Scarlet and Game
Fansided

Ohio State football: James Franklin has to stop living in the past

By Fansided Staff

Baron Browning has all the skills and physical traits to be a sneaky good pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
Baron Browning has all the skills and physical traits to be a sneaky good pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Ohio State has been played close by only one team consistently over the last four years, and that’s Penn State. But James Franklin needs to stop having moral victories.

“We’ve had some great battles with Ohio State and we’re one of the few teams to beat them in the past few years.” – James Franklin

Part of that quote above is true, Penn State has been competitive in the past few years against Ohio State. A dogfight in Happy Valley in 2014, a resurgent win in 2016, an instant classic in 2017, an unlikely comeback in 2018.

The issue? Penn State won just one of those games, and you could make an argument that it was a fluke as well as Urban Meyer trotted out Tyler Durbin, an unexperienced long-range kicker in a Beaver Stadium environment of over 100,000 fans for a 45-yard field goal attempt with 4:39 to play, for a kick that was blocked and returned for a score by the Nittany Lions to give them a 24-21 lead they would never surrender.

That win launched Penn State from unranked, right into the national conversation, and ultimately a Big Ten championship in 2016. Franklin’s Nittany Lions certainly play tough, but while playing tough is one thing, winning is another. Franklin is now 1-5 vs. the Buckeyes in his tenure, and I don’t think a win on a blocked field goal in 2016 is something to tout.

Penn State has issues of their own after a season-opening loss in controversial fashion to an unranked Indiana squad in Bloomington. Franklin had a number of head-scratching decisions during that game, such as opting not to run out the clock and score a touchdown.

Instead with a first and ten up a point with 1:44 to go and Indiana having just one timeout, they should have at least run down the clock before scoring. Franklin fits the mold of a great recruiter and an excellent motivator as a coach but in terms of play-calling and game management, he leaves a lot to be desired.

Regardless, I think it should be a good game in Beaver Stadium Saturday night, although Penn State is now down to their third-string running back after season-ending injuries to both Journey Brown and Noah Cain.

I think the loss to Indiana will be a wake-up call for Franklin’s team. Should Franklin be talking about his lone win against Ohio State from nearly a half-decade ago? Absolutely not. I think the Buckeyes take care of business in Happy Valley, but it might be more of a struggle than expected.

Home/Ohio State Football