COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- James Franklin wins a lot of games. He's had a lot of good Penn State teams. He does a lot of really good things as a college football head coach and CEO.
But so much more is expected.
From everybody -- including fans, alumni, media, etc.
Franklin is a lightning rod for criticism. Always has been, perhaps always will be.
Is that fair? Is that reasonable? Is that just the way things are at this level of college football?
This is a very, very interesting time in Franklin's tenure at Penn State. And these next two weeks will be about as interesting as it gets.
The Nittany Lions play at Maryland on Saturday, and if history is any indication, they will run over the turtles. They really need to, as well, to gain as much confidence as possible for next week's massive showdown against Michigan.
Next week is the season.
Next week is a defining moment in Franklin's career.
If he loses to Michigan, after losing at Ohio State, the national narrative will remain that Franklin is overrated and a lousy big-game coach. But if he can beat the Wolverines -- and do the nation a giant favor by taking down those cheaters! -- then Franklin could earn himself a whole bunch of goodwill nationally.
He's gotten none of that lately.
No, lately, he's been destroyed by some in the national media.
“We buried Penn State last week. And you know, they still have the same coach, and that’s the problem," ESPN's Paul Finebaum said after the Lions' ugly win over Indiana.
“He has one more shot (to quiet critics)," Finebaum added, "and raise your hand -- and I don’t see any -- if you think he’s going to beat Michigan at home. He’s in a gray area where he has a good program, 10-win program. Is it enough? I don’t think many Penn State fans today really believe it is.”
That's been the big talking point the past couple of weeks: Is going 10-2 enough for Penn State, if it means losing the two biggest games all the time to Ohio State and Michigan?
Finebaum is usually a pretty measured guy. He has some hot takes, but he generally remains fair and reasonable.
Not Chris Russo. That guy is a nut. "Mad Dog" delivers scorching hot takes and yells a lot, and even when he makes good points, it's often hard to take him seriously because he's more like a comedian than a grounded sports analyst.
Russo has crushed Franklin the past couple of weeks, first after the bad showing in the loss at Ohio State, and then after the poor showing in barely beating lowly Indiana.
"If anybody’s going to sit there and say anything about Penn State, Franklin -- as we discussed last week, Paul agrees -- he might be one of the most overrated college football coaches in the history of the sport,” Mad Dog said earlier this week. “He never beats a good team. He should have lost to Indiana this past week, for crying out loud."
Many other national and local writers have criticized Franklin and Penn State in recent weeks. Leading to a situation where the coach did something highly unusual for him during his post-practice press conference Wednesday.
Should Franklin care what everybody is saying about him and the program? You know, it's easy for anybody to say, "No, he shouldn't," but I don't always buy that. Coaches are human beings, too, and just because they are high-paid public figures doesn't mean that they don't have the right to get upset by certain public narratives.
Anyway, in a rare moment of candor, Franklin decided to fight back against the critics Wednesday by claiming that Penn State gets unfairly scrutinized at times, even after wins.
"There’s teams that are ranked at No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 team in the country, and they struggle to get a win, and no one kind of talks about that," Franklin said. "But when we struggle to get a win, or it’s not as pretty, then everybody’s like overly concerned, in my opinion.
"It’s a long season. You’re not going to dominate every single week. You got to find ways to win, however you do it. And then you got to learn from the wins and you got to learn from the challenges, and you got to learn from the setbacks and be very honest and transparent with yourself and your team.”
The second paragraph of comments is spot on, whether fans and media like it or not. These are college kids, and they don't always bring their "A" game every week. It happens.
But the comments in that first paragraph? Oh boy, those are a doozy.
Who is Franklin kidding there? Does he possibly live in such a small bubble that he believes other highly ranked teams don't get questioned and criticized after poor performances in ugly wins? That sort of thing happens every week, all across the country.
Yes, many in the Penn State media have been pretty critical of the Lions this week after they barely won a game in which they were favored by 31 points. Why wouldn't we be critical after what nearly turned out to be one of the worst losses in Penn State history.
But it wasn't a loss. The Lions did win the game. They should get credit for that. Franklin should even get credit for that. Because again, he didn't lose.
"I'm not going to apologize for winning," Franklin said.
Fine. Don't.
But don't think for a second that there won't be tough questions and criticism after such a lousy showing by your team, even if you did find a way to squeak by at the end.
This is Penn State. You have unbelievably passionate fans. You're ranked in the top 10. There are enormous expectations.
Franklin knows all this. He's been here 10 years. Which is why it all came across as, well, kind of weird that he got so defensive in this situation.
All of those comments have to make you wonder what's up with Franklin. Why would he feel the need to say all of that on Wednesday.
Pressure?
Bingo.
Being a little thin-skinned about all the criticism?
Bingo.
He of all people should fully understand that, no matter what Penn State accomplishes, him as the coach and the program will always be judged on how they fare in the biggest games.
Until Franklin goes out and wins more big games, that narrative will not change.
With Michigan waiting in the wings next week, Franklin has a wonderful opportunity to shut up people like Finebaum and Mad Dog Russo and anybody else who believes he's an overrated coach. That opportunity will play itself out on the field, and if Penn State can find a way to beat the Wolverines, you can guarantee that Franklin will get his share of praise.
Maryland comes first, though. And the Lions had better not blow it against the Terps, or else Franklin will face an even bigger boatload of criticism.
