If James Franklin slept and woke up Sunday morning thinking he was in a time loop, it would be understandable.
Eight straight losses to Ohio State might seem like 80 to the Penn State football coach.
He might think he was Phil Connors and Ryan Day was Ned Ryerson.
What should he do to stop having the same nightmare and feeling like it’s Groundhog Day every year?
“No one looks in the mirror more than me,” Franklin said. “I will say this: 99 percent of college football programs would die to do what we were able to do during our time here. But I also understand that when you’re at a place like Penn State, the expectations are really high. I understand.”
The bottom line is that Franklin is 1-10 against the Buckeyes and 1-13 against top-five opponents. His record in those games is a stain on his 11-year tenure at Penn State that he could have started to clean up with a victory Saturday.
The Lions’ 20-13 loss to Ohio State, their first of the season, reinforced the big-game narrative about Franklin. This reinforced the perception that the program is very good, but not elitist.
It was a game Penn State could have won. The Lions blew a double-digit lead against the Buckeyes, as they did in 2017 and 2018.
Franklin’s frustration was evident immediately after the match ended. He got into a verbal argument with a fan in the student section instead of ignoring him.
Only one Penn State coach has lost more consecutive games to the same opponent, and it was Joe Paterno’s nine straight losses to Michigan from 1997-2007.
The record crowd of 111,030 at Beaver Stadium and fans watching on television will remember that Penn State twice had first downs at the 3-yard line and didn’t score.
Ohio State cornerback Davison Igbinosun made a spectacular interception to spoil the early threat late in the first half, grabbing the ball from receiver Harrison Wallace III before falling out of bounds.
Then, in the fourth quarter, Tyler Warren single-handedly put the Lions in position to tie. He outplayed an Ohio State defensive back for the ball on a 31-yard catch and ran 33 yards to the 3 after taking a direct snap.
The next four snaps will be ones that haunt Franklin, offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and Penn State fans for years to come.
Three consecutive handoffs to Kaytron Allen in the middle of the line yielded 2 yards. On fourth down from the 1, Drew Allar looked for Warren, who had two defenders on him, then Khalil Dinkins, who was also covered. Incomplete.
This reminded longtime Penn State watchers of the 1979 Sugar Bowl against Alabama when Matt Suhey and Mike Guman were stopped on third and fourth downs over the middle from inside the 1 in a 14-7 loss for the national title.
The Lions’ current offense has relied on Kotelnicki’s innovative and creative play-calling all season. These four were not the case at all. They were cautious, boring and shy.
It was the first time the offense failed to score a touchdown since a 29-6 loss to Northwestern in 2014, Franklin’s first season.
On the other hand, Penn State’s defense became only the third team since 2018 to hold Ohio State to 20 points or fewer. The Lions also did it last year in a 20-12 loss at Columbus.
That’s little consolation for a program that must be as focused on beating the Buckeyes as it is on climbing Mount Everest.
“This is my sixth loss against them and, to be honest, I’m torn,” said defensive tackle Dvon J-Thomas. “It may not seem like it today, but it’s difficult. I will have to control myself and remind my teammates that there is still a lot of football to play.
The Lions can still participate in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff provided they bounce back from Saturday. Who knows? They could face Ohio State again this season.
“The margin for error between the great teams and the elite teams is tiny,” J-Thomas said.
Franklin is naturally under fire. Firing him wouldn’t be prudent, however, for many reasons, starting with the fact that he won over 70% of his games at Penn State.
If only he could end his Ohio State nightmare.
