John Reid didn’t catch the ball.
How could John Reid not catch that ball? It was a lame duck. He was right there. It was the turnover Penn State needed. It was John Reid. If a ball came his way, it was a sure pick. How could John Reid of all people not catch that ball? How on earth could John Reid not catch that ball?
The ball flopped on the green grass on a crisp October night and third down went to fourth down.
It was at that moment, I swear, that we jumped timelines.
You know what timelines I’m talking about, right? Like the multiverse. The one that the Avengers made famous but might actually be a thing if you talk to Neil deGrasse Tyson.
Anyways, that’s the play I’ve watched over and over. That’s the play I’ve thought about the most.
It exists. It happened. It’s right there in the game play-by-play box score “Barrett, J.T. pass incomplete to McLaurin, Terry (Reid, John).” That is reality.
That’s the play that’s burned in my brain from Penn State’s Oct. 22, 2016 contest at Beaver Stadium with Ohio State.
Shortly after, everything in my brain – and probably your brain – pretty much went blank but reality continued on. I don’t remember Marcus Allen blocking it. I actually remember the ref falling at the goal line instead of Grant Haley carrying the ball over that goal line.
And I always think about what would have happened had John Reid caught that ball. I think about the other timeline. The one where Trace McSorley has to lead Penn State down the field trailing by four instead of leading thanks to “easy” points Allen and Haley combined for. The timeline where that drive probably doesn’t happen. The one where Penn State falls to 4-3 at that point in the year. One that doesn’t lead to a trip to Indy. One that doesn’t lead to one of the craziest Rose Bowls ever. One that doesn’t put Penn State back on the map.
All because John Reid does catch that ball and that’s the timeline we do split into.
But that’s not the timeline we are in. That’s the alternate reality.
The real reality is the timeline where John Reid drops that ball from J.T. Barrett, Penn State goes on to upset Ohio State and Penn State makes a trip to the Rose Bowl because they get left out of the playoff – likely rightly so. It’s the one where Penn State then misses the playoff the next year largely because of a weird weather day in East Lansing with an even better roster than that 2016 team. The timeline where Penn State can’t sneak by Ohio State in 2018, has deja vu in 2019, derailed by COVID in 2020 and derailed by nine overtimes and a game at Kinnick in 2021.
2022 eased a lot of that pain but where does that leave 2023 in this timeline?
It’s a reality that we’ve all struggled with as Penn State fans since that October night. But I think this is the timeline we’re supposed to be in. I think 2023 is the year that makes John Reid not catching that ball worth it.
For as many angry evenings that followed that night, for as many great nights that followed that incompletion instead of interception, 2023 will be the year that this is all worth it.
I can offer you no proof that this will end up well. Unlike Dr. Strange, I can not see 14,000,604 bad outcomes or the one good one.
But I can offer this. There are only so many lessons Franklin can learn before this works. He’s too talented of a college football coach for that to not happen.
There are only so many coaching decisions and coaches themselves that can come together before this works. This coaching staff is too smart not to accomplish what’s in front of them.
There are only so many rosters that can come together before this works. This one is too deep and too talented not to make the most of now.
The pieces are in the right spot of the chess board for Franklin to offer the checkmate he needs.
Franklin has changed his tune when it comes to how it speaks about his team, how he focuses his roster and how tames expectations.
He has been focused this offseason. He has publicly challenged his roster for leadership to step-up rather than force feed us that leadership exists. He has, for the most part, handled the already decided quarterback competition the right way.
And yes, all of the PR doesn’t change the fact whether or not Penn State wins football games. They aren’t won off the field. Neither of us are idiots. You get zero points on the scoreboard for answering questions from the Penn State beat a specific way.
But previously, it seemed that Franklin was so wrapped up in the image of Penn State football that he often got burnt by it when it doesn’t work out.
Of course, in this timeline, after that 2018 Ohio State game, there was the Elite speech. I’ve said that Franklin probably doesn’t regret making that speech but rather failing living up to it.
2023 Schedule
Date | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|
9/2 | W, WVU | 38-15 |
9/9 | W, UDel | 63-7 |
9/16 | W, @Ill | 30-13 |
9/23 | W, Iowa | 31-0 |
9/30 | W, @ NW | 41-13 |
10/7 | Bye | |
10/14 | W, UMass | 63-0 |
10/21 | L, @OSU | 20-12 |
1028 | W, IU | 33-24 |
11/4 | W, @ MD | 51-15 |
11/11 | L, Mich | 24-15 |
11/18 | W, Rutg | 27-6 |
11/24 | W, @ MSU | 42-0 |
12/30 | L, Ole Miss | 38-25 |
And that’s what he has to do in 2023. It’s time. There are no more excuses for Penn State. This isn’t a rebuilding year that will grow into a hallmark year for his legacy like last year was. This is the year that he proves his worth.
If Franklin truly wants his legacy at Penn State to be the one he’s teased – playoff berths and maybe a national title or two – 2023 is going to be his last “easy” chance to achieve that before the playoff expands in 2024.
That isn’t to say making the playoff isn’t going to be straightforward or easy but right now, making the playoff is the goal.
That has been the goal. And yes there are things that come after that but getting to the playoff – which Penn State fans have been tantalized with since 2016 several times – remains the core goal.
When the playoff and conference expand in 2024, making the playoff goes from the goal to the expectations. And if Franklin were to miss the playoff in 2024, we’re all going to have a large conversation about that buyout, if you follow my drift.
But this is now. This is the current timeline Penn State lives in. You live in. I live in. Reaching the goal becomes the one thing that Franklin can truly mark as a crowning achievement to his career.
Penn State has to go for it. Franklin has to go for it.
What’s holding him back now?
Nothing.
Penn State’s coaching staff is, by all accounts, in the top tier of the nation. Mike Yurcich has reinvented and reignited offenses after his semi-surprise hiring following the very surprising firing of Kirk Ciarrocca. On the defensive side, Franklin found Manny Diaz of all people to wreak havoc on the opposition.
And we’ve seen Franklin in situations before where he would get flustered, learn from those and apply them.
In 2021, Sean Clifford’s injury at Iowa essentially caused the wheels to fall off of the season because the backup quarterback was not prepared.
Now, Franklin made a five-star QB sit behind Clifford to learn and listen, all while developing and recruiting other viable options at the position just in case this whole Drew Allar thing doesn’t work out. No more quarterbacks being fed to the wolves.
Now, Allar, by all indication, is the guy – the final move to set up the endgame.
Pair it with the rest of that 2022 recruiting class, and guys like Nicholas Singleton, Kaytron Allen and Abdul Carter have become true All-American hopefuls. On the defensive side of the ball, it’s the most stacked secondary and the most stacked linebacking core Franklin has ever had.
Penn State even has a favorable schedule for once. Yes, making the playoff isn’t going to be easy with some sneaky games like Illinois and Maryland lurking but the Nittany Lions’ out of conference opponents include a weak West Virginia team with a coach struggling to keep his job, the FCS’s Delaware and UMass, which might as well be a FCS team.
Oh by the way, that UMass game sits the week after the Nittany Lions’ bye and a week before Penn State’s game with Ohio State – in the Horseshoe – you know, one of two places in the Big Ten Franklin hasn’t won a football game.
There is, of course, Michigan. The Wolverines and Franklin’s heel Jim Harbaugh are looming at home in early November. It could decide who wins the Big Ten East and it is the type of game you cherish that you get at home because it very well could make a difference, even if meaningful noon games are annoying as a fan.
But even with one loss, Penn State has a very real shot at getting to the playoff, especially with dominant wins over teams it’s supposed to beat and a signature win over Ohio State.
I have long given Franklin the benefit of the doubt. I’ve long said this is going to take time, and maybe a time or two in the last few years thought “this year” was the year.
But there are no more excuses. There is no more figuring it out. It has to be done because everything is laid out the way it is supposed to be.
This is why John Reid didn’t catch the ball. This is why you learn from Ohio State in 2018, Iowa in 2021 and all of those not-so-good moments, nine overtimes included. This is why you also cherish the Ohio States in 2016, a five-game winning streaks to end the season in 2020 and the Rose Bowls win in 2022.
The timeline has followed this path for a reason. Don’t let this timeline go to waste.
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You can also read the rest of our preview series, featuring a piece on Nicholas Singleton and Katyron Allen, a piece on Abdul Carter and a piece on Manny Diaz.