Penn State loses again as nightmare season continues — even without James Franklin
Penn State walked off the field Saturday night in Kinnick Stadium much like it had the last three weeks — with a close loss in a game it easily could have won. This time it was 25-24 to Iowa. In prior weeks it was Oregon, UCLA and Northwestern. But this time, there was a noticeable difference.
For the first time since 2013, James Franklin was not there to shepherd his players off the field after the game. He was not there to give the pregame speech. He did not speak to the players postgame. Those duties fell to interim head coach Terry Smith.
Maybe Franklin was still in Athens, Ga., where he went on ESPN’s College GameDay to discuss being fired by Penn State. Maybe he was in Florida, where he owns a home. Wherever he was, it wasn’t Iowa City.
And despite the players’ and the staff’s attempts to move forward, they still came up short, unable to avoid the glaring difference on the sideline.
That’s not to say Franklin’s absence was a topic during the game. Safety Zakee Wheatley said it’s hard to let your mind drift when you’re so focused on the task at hand. Those aren’t the situations that his absence is noticeable. It’s all of the little stuff.
“One of my fondest moments with Coach Franklin was that every time we’d start practice or something like that, he’d be like ‘Let’s be ready to gooooo,’” offensive lineman Anthony Donkoh said. “I was missing that from him. So I was the one who would do that for our guys. ... Obviously it sucks, but we know that stuff happens that is not in our control and we just have to move forward.”
It was clear throughout the week that this team was going to miss Franklin. The players tweeted about him. They gave somber responses in mid-week press conferences. Even Smith, the interim head coach, acknowledged the guilt everyone in the building felt when he spoke on Wednesday after his team’s practice.
He said they were all responsible for his firing. They failed him.
And, on Saturday night, that sentiment didn’t change. They lost again. And Smith saw a team that struggled in more ways than one.
“In our special teams we continue to have problems handling punts and kicks and just making good decisions with the football there,” Smith said following the game. “Offense, we continue to not be able to throw the ball down the field or even throw the ball in the intermediate. So we got to get that fixed. Defense, we can’t get stops when we need stops. It’s glaring. And I have to get it fixed.”
Basically, everything was bad. But maybe the players’ heads were elsewhere. Not necessarily during the game, but during the preparation. Because it certainly affected the schedule. The team didn’t practice Sunday like it always does as they all processed what happened. That caused a shift in the rest of the week in order to maximize their time on the field — especially with a new starting quarterback in redshirt freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer.
That routine shift could throw anyone off. And it would be hard to blame them if they weren’t fully focused even when they were preparing. After all, Franklin is the only college coach most of them have ever known.
And that’s what makes this even tougher. Wheatley is one of the team’s leaders. He’s tasked with helping guide a very young safety room. But how do you guide people through something you haven’t experienced before?
“It’s difficult, but at times like this that’s why I’m a leader of the team,” Wheatley said. “So you just got to look at the positive. Coach Terry, he did a great job of focusing on the positive. Saying at the end of day, we still playing football, having fun, just like Little League. So just trying to get that across to the guys, let them know, this is football. So we’ve been doing this our whole life. So just regardless of the coach, regardless of the weather, regardless of the fans, just go out there and play ball.”
They’ll hear Smith’s words and follow his plan. They’ll try to get back on track. Maybe they will. But there will likely be no celebrating playoff wins or even a postseason appearance.
This team won’t be lauded for its on-field accomplishments, and it won’t be the team that takes Penn State to the ranks of the elite like it was supposed to. It won’t get the happy ending it was striving for heading into the season — the kind where confetti is falling and they’re lifting a trophy at the end of the national title game. It won’t be everything the Nittany Lions dreamed it would be.
It will instead be remembered as the season Franklin was fired.
And, eventually, it will come to a merciful end.
