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James Franklin goes off on Mike Locksley after heated postgame meeting

Derek Peterson

By Derek Peterson

Published:

James Franklin ran up the score on Mike Locksley and Maryland at home on Saturday.

At least, that was Locksley’s vantage point. In a 44-7 win over the Terps, backup quarterback Beau Pribula threw an incomplete pass on third-and-12 from the Maryland 15 to stop the clock with 2 seconds left in the game and then threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Tyseer Denmark as time expired. Locksley took exception with the decision and let Franklin know about it when the two coaches met each other on the field for a postgame handshake.

In his postgame press conference, Franklin sent a message to Locksley. Don’t like it? Stop it.

“I get it. At the end of the game, we throw a touchdown. I get it,” Franklin said. “My job is to put 3s and 4s in the game, but when the 3s and 4s get to go in the game, they get to play football. Those guys deserve to play football.

“Your 1s are in the game. You were trying to score. We’re trying to score. On top of that, you’re playing Cover 0. If you don’t want (us to score), play Cover 2. So, I’m good with it.”

Pribula has played this year, but the catch for Denmark was just his second of the season. And it was his first career touchdown catch in just his third career appearance.

Locksley said in his postgame news conference the move from Penn State was “bullshit.” He said he has respect for Penn State, for Franklin, and for the game, but repeated the same adjective to describe the decision.

Franklin also pointed out that Penn State is playing for seeding and, in the era of the 12-team Playoff, every available style point matters.

“We are trying to play as long as we can, make the Playoffs, and be seeded as high as possible,” Franklin said. “Scoring as many points (matters), and a point differential matters. All of that matters and if you don’t get that, it’s really not my problem.”

Penn State is ranked fourth in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. With Ohio State losing to Michigan on Saturday, the Nittany Lions are also locked into the Big Ten Championship Game. Should the Nittany Lions lose to Oregon in that game, their résumé will be picked apart for seeding purposes. Though it remains to be seen how much the committee will be swayed by a 44-7 win over a 4-8 Maryland team as opposed to a 38-7 victory.

Derek Peterson

Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.