James Franklin entered the Beaver Stadium media room on Monday holding a tall cup of coffee. The scruff along his jaw had become more prominent. He looked exhausted, clearly impacted by the emotional distress of an eighth straight loss to Ohio State on Saturday and the search for answers that followed it. Why, when the opportunity was at its brightest, did he again fall short?
The days that followed the 20-13 loss to the Buckeyes have been “very, very introspective,” Franklin said. He felt as if he’d prepared his team better for this game, Franklin’s kryptonite for 10 of 11 seasons as the Nittany Lions’ head coach, than he ever had before. It was Franklin’s game to win, but for another year, he found himself on the losing end.
“This game and this week, I feel like myself and the coaching staff handled it very different than how we had in the past,” Franklin said. “There was a ton of time spent on that in the offseason. It was a ton of time spent on that during the week, being very intentional about how we approach this game. Talked to the players about that in the offseason, talked to the coaches about that in the offseason.”
Franklin said he’d already planned his postgame speech before arriving at the stadium on Saturday. He was that confident Penn State would snap its slump against Ohio State, thus catapulting his program into college football’s elite bunch. Franklin wanted to talk about why this year’s outcome was different than the previous eight and about where his team was “headed.”
But he didn’t get the chance.
The Nittany Lions were mere yards away on two separate occasions from changing the trajectory of the program. With four tries from inside the five-yard line, they had the chance to tie, but couldn’t execute on any of them. He pinned the missed opportunity on a lack of “movement up front” for running back Kaytron Allen to find the end zone on three carries.
“We’ve got two of the better running backs in the country. You want to try to feed those guys and allow them to get downhill,” Franklin said. “They’ve done a really good job of it, not only this year, but throughout their careers. I think that’s the right thing to do.”
Franklin didn’t bat an eye when he heard the calls from offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki through the headset. His role, misunderstood by many in the general public, isn’t to “yes” or “no” Kotelnicki’s call. It’s simply to check on “how things are going” — telling Kotelnicki “you may want to think about this” or surveying things from a “sequencing standpoint.”
“The last thing you want to do is the person that’s calling the game that the head coach or somebody else is interjecting in those critical moments and making that coordinator hesitate,” Franklin said.
There were subtle reminders throughout the game, from Franklin to Kotelnicki, to stay on schedule. Franklin said other than the opening drive, which resulted in a field goal and an early lead, Penn State wasn’t “able to do that.” The team especially didn’t stay on schedule when it mattered most in the fourth quarter, not utilizing the one player who put them on the goal line.
Tyler Warren is the best tight end in college football. His 31-yard reception brought the Nittany Lions’ final offensive drive alive and his 33-yard rush put them just three yards away from the end zone. Despite being Penn State’s most effective offensive weapon, specifically in the run game, he didn’t get an opportunity to power through for a score.
And, for that, Franklin seemingly has regrets. All the offseason talk from Kotelnicki and Franklin about getting their best players the ball, essential to winning the games they need to win to be successful, went out the door. Kotelnicki drew up a passing play for Warren on fourth down, but it was read perfectly by the Buckeyes, forcing quarterback Drew Allar to make an adjustment.
Allar threw toward Khalil Dinkins, who was covered tightly by three defenders. Incomplete. Gut punch. Another loss. Franklin didn’t feel comfortable interjecting in Kotelnicki’s plans, but he is the head coach and has a long history of offensive play calling. All it took was for him to make a step forward and call for Warren to be utilized. But he didn’t.
“I also think there’s a piece where you can say, in critical moments, you got to think players, not plays,” Franklin said. “And maybe in one of those three downs, at least, you got to make sure Tyler Warren touches the ball, however that is, whether it’s wildcat, whether that is in the passing game or whether that is as a ball carrier.”
