Rat poison in Happy Valley? James Franklin unhappy with Penn State’s effort following White Out victory

Things should be happy for Penn State Saturday evening, but head coach James Franklin was not entirely pleased with his team in Week 4.

Taking on FCS opponent Villanova, the Nittany Lions scored on some big plays but only managed a 17-3 lead heading into halftime. Penn State would eventually kick things into gear and cruise to a 38-17 win behind Sean Clifford’s big day, but it was far from a comfortable performance.

After the game, Franklin addressed what he saw from his team. He pointed toward a lackluster showing in practice, saying he believes the Nittany Lions are getting comfortable and basking in their performance to start the year.

Franklin’s full comment is very reminiscent of Nick Saban’s infamous “rat poison” rant at Alabama:

James Franklin: “I thought Wednesday we did not have a good practice. I think they’re getting patted on the back, I think they’re reading articles, and we’ll make sure that there’s no leftovers of that come Sunday. I’ll make sure that we clear all those things out of the fridge.”

— Tyler Donohue (@TDsTake) September 25, 2021

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.