Penn State HC James Franklin ripped for poor decisions in loss to Michigan
No Jim Harbaugh, no problem for Michigan on Saturday in its 24-15 win over Penn State. That's mainly because James Franklin was on the other sideline.
After Wolverines head coach Harbaugh was suspended for the remainder of the regular season on Friday, all eyes were on Michigan-Penn State to see how the ruling affected the game.
It turned out that Michigan (10-0, 7-0 in Big Ten) was in good hands with Penn State head coach Franklin in the building.
On a fourth-and-6 with 4:25 remaining, Franklin made the poor decision to go for it instead of relying on his defense that had held Michigan's offense in check in the second half. The play failed as quarterback Drew Allar threw the ball to no one.
Michigan scored on a Blake Corum touchdown run to take a 24-9 lead on the next play, leading to an avalanche of critiques lobbed at Franklin.
The Penn State head coach wasn't done making terrible decisions. After the Nittany Lions pulled within nine at 24-15, he decided to go for two, which itself wasn't a bad idea. The play call was atrocious, however. Six players, including the entire offensive line, lined up near the sideline, allowing Michigan to have five defenders against four Penn State wide receivers in the middle of the field. That math doesn't add up, and the play was shut down.
Many were looking to see how Harbaugh's suspension would impact Michigan against a quality opponent, but if the Big Ten really wanted to help Penn State (8-2, 5-2 in Big Ten), it would have suspended Franklin.
With the loss, Franklin dropped to 4-16 against Michigan and Ohio State and 2-22 against top-10 teams.
The Wolverines may have been without their head coach, but the Nittany Lions are still waiting for theirs to show up for a big game.
More must-reads: