James Franklin: We should have called something different

James Franklin immediately regretted the play-call. The decision to hand the ball off to Miles Sanders on a 4th-and-5 with the game on the line was one of the most questionable calls this season.

Sanders was stuffed by the Ohio State defense behind the line of scrimmage. The Buckeyes held on for a 27-26 win in Happy Valley.

That call cost Penn State a chance to improve to 5-0. Might have cost the Nittany Lions a shot at the B1G title and CFB Playoff, too.

Following the game, Franklin met with the media to talk about the loss. And it was clear he regretted making the call.

“Obviously, we should’ve called something different there,” Franklin said in his opening statement.

James Franklin, on his feelings after the unsuccessful fourth-down conversion: "Obviously, we should've called something different there."

He's still on his opening statement. No questions taken yet.

— Josh Moyer (@ByJoshMoyer) September 30, 2018

It was bizarre that Franklin opted to take the ball out of Trace McSorley’s hands at the end of the game. The quarterback was having a career night and was a huge problem for the Ohio State defense.

Instead, Franklin handed the ball off to Sanders. And out of a timeout. That’s going to be a call that haunts the Penn State head coach for a very long time.

It’s already haunting him on social media.