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James Franklin is getting crushed for another late-game decision lapse
Published:
Penn State had all the momentum in the fourth quarter. Trailing Kentucky 27-21 with under five minutes remaining in the Citrus Bowl, the Nittany Lions had the ball deep in Wildcats territory with a chance to take the lead.
The Lions were faced with a fourth down situation at the Kentucky 14-yard line. Considering how well the offense had moved the football — and the productivity of Trace McSorley, who was playing on a broken foot — it seemed like a no-brainer to send the offense back onto the field.
Instead, James Franklin opted to kick a field goal and pull the Nittany Lions within three. But Penn State’s defense couldn’t get the final stop and the offense got the ball back with just one second left in the game.
Penn State lost 27-24.
Fans had flashbacks to the Ohio State game in late September, when Franklin took the ball out of the hands of McSorley, costing Penn State an important win early in the year. Loyal Penn Staters were ruthless then, and they were ruthless again following the Citrus Bowl.
Franklin was getting crushed for his late-game decision-making again. Here’s some of the reaction following Penn State’s decision to kick the field goal:
Field Goal Franklin at it again
— Isaiah Hole (@isaiahhole) January 1, 2019
Trace McSorley just played on a damn broken foot only to have James Franklin wuss out with a FG in a meaningless bowl. pic.twitter.com/3airN81wDS
— College Sports Only (@CollegeSportsO) January 1, 2019
https://twitter.com/jake_nazar/status/1080215497558372352
This one's on James Franklin.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 1, 2019
Hahaha James Franklin plays for a FG by running a QB draw on 3rd down, and then the FG gets blocked. Terrible in game manager.
— jbook™ (@jbook37) January 1, 2019
Someone give James Franklin a fan to yell at after that dumb field goal.
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) January 1, 2019
James Franklin: *kicks field goal down 6 with 4 minutes left*
Kentucky: *runs the clock out*
James Franklin: pic.twitter.com/jqFu2Ggr6J— Patrick Barron 🐻🌹🏆 (@BlueBarronPhoto) January 1, 2019
https://twitter.com/coolghost101/status/1080219447275581440
James Franklin gonna take those timeouts back to State College with him?
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) January 1, 2019
Congrats to Kentucky, honestly. However, I think that was quite possibly PSU’s worst game of the year. The offense and defense didn’t play consistently and once again, Franklin played not to lose at the end of the game instead of playing to win. #WeAre
— Zach Moyer (@zmoyer14) January 1, 2019
James Franklin is going to say he kicked because he trusted the defense to get a stop, but that same logic can be applied for going for it on 4th & 6 from the 14. If you don't get it, you have three timeouts and are still only down six. Indefensible decision.
— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) January 1, 2019
#PennState need to fire James Franklin and his defensive coordinator, so sick of his bad coaching
— cliff smith (@cliffsm67149094) January 1, 2019
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB