Saturday Blitz
Fansided

Penn State Football: Time to panic after Appalachian State drama?

By Phil Poling

GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 30: (L-R) Grant Haley #15, Nick Scott #4, head coach James Franklin, Marcus Allen #2 and Troy Apke #28 of the Penn State Nittany Lions walk out to field arm in arm before the start of the second half of the Playstation Fiesta Bowl against the Washington Huskies at University of Phoenix Stadium on December 30, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. The Nittany Lions defeated the Huskies 35-28. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 30: (L-R) Grant Haley #15, Nick Scott #4, head coach James Franklin, Marcus Allen #2 and Troy Apke #28 of the Penn State Nittany Lions walk out to field arm in arm before the start of the second half of the Playstation Fiesta Bowl against the Washington Huskies at University of Phoenix Stadium on December 30, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. The Nittany Lions defeated the Huskies 35-28. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

3. James Franklin is Big Ten’s second-best head coach

James Franklin’s fifth season at Penn State could’ve started prettier, but occasionally it’s what’s on the inside, not the surface. And when you dig into Franklin’s past, he’s been impressive compared to other top-tier coaches in the Big Ten.

RELATED: 5 reasons Jim Harbaugh is overrated

Take Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh, for example – who we pegged as overrated last year and haven’t backed off of that position since. He took over for the Wolverines in 2015, losing the season-opener to Utah, before regrouping and finishing 10-3. He’d go 10-3 again in 2016, but faltered to an 8-5 finish last season. Things are looking worse for the Wolverines as Michigan lost to Notre Dame on Saturday.

Franklin, meanwhile, took over at Penn State in 2014. After back-to-back 7-6 campaigns, Penn State finally took a step forward and won 11 games in each of the last two seasons. Franklin’s finally getting his recruits on the field, whereas Harbaugh can’t seem to succeed with, “his guys.”

All of that is to say this: James Franklin is the second best head coach in the Big Ten. The best coach returns to his team this week after a suspension.

Even though Saturday’s game against Appalachian State was closer than Penn State fans would prefer, the Nittany Lions did a few things every coach can be proud of: they failed to turn the ball over, and they only committed two penalties totaling 10 yards. That might seem like only a small victory, but what if Penn State had committed seven or eight penalties? The topic and tune of this conversation would be very different.

Home/Penn State Nittany Lions