, UCLA and Oklahoma would love to have the number of 10-win seasons you have produced at Dear Old State. But you must also remember that you are getting paid a king’s ransom to win the big ones and that getting booed and catching heat from fans and the media is part of the job when you don’t seal the deal.
Given the sickening lack of sportsmanship in the Michigan-OSU game, I want to commend you for your decisive actions when one of our young players attempted to plant a PSU flag in the logo at USC earlier this year. As you well know, Penn State alumni have the added expectation that you leave behind more than just a football legacy. You are an amazing CEO. I know you CAN win the big ones AND make the school and the community better than when you arrived.
So, Coach, there you have it. Show me and everyone else you are ready to make that next step. Help us all become your biggest proponents by continuing to make gutsy calls at the big moments in the biggest games. I have a feeling that is about to happen.
