Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin. Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: Penn State fake punt attempt was unbelievably awful

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 1/1/22

The Penn State Nittany Lions decided to empty the playbook a bit during the Outback Bowl, but perhaps they should have kept some of it tucked away.

Up 10-7, Penn State coach James Franklin apparently decided to go for the jugular and try for a fake punt on 4th and 13. There was one problem: the play was doomed from the start. The formation was an inexplicable disaster, and punter Jordan Stout was left to essentially heave one up in desperation with a defender closing in. Unsurprisingly, he ended up throwing an interception.

Penn State just ran arguably the funniest fake punt of the season pic.twitter.com/ugwDgZElPL

— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) January 1, 2022

One has to wonder what the play design here was actually supposed to be. No, it’s not as bad as the infamous Indianapolis Colts fake punt, but it’s still pretty bad.

Maybe Franklin was just confused, like he was during this press conference in October.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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