When Penn State fired James Franklin last October, it was a relief for the fanbase, which had been asking for him to be fired for a couple of years. He was quickly hired just over a month later at Virginia Tech, replacing his former defensive coordinator, Brent Pry.
Franklin was criticized for not winning the big game at Penn State, something that wore thin on the fanbase. They wanted someone who would get them over the top in the big games. They thought they had found it in former Iowa State coach Matt Campbell. On Saturday night at State College, they watched their new coach do something that James Franklin never, ever did during his tenure at Penn State: lose to Wisconsin.
Matt Campbell does something that not even James Franklin could do at Penn State
The Nittany Lions jumped out to a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter against the Badgers, a team that has been looking for a win to save head coach Luke Fickell's job. Rallying from a 17-point deficit at Penn State to pull off a stunning win is certainly a start.
Wisconsin cut the deficit to 20-10 in the fourth quarter, but two touchdowns, just over two minutes apart, including a game-winning 72-yard strike from quarterback Colton Joseph to Jacob Harris with 1:13 remaining, capped the stunning comeback in a 24-20 win.
That loss is going to sting. Penn State was looking for a coach who could win the big game and not lose the ones you're supposed to win. James Franklin never lost to Wisconsin during his tenure with the Nittany Lions. Matt Campbell needed just four games into his tenure and one matchup with the Badgers at home to accomplish that feat.
Sometimes you never know what you have until it's gone. However, some Penn State fans might be right; it was time to move on, and Franklin and both go their separate ways. However, to obsess over everything he says and does in Blacksburg like the jealous ex, and then go out and watch Campbell lose to an unranked Wisconsin team at home, is certainly a punch in the gut.
James Franklin was ripped for not winning the big game; now Matt Campbell is being ripped for not winning the games he's supposed to. Maybe, sometimes, the problem isn't what you think it is.
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