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James Franklin Had Perfect Response To Nasty Postgame Handshake With Rival Coach

Originally posted on The Spun | By Daniel Bates | Last updated Nov 30, 2024 9:15 PM ET

James Franklin and the Nittany Lions made easy work of Maryland on Saturday with a 44-7 win over the Terrapins to finish the regular season 11-1.

After the game, Terrapins head coach Mike Locksley made his feelings clear about how Penn State handled the game by getting into his face during their postgame handshake — which Franklin chose to address (perfectly) during his press conference.

"My job is to put the threes and the fours in the game. But when the threes and fours get to go in the game, they get to play football. Those guys deserve to play football," Franklin explained. "Your ones are in the game, you were trying to score! We were trying to score... On top of that, you're playing Cover 0 — play Cover 2. So, I'm good with it."

Maryland's Mike Locksley was not happy with Penn State's James Franklin after taking a 44-7 loss at Beaver Stadium. pic.twitter.com/NGl8TrO43k
— Mark Brennan (@MarkXBrennan) December 1, 2024

"There's also a change in college football," the coach pointed out. "We are trying to play as long as we can, make the Playoff and be seeded as high as possible. Scoring as many points and a point differential matters. All of that matters. And if you don't get that, it's really not my problem."

Penn State finished the game with a 15-yard touchdown pass as time expired which obviously didn't sit well with Maryland. But as the old adage goes: "if you don't like it, stop it."

When backups get into the game, they deserve to be able to put some good tape out there and take what they learned in practice to a live situation.

That's even more critical now when margins of victory over opponents can sometimes be as big a factor in getting into the top 12 as the number of wins itself.

Penn State's victory punches their ticket to Indianapolis where they'll face the Oregon Ducks in the Big Ten Championship.

As for Maryland, their season is over at 4-8 and with no bowl game to look forward to.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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