James Franklin sidesteps question about Penn State future
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The situation at Penn State has quickly become strenuous. With a 22-21 loss to Northwestern on Saturday, the Nittany Lions became the first FBS team to lose consecutive games as a 20-point favorite.
Dating back to the double-overtime loss to Oregon on Sept. 27, the Nittany Lions have lost 3 straight games to go from the No. 2 team in the AP poll to outside the College Football Playoff picture.
Following Saturday’s game, head coach James Franklin was asked if he still wanted to be the head coach at Penn State. After a somewhat equivocal answer, he was directly asked if he still feels that being the head coach at Penn State is “best” for his career.
“I take full responsibility for what’s happened tonight. I take full responsibility for what’s happened this season. I’m committed to the guys in that locker room,” Franklin responded.
Franklin was booed off the field by Penn State fans on Saturday. Some chanted for the school to fire him after the game went final.
The Nittany Lions play Iowa (3-2) on the road next weekend. After that, they play No. 1 Ohio State on Nov. 1. A week later, they host an unbeaten Indiana team that just knocked off Oregon in Eugene.
Unless Penn State can beat Iowa to end the slide, a 6-game losing streak in the middle of a season that began with national championship expectations is a realistic possibility. And the Nittany Lions will have to pull out of this tailspin without their senior quarterback, Drew Allar, who suffered a season-ending injury on Saturday.
When asked if he has confidence Penn State can turn its season around, Franklin answered by saying he is “committed” to his locker room.
“For me, it’s always been about our players. Those guys are hurting right now. And the fans are frustrated, and I get it. I totally get it,” Franklin said. “We have great fans here. We get unbelievable support and I understand their frustration. Trust me. We’re as frustrated as anybody.
“But, to me, ultimately, it’s about the guys in the locker room. … We’ve got to stick together, we’ve got to tune out all the noise, and we’ve got to get to work. That’s the only answer. We’ve had some adversity in the past. Not like this. And we’re going to get to work.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
