You can now hear the hearts of Penn State Nittany Lions fans breaking down to pieces. After all, their HC James Franklin’s fear came true. As Dan Lanning’s Oregon Ducks left them to pieces after a 45-37 showdown, they will now have to bear the blows of the penalty. The B1G championship game loss was just a trailer.

The college football analyst entered to drop a reality check, claiming that their road ahead to the playoffs is only going to get tougher and tougher. But is Franklin paying heed to the heads-up? Looks like the Penn State HC is too busy with the blame game. 

James Franklin on the receiving end of pressure

Sadly, at last Franklin’s chill attitude was not enough to safeguard them from the Ducks’ blows. Remember when the HC stated, “We want to make sure that these playoff games do not become a penalty?” That’s how the universe thought of making their fear come true. Penn State will now be barred from hosting a playoff game after having a bad fall against the Ducks. But they will also have to go on the road in the college football playoff. If this isn’t concerning enough, college football analyst Josh Pate further landed some reality checks. “Speaking of pressure, pressure is plenty here. Pressure’s on James Franklin.”

Well, 2024 has been no less than a rollercoaster ride for the Nittany Lions. They lost to Ohio State at the Beaver Stadium, Franklin got booed, but also ended up playing really well and made their way to the Big 10 Championship. Sadly, they had a tough loss against Oregon. Now that they are on their way to the playoff game at home against the SMU Mustangs, Pate sets out a plan for what they need to do. “You’ve got to win, there’s no other option here. You’ve got to win cause this is a situation where to to this point the games that Franklin’s been losing in these big moments, they’ve been an underdog.”

So Pate is not quite bothered about the Oregon and Ohio State losses. However, for Franklin and Co., it’s now a do-or-die situation, as he stated, “They’re not supposed to win those games they’re supposed to win this one it’s a playoff game…I think there’s legit pressure here.” However, Franklin would only take this into account once he was done pointing fingers at others!

James Franklin’s post-game sarcastic dig at Oregon

Sadly, the Lucas Oil Stadium was painted in orange and green. While the Ducks fans soaked in the victory fever, Franklin was busy cleaning up the mess his players created on the gridiron. After all, Penn State was charged with five penalties for 65 yards. And after this, how could Franklin be happy about it? Surprisingly, instead of taking accountability for their own actions, Franklin thought, let’s engage in some mudslinging. 

Right after the game, the Nittany Lions HC claimed, “I don’t want this to come off the wrong way. I give Oregon a ton of credit. But the penalties were pretty lopsided.” And what were those? Two facemask penalties, followed by two unsportsmanlike plays. Well, the frustration was real for Franklin. 

However, no matter how bitter things turned out for the Penn State HC, it did not stop him from praising Dan Lanning’s quarterback, Dillon Gabriel. The signal-caller came off as an indomitable force against James Franklin’s boys, throwing four touchdowns. “It seems like he’s been playing college football for like the last ten years,” Franklin sounded impressed. That’s how it should be, right? It’s high time that Franklin switches into a refocus mode, marking himself safe from any negativity, before their White Out game against SMU.