The Penn State Nittany Lions fell short in yet another big game this past Saturday, getting outdueled by Dan Lanning’s Oregon Ducks in a 30-24 double-overtime thriller that saw Drew Allar throw the game away on a game-losing interception to Dillon Thieneman.
It wasn’t the end of the line for Penn State’s College Football Playoff hopes. However, the loss did nothing to silence an unhappy Nittany Lions fanbase that was chanting “Fire Franklin” from the Beaver Stadium stands during the White Out.
Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde doesn’t see the loss to Oregon as fatal for Penn State’s push to the CFP, which is probably directly tied to Franklin’s employment. Forde did acknowledge that there is an intangible “big-game cloud” hanging over Franklin indefinitely.
“Penn State plays the two worst teams in the Big Ten, UCLA and Northwestern, before hitting a stretch of Iowa on the road, Ohio State on the road and Indiana at home. Losing to an excellent Oregon team is by no means fatal from a playoff standpoint, but it does keep the big-game cloud hovering over the program,” Forde wrote.
Franklin said after the loss that he doesn’t feel his tenure should be defined by a few losses.
“I’m not going to allow one loss to define our season, and I’m not going to allow a few losses define my career, and what we have done here at Penn State,” Franklin said.
That’s all well and good, but if you’re not known for national championships and are instead known for getting close multiple times, falling short in the semifinals or the Big Ten Championship Game, or even before that, there’s nothing else that can better define his legacy.
It’s not the worst legacy to have, either. Gus Malzahn is an Auburn Tigers football coaching legend for setting that standard. Brian Kelly will get another job after his mostly successful tenures with the LSU Tigers and Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
In due time, Franklin will be beloved in State College, Pennsylvania. Until he wins the big game, or is directed out the door, and some time is passed, that’s not going to happen.