Penn State coach James Franklin isn’t necessarily known for his astute in-game decision-making. But Saturday in Minnesota was an exception.
When reasonable people evaluate the Penn State boss, most of the things they find are positive.
He’s a quality recruiter that knows how to develop prized signees into NFL stars.
He’s a winner, as evidenced by the fact that he’s now won double-digit games in six of his past nine seasons at Penn State. His assistants have been known to become Power Five head coaches, so he knows how to delegate, which is an important tool in coaching.
But like with anybody, Franklin has flaws. His biggest problem as a coach has been his failures against Ohio State and Michigan, who he’s a combined 4-17 against. Part of the reason he can’t win those games, some would argue, is because of his poor in-game decision making.
Minnesota isn’t Ohio State or Michigan, but Saturday may have been the finest in-game performance of Franklin’s career.
4 MINUTES OF GLORY
Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now: James Franklin
Here was the situation.
Penn State put its College Football Playoff hopes in the hands of a third-string true freshman TE, a long snapper and a walk-on OL.
It worked.
With 3:47 left and Penn State clinging to a one-point lead and perhaps its season, PSU faced a 4th and 1 from its 34.
It set up to punt, but a punt it was not. Long snapper Tyler Duzansky hiked it TE Luke Reynolds. Reynolds ran for 32 yards, setting Penn State up near the Minnesota red zone.
Franklin knew that failure here would set Minnesota up on field goal range down one with roughly three and a half minutes left. Instead, with punt protector Dominic Rulli’s blessing, Penn State made magic happen, and “Jimmy The Gambler” was the one who called the shot.
PENN STATE FAKE PUNT THE BALLS ON JAMES FRANKLIN pic.twitter.com/jaL37HGWxX
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) November 23, 2024
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!
Photo by Penn State Athletics: James Franklin
Later in the drive, Penn State faced another 4th and 1, this time in Minnesota territory at the 25. Franklin could have kicked a field goal to go up by four with 2:10 left and Minnesota only having one timeout. Instead, “Jimmy the Gambler” kept the offense on the field. Penn State ran a “tush push,” and QB Drew Allar got the first down.
Penn State added a fourth down conversion for good measure.
All three fourth downs Penn State converted on the final drive of the game: pic.twitter.com/0Fe9Vtpb8W
— Lexie Linderman (@lexieleigh28) November 24, 2024
Each fourth down conversation was important in sealing a win for Penn State and keeping its College Football Playoff hopes alive but the fake punt will be the play everybody talks about.
I’ve long been a believer that life is one big contradiction, and this fake punt is an example of that.
THE CONTRADICTION
BLOOMINGTON, IN – OCTOBER 26: ESPN College GameDay analyst and former Alabama head coach Nick Saban on set prior to a college football game between the Washington Huskies and Indiana Hoosiers on October 26, 2024 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, IN (Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire)
Coaches such as Nick Saban and Franklin himself have championed the “players, not plays” mindset.
This means that, when a team is in a crucial situation, a coach should think of what players to use over what plays to call. Penn State hasn’t been very good at this in the past (not using Tyler Warren against Ohio State, hint hint) most recently earlier this month. So if Penn State has been burned by not using its best players in its biggest moments, what was it doing putting possibly the game and season in the hands of two walk-ons and a third-string true freshman?
Duzansky snapped the ball, Reynolds ran with it and the “quarterback” of the play was Rulli, who was responsible for seeing if Minnesota’s return team was set up for the fake or not.
So why was it a good idea for Penn State to do this if the right protocol is for a team to involve its best players in moments like that?
Well, sometimes coaches need to have a feel for going on.
Football games are not one size fits all. Every one is different. A coach needs to have a knack for the situation, what the other team is doing and if there’s an easy way to exploit it.
Franklin saw that Minnesota was vulnerable, trusted the players he had on the field, and made magic happen.
IN CONCLUSION
Who knows if being a “gambler” will become something James Franklin is known for. But his performance on this November Saturday would have made Kenny Rogers proud.
