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David Hale, ESPN Staff Writer
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — It was exactly the type of moment that would’ve fueled underpinned every criticism leveled at Penn State coach James Franklin, college football’s standard bearer for the “best coach who hasn’t won the big one” label.
Facing a fourth-and-1 at his own 19, up 14 with 9:30 to play in the first half of Penn State’s first-round playoff game against SMU, Franklin left his offense on the field. The unit had done little through three prior drives, but two pick sixes by the defense had the crowd of 106,000 on its feet and SMU on its heels. Now, here was Franklin, rolling the dice in a moment that might be a red carpet for the Mustangs to march back into the game.
And, as it’s gone so many times when Penn State has stared victory in the biggest moments in the face, the call backfired.
“I bet you were tweeting your tail off,” Franklin joked to media when asked about the play afterward.
So, here he was again: Franklin outsmarting himself, stubbing his toes in a critical moment, a decision that would surely doom Penn State again.
Only this time, the story ended differently, and looking back, it was a call that set the tone for what proved to be a dominant 38-10 Penn State win.
Four plays after the doomed fourth-down try, with SMU facing a second-and-goal at the 7, Dom DeLuca picked off a Kevin Jennings pass, the Nittany Lions offense roared to life on the ensuing drive, and a 25-yard Kaytron Allen touchdown delivered what felt like a mortal wound to SMU’s comeback hopes.
“I told the guys we were going to call the game aggressively,” Franklin said. “I wanted them to play aggressively. Don’t play on your heels, play on your toes. Fourth-and-1, I can’t say that all week long and then not do it.”
Saturday’s win — Penn State’s first in the College Football Playoff, and just the sixth in 28 tries against top-12 teams in Franklin’s Nittany Lions tenure — had the feel of a turning point for a program dogged by the criticism that it comes up small too often in the biggest moments.
It was an emphatic statement. It was a big win. And for Franklin, it was victory No. 100 at Penn State.
“Coach Franklin, he gets a lot of criticism that’s undeserved,” Penn State QB Drew Allar said. “He’s done a lot more than people give him credit for. Winning his 100th game is special, and to be a part of that and the team that delivered that 100th win for him and to have it on a stage like the playoffs, at home in Beaver Stadium, it’s truly special.”
The win sets up Penn State for a date with third-seeded Boise State at the VRBO Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31, another opportunity for a signature victory, but in the aftermath of Saturday’s win against SMU, the Nittany Lions were hardly thumping their chests or thumbing their nose at critics of the program.
Instead, it was a moment of celebration.
“I remember in training camp talking to the guys that, I wanted these type of moments for them,” Franklin said. “It’s emotional for all of us. … I appreciate the 100 wins and all that, but to me, I’m at a point in my career, it’s all about the players and the staff.”
And yet it was Franklin’s gamble deep in his own territory, risking all the proverbial momentum on a fourth-and-1, that ultimately sparked life into his offense and secured the outcome.
That the snap was fumbled and the fourth-down try failed will be a fact lost to history should Penn State keep winning. What’s worth remembering, said offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicky, is that neither Franklin nor his team showed a shred of hesitation in making the call.
“He doesn’t get enough credit for what he’s done here consistently,” Kotelnicki said of Franklin.
Penn State is now 12-2 on the season, the program’s first 12-win campaign since 1994. Franklin’s team has won 33 games over the past three seasons. And yet, the absence of marquee wins over Big Ten rivals Michigan and Ohio State and a 2-15 record against top-12 opponents since 2018 has been a dose of cold water on an otherwise historic run.
Allar said he’s used to hearing the grumbling, but Saturday’s playoff game was never about dispelling a narrative or getting Franklin to win No. 100.
“We don’t take these moments for granted, but I don’t care what anybody says from the outside,” said Allar, who threw for 127 yards, ran for 70 and scored twice on the ground. “There’s a lot of people out there that don’t know what goes on behind the scenes. That’s part of playing at a place like Penn State, but it’s part of sticking to our guns and sticking to our process.”
That process, Franklin said, begins anew Sunday.
If a playoff win helped begin to pry a proverbial monkey off his back, the job won’t be finished until Penn State has a national championship trophy, and so the biggest game Franklin wants to win is the next one, he said.
“A lot of college coaches talking about this being a four-game season. It’s not,” Franklin said. “It’s a one-game season. … How you value those reps, how you prepare, will give you an opportunity to play again. We’re in a one-game season and we just extended our season one more game.”