On the Penn State Coaches Show on Thursday night, head coach James Franklin lamented that Penn State “should have capitalized on that momentum (of the 2016 Big Ten championship) and been bold and aggressive.”
Good line. Maybe he was right.
In some ways, he only has himself to blame. He’s the recognized and very well-compensated leader of the program, and is paid $976.32 for every hour of every day of every week of every month to make such things happen:
To have the vision, to push the agenda, to articulate the goals and their value, to raise the money (and perhaps donate a bit of it himself), to align numerous factions and coalesce support, to hit the road to rally the fanbase (when was the last time we saw that happen?), to make the right decisions during the week and on game day, to win enough games big and small so that there is belief in him as well as his vision.
On Thursday night’s radio show, though, by way of his answer that followed the bold and aggressive comments, the head football coach seemed to indicate that he meant the Board of Trustees, the university president and the athletic director were the ones who should have taken action.
Now, in the aftermath of a total collapse against Ohio State that has the Penn State fanbase dejected for the second time in 15 days — remember Michigan 41, Penn State 17? — here is Franklin’s chance to take matters in his own hands as the head football coach.
But, can Franklin himself take the bold and aggressive action that he is suggesting others should have followed six years ago?
In other words, is it time to address the Allar In The Room? Is it time for Franklin to be bold and aggressive with his quarterback play next week, if not for the rest of the 2022 season?
THE EASY CALL
It is easy to call for Drew Allar to start at quarterback over Sean Clifford this Saturday at Indiana.
It is hard for a freshman to come in and do what a six-year college football veteran can do. Or, is it?
Could Allar have come in against the Buckeyes and thrown for three touchdowns and 371 yards? Maybe not. Odds are, Clifford was the guy to do that.
Could have Allar come in and thrown three interceptions, including a pick-six, and lost the ball a fourth time on a strip sack?
Yes, Allar could have done that.
Would Penn State have beaten Ohio State with the 18-year-old five-star from Ohio at quarterback? Maybe not. But did Penn State beat Ohio State with the greybeard 24-year from Ohio at QB? No.
If Franklin wants to get past the point where he is 1-8 against the Buckeyes and 3-6 against Michigan — and 1-5 vs. them the past three seasons — he needs better play from his quarterback.
Allar will get his chance next season.
And Franklin may be content to ride the 2022 season with Clifford — a good QB, NIL pioneer, burgeoning labor organizer — as his starter. With games against Indiana, Maryland, Rutgers and Michigan State, and a bowl game appearance (for which Franklin has already earned a $200k bonus) yet to come, a 10-2 season and a New Year’s 6 bowl game berth are still possible.
BUT…
But, does Clifford deserve the start next week against Indiana?
When pressed for an answer as to why the Nittany Lions lost 44-31 to the No. 2 Buckeyes in Beaver Stadium on Saturday, after leading 21-16 with 9:52 left in the game, Franklin had this to offer post-game:
“You can’t turn the ball over that many times against that type of opponent and think you’re going to be successful.”
And this:
“But, to me, the game starts and ends with the turnovers.”
And this:
“I thought (Clifford) played gutsy and made some big-time plays. But he can’t have the turnovers.”
And this, a second time:
“The game starts and ends with the turnovers.”
And this:
“We had a chance to win the game, but we made too many mistakes at critical moments.”
And this:
“Again, I don’t mean to keep saying the same thing over and over again. But besides the turnovers, I thought we did some pretty good things on both sides of the ball.”
To be clear: James Geoffrey Franklin is talking about Sean Burke Clifford without mentioning the latter by name.
READY OR NOT?
Should Franklin turn over his starting quarterback next Saturday in Indiana?
Perhaps Allar is not ready. And that is possible. But Allar was the nation’s No. 1 high school quarterback, so if he’s not ready now, who is that on — Franklin, OC/QB coach Mike Yurcich and/or Allar?
(Answer: The first two.)
Elite college teams like Alabama, Clemson and Michigan have made bold and aggressive decisions by inserting young quarterbacks in favor of veterans – in games as big as the national championship and as late in the season as halftime of such games.
Under Bill O’Brien, Christian Hackenberg was the starter from Day One at Penn State. (And seemingly regressed when Franklin became head coach.)
Big-time college coaches get paid big-time money these days to make big bold and aggressive decisions, and to not pass the buck when it comes time to do so.
CLIFF NOTES
On Saturday, Clifford set a pair of Penn State career passing records against the Buckeyes, throwing career TD pass No. 78 to break Trace McSorley’s PSU career mark of 77. He also set the Penn State record for career pass attempts, finishing the game with 1,239, surpassing McSorley (1,215) and Hackenberg (1,235).
Franklin knows what he has in Clifford. Clifford’s 41 career starts — all with Franklin as head coach — are the most by any PSU QB, ahead of the 40 by McSorley and Tony Sacca.
Clifford is 27-14 as a starter. Among Nittany Lion quarterbacks with at least 10 career starts, only Zack Mills (16-18) and Hackenberg (21-17) have lost more games. Among PSU QBs with 10 starts, Clifford’s winning percentage of .658 does not even rank in the Top 15.
It is clear that Clifford, now 0-4 in career starts against Ohio State, will never get Penn State a national championship. Allar might be able to. Starts in 2022 will better prepare Allar for starts against Ohio State and Michigan in 2023 and 2024.
I have massive respect for Clifford. He is a bona fide top-notch college student, who has multiple degrees. He contributes to both town and gown with time and money; he fights hard for college athletes’ rights; and he is a legit smart and hard-working student entrepreneur. He personifies every Penn State ideal you can think of.
But with him at the helm, Penn State just lost 85-48 to the only two teams that really matter in the Big Ten Conference.
At this rate, if the Nittany Lions go 4-0 to finish the regular season, their signature win will likely be against 5-3 Purdue or at 3-5 Auburn. With Cliff as the starter, Penn State is 0-7 in its last seven games against Top 25 opponents.
That’s a boldly bad record.
Ain’t all his fault. But I doubt Patrick Kraft is going to fire James Franklin.
A PRESSING DECISION
Clearly, Clifford is pressing. More than even usual for a guy who pushes himself incredibly hard in every aspect of his incredibly full life. Perhaps a week where he is not starting will clear Clifford’s head, reduce the stress and let him breathe.
Read Franklin’s post-game quotations again. If they were about any other player at any other position, it is highly unlikely that player would start on Saturday against Indiana.
Players can earn the right to start. And, if that is to be believed, they can lose that right as well.
