There was a swing in the first half where Penn State had the chance to show its killer instinct.
Nittany Lion linebacker Dom DeLuca had just picked off a pass from Minnesota quarterback Max Brosmer and returned it to the Golden Gophers’ 23-yard line. Penn State was within striking distance, down 10-7, from taking the lead.
From completely weighing the scale of momentum in its favor.
From landing a knockout punch.
Instead, the Nittany Lions brought in their backup quarterback Beau Pribula to pick up a measly four yards on the ground. Minnesota held Penn State to just three points and Penn State never quite got it going – until its next opportunity to land the knockout punch.
This time, James Franklin and the rest of Penn State didn’t miss.
In the fourth quarter, the Nittany Lions ran a fake punt with 3:47 left on the clock on their own 34-yard line to extend a drive that will likely secure Penn State’s first trip to the College Football Playoff. While it was the biggest gamble of his tenure, it proved to be one of the best in-game coaching decisions Franklin has made at Penn State as the Nittany Lions beat Minnesota, 26-25.
When DeLuca grabbed that interception, it felt like the mountain of momentum would come crashing down on Minnesota. It was time for Penn State – probably stacked with better athletes – to begin to put up to that moment a bit contentious of a game away.
Yet it didn’t.
That has haunted Penn State in the past. It’s held Penn State back in the past. It’s probably contributed to the fact why so many have been frustrated with Franklin over the last six or so years in particular.
In moments when it should have gone for the knockout punch, Penn State always hasn’t. Visions of Ohio State 2017, Michigan State 2018, Indiana 2020 or even Illinois 2021 danced around. It came back to bite Penn State in those moments and it has probably bitten Franklin’s reputation too.
Even for fans who view Franklin in a more favorable, less vocal light, there are times where it’s felt like Franklin has let Penn State – and those fans – down in moments it shouldn’t have because it didn’t land that final blow. Sure, he’s landed them in route to a .710 winning percentage but when it really matters, has he connected them?
For what occurred from the time Pribula picked up just four yards until Penn State took the lead late in the third quarter, it seemed like Minnesota 2024 was headed to that aforementioned list.
But Franklin’s leadership gave Penn State the opportunity to stay alive and ultimately deliver a coup d’état.
Before Penn State took the lead in the third quarter, quarterback Drew Allar – who has been wearing his emotions on his sleeve more frequently (and mostly positively) in 2024 – slammed his helmet on the bench after he wasn’t afforded a timeout by the officials. Very rarely is Franklin not up directly along the sidelines coaching his team. He’ll occasionally chat with a player as they jog off the field. But he rarely comes back to the bench to speak individually with a player.
Saturday, Franklin walked over to sitting Allar, bent down to calm the quarterback, all because the coach needed him to bounce back.
It was a moment of leadership that had it not been caught by CBS’s cameras maybe goes unnoticed. It’s hard, though, to think that conversation was the beginning of the tide turning.
On the next drive, Allar commanded Penn State’s offense, connecting with Tyler Warren several times before Nicholas Singleton scored on that 12-yard rush where the Nittany Lions captured their first lead of the day.
After a time-sucking drive that only resulted in three points by Minnesota and while Penn State retained a one-point lead, the Nittany Lions had to kill nearly six minutes to ice the game.
Penn State’s offense sputtered on the first three plays as an eight-yard scramble by Allar set up a fourth-and-1 at the Penn State 34.
Penn State, playing strong second half defense where it only allowed 127 yards, could have put the game in that defense’s hands.
But Franklin didn’t want that to happen. The coach, as he put it in his postgame press conference, wanted the ball in his team’s hands. His fake punt decision, which converted thanks to a 32-yard rush by tight end Luke Reynolds, began a drive where Penn State didn’t let go.
If it fails and Minnesota scores, there’s a chance this is moot but the trust Franklin had in his players — the timeliness to dial up that gutsy call — is what makes his leadership on Saturday so impressive. It was Franklin slamming the door in the face of those who don’t think he’s active enough on the sideline.
Later tested on a fourth-and-1 from Minnesota’s 25-yard line, Franklin kept his offense out — again aiming to end it on his own terms — as Allar pushed forward for the conversion on a sneak at the two-minute timeout. Then with 27 seconds left, Franklin and offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki dialed up a pass to Warren on fourth-and-1.
Importantly, Warren, who was relatively wide open, immediately fell down after making the reception. Had Warren scored and Penn State kicked an extra point or not picked up the 2-point try, Minnesota would have had an opportunity to score – albeit with no timeouts and less than 30 seconds left – to tie.
It was proof of a lesson learned by Franklin against Indiana in 2020 where, if running back Devyn Ford falls down in the final seconds of the game, the Hoosiers don’t come back to force overtime – and Penn State doesn’t go on to lose. It continued with a trend of lessons learned and lessons applied in 2024 — the biggest thread that’s pushed Penn State to a 10-1 record.
In the conundrum of Franklin, now in his 11th year in State College, many have discredited him with either doing too or not doing enough.
There’s also been a mostly vocal minority questioning and second-guessing every one of Franklin’s decisions for the latter part of the last decade too. They offer questions like why should Penn State shell out cash for better facilities or why should Penn State get its NIL program aligned?
Why can’t Penn State do it the old way?
Why is he — not an alum engrained and raised in the culture of yesteryear — the right man for the job?
For some, he’s not the right man for the job because he doesn’t act like those of the past or he’s not the right man because “meddles” too much. For others, he’s passed the buck to a revolving door of offensive coordinators and wide receiver coaches.
The reality of the genuine critiques against Franklin lie much closer to the middle of that spectrum. There have been chances where it just wasn’t enough – or where Penn State didn’t land a knockout punch.
Yet on Saturday, he and Penn State did that.
It was a punch to those who have doubted him.
It was a knockout — regardless of stature of opponent — that puts Penn State one more “1-0” away from the College Football Playoff.
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