having him as coach was the real sanction from the NCAA.
Franklin wrecked this team.
- Thread starter JoeBot409
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Kotelnicki and Knowles aren't what he thought they were. That was the death blow.
Biggest mistake - Hagans
Without the ability to stretch the field with competent WR play, it impacted the development of Allar and kept games closer than they should have been over the last few years, putting too much pressure on the defense. Before Hagans, we had WR performance at PSU that we had rarely seen over the decades, like Godwin, Hamilton, Hamler, Dotson, etc. Hagans must’ve had some sort of top-secret dirt on Franklin to have kept his job.
Without the ability to stretch the field with competent WR play, it impacted the development of Allar and kept games closer than they should have been over the last few years, putting too much pressure on the defense. Before Hagans, we had WR performance at PSU that we had rarely seen over the decades, like Godwin, Hamilton, Hamler, Dotson, etc. Hagans must’ve had some sort of top-secret dirt on Franklin to have kept his job.
You guys have some holes. Few playmakers and your qb went down. You could be WVU fans.
How do you go from NC contender to bust? Something devisive is the answer.
The realization that you are not what you thought you were is very divisive. This team lacks talent at every level except for a few exceptions. The DL has major holes. LB play is paper thin. WR's continue to be subpar compared to top 20 teams. Recruiting and portal acquisitions did not result in talent levels that match the best in college football. With the preseason hype suggesting otherwise it can be a crushing blow when it falls apart.
Possibly the dumbest post of the year.
I don't have any inside information but my take from two timezones away is there isn't any team chemistry or commitment. This is college football in 2025. We have a bunch of hired guns with no commitment to the team or school. Everyone is on board when they think there will be a run at a championship and 'It's all about the love'. Once things start go south forget it, everyone is bailing.
I believe this is the answer. Franklin is a CEO-type who delegates. That approach finally caught up with him when he made two poor hires for this program.
Knowles and AK had success elsewhere but just haven’t fit in well here.
The only two people I have confidence in are Katron and the kick off guy.
Exactly watch the games and it’s obvious the difference in talent Penn State puts on the field and in particular what OSU does. Probably the biggest difference is that Penn State has been beaten up front on both sides of the ball for years.
AK‘s offense worked well in a conference where there was a lack of decent or even mediocre defensive play.
Knowles defense works fine on a team that has the proper personnel to run it and 4* and 5* athletes at every position. Not on the talent lacking Penn State defense with small, lightweight DT’s and zero linebacking talent of the starters. It’s a recipe for disaster.
On a positive note, I found terry smith to be refreshing and open in his post game. "We need to be able to get critical stops on defense" and "we have to be able to develop a downfield passing attack" Yes, obviously, on both accounts but for some reason something James would never say
Or the talent isn't where we thought it should be.
He didn't recruit any LBs or teach DEs to seal the edge.
Exactly right on the DT's. Get pushed around like rag dolls.
Kotelnicki, when he was at U Buffalo, had his quarterbacks slinging the ball down field like nothing. Then again he had an offensive line that looked all-NFL relative to the defensive lines he was facing. That said, our Oline has regressed significantly from last year.
If Franklin isn’t responsible for this disaster then who is?
He wrecked it with square pegs in round holes coordinators and an awful wr coach.
The WRs group has been terrible for 3 yrs… and you let ur best WRs leave (KLS and Wallace) and the OL doesn’t mesh with the scheme. The QBs are the first to feel these issues.
Defensively this teams talent level is subpar especially up front. That’s not a Knowles issue other than not scheming to your talent. But who knows what that is. They have no middle LBs… Franklin should have gotten him players in the front seven but he didn’t.
Defensively this teams talent level is subpar especially up front. That’s not a Knowles issue other than not scheming to your talent. But who knows what that is. They have no middle LBs… Franklin should have gotten him players in the front seven but he didn’t.
Think most things in this thread are true, but this is the most obvious that hasn’t been getting enough attention.
When both coordinators were hired they were, at the time, very popular picks. Not many people criticized either choice. And I don’t think Franklin hired them with intention of wrecking the team. But neither has worked out. And I think the real talent level of this team had just as much to do with that as the coordinators or Franklin’s leadership.
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They were off all year even before Oregon
And losing to Oregon didn't end their title hopes
It a very poorly coached team with coaches misusing players
Smith wasn't very good last night even with the freedom to gamble constantly as we're only playing for pride.
The knock on Franklin was always "game day coaching" or lack thereof. But, the consensus was that he was a great recruiter and "CEO" type coach who could manage the team. Given the lack of talent and depth, the recruiting and "judge of talent" comes into question. There is also the question of "player development" which I saw very little of. Generational talents like Saquon and Warren were often misused (e.g. - Saquon as a decoy or Warren in gimmick plays) and QBs simply not developed and/or scheme not modified to use their talents. As for CEO-type coach, Franklin went thru coordinators like drivers go thru tires at a NASCAR race. Sure, some left for greener pastures, but I can't remember any coordinator that anyone "wishes we had now" as an OC or HC. In most cases, there were few tears shed when they were left or fired.
Point being, this bad dish has been simmering for years. Franklin had enough talent to win games against middling competition but not the big dogs. But the coaching hires he made aren't going to be better now that he's gone. This team needs a complete rebuild, top to bottom.
Point being, this bad dish has been simmering for years. Franklin had enough talent to win games against middling competition but not the big dogs. But the coaching hires he made aren't going to be better now that he's gone. This team needs a complete rebuild, top to bottom.
serious question - who else would you entrust the offensive play calling to?
5 games remaining, and doubt PK is looking to pay another buyout (if AK has one), and it makes no sense to fire him now. The house will be cleaned with the new HC.
So, who is it that could call a game that will move the ball?
5 games remaining, and doubt PK is looking to pay another buyout (if AK has one), and it makes no sense to fire him now. The house will be cleaned with the new HC.
So, who is it that could call a game that will move the ball?
T
The biggest issue is that there was enough tape on him that everyone realized the formations and motions weren't meaningful. Teams stopped reacting to them and just played football. He couldn't counter.
Let Smith call the plays...it doesn't really matter. It can't be much worse.
So, Franklin couldn't pull in talent, couldn't develop talent (the talent he didn't pull in), couldn't coach the non-talent he had on gameday, couldn't bring in good assistant coaches and staff to help him coach ...
And, yet, after being involved in an almost program-destroying scandal (that took place during the previous regime some folks worship), and with area talent dwindling ... under his leadership, we rebounded to be one of the most successful programs in the nation and, for the most part, went toe-to-toe with all the awesome teams we'd eventually lose to.
Something about this narrative just doesn't add up ...
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I have a feeling the next few years a lot of posters are going to see what a struggling program really looks like.