It was such a crazy Saturday for college football that 11-1 Penn State now faces undefeated Oregon in the Big Ten championship game on Saturday in Indianapolis.
The James Franklin Nittany Lions defeated Maryland 44–7 at Beaver Stadium, handling the situation with remarkable ease.
However, Penn State’s trip to the Big Ten championship game was made possible by Michigan’s shock victory over Ohio State in Columbus. Ryan Day’s team suffered its second defeat when the Wolverines, who were a heavy underdog, defeated the Buckeyes 13–10.
Penn State is in, then.
However, the final play of the PSU-Maryland game was a thrilling one, as the Lions scored a touchdown on a 15-yard pass from Beau Pribula to Tyseer Denmark.
Following the game, Franklin and Maryland coach Mike Locksley did not appear to be having a cordial conversation in the center of the field.
Locksley had some harsh things to say about the Lions’ offensive play.
However, Franklin justified his choice to keep his squad playing until the very end, claiming that he had backups against Maryland’s starting defense. The Terps’ first-team offense attempted to score against a backup-heavy PSU defense during the previous possession.
Putting the threes and fours in the game is my responsibility, Franklin stated. However, they get to play football when the threes and fours enter the game. Football is something those men deserve to play.
“Your (first-teamers) are in the game,” Franklin would say. You wanted to score. Our goal is to score. Additionally, you’re playing Cover 0. Play Cover 2 if you don’t want to [permit a score]. I’m okay with it, then.
Franklin’s actions were also well received by a PennLive Penn State SMS subscriber.
For clarity, his statement was edited.
I just watched the final question about the last-second touchdown as time ran out, as well as James Franklin’s press conference after the game. I must admit that I thought Franklin’s response was fantastic. You can’t blame PSU for playing to score, just like Maryland did right up until the very end. Franklin deserves praise for correcting the record. Nowadays, you don’t receive respect unless you score 50 points, unless you’re Georgia or Alabama. Garbage time should be used to help younger players develop; if you’re so talented, it will show in the score!
Was Franklin able to let up after taking a 38–7 lead? Yes. However, he did have his backups in, and Maryland was using some of their best players to try to score and defend.
The bottom line, in my opinion, is that a coach must act in the best interests of his team in order to secure a better seed and a spot in the expanded college playoffs.
Both Penn State’s schedule and the caliber of their victories have drawn criticism. We are keeping an eye on the margin of victory. PSU pressed for extra points because Maryland refused to give up. In essence, Franklin was telling Mike that he couldn’t have it both ways.
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