Penn State's James Franklin Responds to Fans' Frustration With Oregon Loss

While he might not provide fans with the explanations they prefer, Franklin at least said he understands the frustration and gets the questions he receives. In fact, Franklin said “I get it” in his responses 19 times and 10 times in just one answer when asked whether the amount of time he spent recruiting during the bye week affected his preparation for Oregon.  

“Any time things don’t go well, every decision is going to be critiqued,” Franklin said. “I get it. I totally get it. I understand the question. I understand where it’s coming from. We try to anticipate some of these things.”

Franklin graduated from East Stroudsburg University in 1995 with a degree in psychology, so it’s not surprising he promotes the benefits of positive thinking and why his players buy into the messaging. 

Penn State’s loss to Oregon might have felt similar to its Big Ten Championship and Orange Bowl losses last year because they all essentially ended on interceptions. However, this loss didn’t cost the Nittany Lions a championship or end their season, and Franklin said he wouldn’t blow it out of proportion either. 

“I’m not going to allow one loss to define our season, I’m not going to allow a few losses to define my career and what we have done here at Penn State,” Franklin said, “because although I don’t think a lot of people spend a ton of time on what we have done over our 12 years here, I get it. Nobody wants to hear this right now. There are a ton of positives.

“So I say this as someone that's trying to look at the positives here and move this program in the right direction and take the steps that we need to take this week. I want this to come off as me stating some positives to answering your question and not just focus on the negative. Because I don't think that helps solve the problem. Screaming, yelling, pointing fingers, we're not going to do. Also there is a part of making sure that I represent this program, this university, the right way, and do it with class and integrity. That probably shows up in times like that more than other times. It's not fun and easy when you care as deeply as we care.

This week, Penn State will play on the road for the first time when it travels to UCLA. The team is scheduled to leave Thursday afternoon to allow more time to get acclimated to the Pacific time zone. Last October, the Nittany Lions traveled to USC. 

But Franklin’s biggest concern is staying “as positive as possible,” even if that means ignoring the frustration that still hangs over the team like a dense fog after Saturday. 

“If you’re not careful, that negativity can linger,” Franklin said. “And we’ve had this issue in the past where one loss turns into two because there is so much negativity that it’s hard to get the team over it and move on.”