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James Franklin claims many programs ‘would be envious’ of Penn State’s recent consistency
By Paul Harvey
Published:
James Franklin is still looking for a recent big-game breakthrough for Penn State in recent seasons after the latest loss to Ohio State. However, the head coach still believes his program has a lot going for it at this point in time.
During the offseason, Franklin hammered on a need for the Nittany Lions to play their best football in the biggest moments. That obviously didn’t happen on Saturday with the offense delivering just 2 field goals to go with a defensive pick-6 in the 20-13 win by the Buckeyes.
Franklin was asked about Penn State not delivering in the big moment yet again at his weekly press conference, and he admitted the quality of the opponent plays a factor in that area. Ultimately, the Nittany Lions did have chances to deliver a key moment but came up on a pair of 1st-and-goal situations that proved to be the difference.
“Obviously after the game that we just played, we did not (play our best football) in that game. Like the comment I made about the run game, the competition factors into that. At the end of the day, we lost to a top-5 team and one of the top programs in the country, and we had opportunities to win the game — and we had opportunities to win those types of games in the past,” said Franklin. “We’ve got to find a way to get it done and that starts with me.”
Even with the defeat, Franklin still has a level of pride for where his program has been on a regular basis, something he believes other teams around the country are “envious” of:
“But I’m also very very proud of where our team has been consistently, and I think most programs would be envious of where we have been on a consistent basis, pretty much over 10 years,” claimed Franklin.
That’s certainly up for debate as many have been critical of the lack of signature wins for Franklin’s tenure. With the new-look Big Ten schedule, he may have to wait even longer before his team gets another shot.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
