James Franklin reveals what has driven Penn State's aggressive decision making on fourth downs
Despite Penn State being 0-5 this season, head coach James Franklin has never been shy about going for it on 4th down.
On his radio show Tuesday, it seems like Franklin is crediting analytics as to why he’s going for it more often, according to The Athletic’s Audrey Snyder:
Franklin on the radio show tonight mentions analytics were driving 4th-down decisions heading into this season.
As I wrote today, PSU's 15 attempts this season are most in the Big Ten, four more than anyone else. The conversion percentage ranks 12th in the conference.
— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) November 24, 2020
Even though he’s been going for it more often, their conversion rate is near the bottom of the conference as Snyder also notes. Analytics may be telling Franklin to go for it on fourth down more often, but that isn’t going to matter much if the Nittany Lion offense doesn’t convert at a better percentage.
There are also times where Franklin says it makes no sense to go for it, such as a 4th and 17 situation this past weekend. The Nittany Lions were down 13 in the game with under four minutes left and he explained why he didn’t want to go for it there:
Franklin on the 4th and 17 punt when down 13 in the fourth qtr with under 4 mins left: "When you're not picking up fourth and shorts it doesn't give you a lot of confidence to try and pick up fourth and longs."
— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) November 24, 2020
It’s hard to argue with Franklin there as it would be much more unlikely to convert a 4th and 17 than it would be a fourth and short, no matter when in the game it is. Then again, fans would probably like to see a winless team exhaust every opportunity to try and come back for a shot to win the game.
Next up for Penn State will be a date with Michigan this Saturday. We will just have to see if Franklin continues his aggressive ways against the Wolverines.
