Skip to content

Ad Disclosure

Social media is crushing James Franklin for Penn State’s obscure final play

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

We all knew who was getting the ball.

On a 4th-and-5 with the season on the line, Trace McSorley was going to have the game in his hands. Especially considering the night he was having. The quarterback was 16-of-32 for 286 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 175 more yards.

It was a no-brainer. Win or lose, McSorley was going to be the deciding factor.

Except he wasn’t. Instead, James Franklin used a timeout to draw up a handoff to Miles Sanders, whom Ohio State’s defense had frustrated all night. There was no trickery, no special motion, no McSorley. Nothing. Sanders was dropped for a two-yard loss and the game was over.

Ohio State hung on for a 27-26 win to improve to 5-0 on the year. Penn State dropped to 4-1.

The play-call might have been the most bizarre decision we’ve seen in college football, especially with all the implications hanging in the balance. And after the game, social media let Franklin have it.

Here’s some of the responses to Franklin’s questionable decision at the end of the game:

Dustin Schutte

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