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MacNit

All-Conference
Oct 12, 2021
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I agree with most of what you said and I loved Joepa. But staying too long cannot be minimized. As you stated, he was slipping and was being propped up by the good will inherent in the program that he had built and his assistants. Everyone knew he had to go but he stayed because he was too big to be told otherwise. IMO, it was selfish to stay. When the Sandusky scandal hit, he became the story and he was unable to handle it the way a younger coach may have. As a result, the program that he built and his legacy were irreparably damaged. Personally, I have great appreciation for everything he did, but his legacy includes the building of the program AND the epic collapse resulting from the Sandusky scandal. The end result is a legacy that the university cannot fully embrace with the pride it initially deserved.
Joe is not to blame for how Sandusky was handled. That was the University — led poorly by the BoT. And they are responsible for all the fallout since.
 

SkiSkiSki

Senior
May 29, 2001
3,653
796
113
So was Franklin just a poor recruiter, judge of talent, or player development?
I vote for B & C. Doing A well masked issues from failure to do B & C well -- that is, talented athletes overcame those deficiencies against most teams but against the cream of the crop teams they could not .
 
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m.knox

All-Conference
Aug 20, 2003
2,408
2,473
113
I live in Michigan, so I’m surrounded by Michigan and Mich St fans, they all thought he’s a joke and can never win a big game. I have others who are Ohio St fans, sane thing. They’d rip on him constantly and just laugh at me about it. They all wanted him to stay! There is not one person around me here, family, friend or co-worker who thinks he was a good game day coach.

I can second that.
 
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MacNit

All-Conference
Oct 12, 2021
2,199
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He did have the privilege of loosing to 2 greater coaches, one of which he never could beat. Hard to say which one of those is the GOAT, either Bryant or Saban.

Joe will NEVER be considered the GOAT outside of a small faction in Happy Valley.
Saban chickened out one year to play PSU.

And Joe dominated when Saban could not cheat (Michigan State.)
 

MacNit

All-Conference
Oct 12, 2021
2,199
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Meyer was clearly better as was Saban
Do you believe anyone outside of our fan base agrees? If so, that's bias.
What you believe "college football should be" isn't true for all...again, that's bias.
Joe was elite...he just can't be the GOAT. He doesn't have the o
Looking at all aspects (leader of men, # of wins, bowl record, financial contributions), Joe is a clear #1. His most important contributions in CFB were in development of young men.

And since there is no more college football and only minor league football, his position as GOAT is secure.

Wrong again, Lando - but you are used to that by now!
 

barry j fenchak

Sophomore
May 11, 2016
298
173
43
Saban chickened out one year to play PSU.

And Joe dominated when Saban could not cheat (Michigan State.)
Both Saban and Bryant retired with honor. Joe was fired as part of one of the greatest scandals in college football.

That will never change.
 

MacNit

All-Conference
Oct 12, 2021
2,199
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Day had a lot to prove before he's in ant discussion like this
See...you immediately go to "others cheated" to justify Paterno doesn't have the resume.
I don't believe for a second anyone that's a Bama or Ohio State fan is telling you Joe's the greatest college football coach of all time.
ESPN ranked Paterno 7th in 2019 which is about right...probably in that 5-10 range if you're being unbiased.
ESPN thinks he covered up for a pedophile - spare me.
 
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KingLando

All-Conference
Nov 29, 2021
5,437
3,184
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Looking at all aspects (leader of men, # of wins, bowl record, financial contributions), Joe is a clear #1. His most important contributions in CFB were in development of young men.

And since there is no more college football and only minor league football, his position as GOAT is secure.

Wrong again, Lando - but you are used to that by now!
Great job displaying your bias
 

KingLando

All-Conference
Nov 29, 2021
5,437
3,184
113
ESPN thinks he covered up for a pedophile - spare me.
Most people think he did--especially outside of our fan base
But statistically he's not in the discussion. Staying around to pad a win total when you needed to retire a decade or more earlier isn't impressive. He hurt his own legacy even without the Sandusky nonsense.
 

Ludd

All-Conference
Oct 12, 2021
3,895
4,203
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I live in Michigan, so I’m surrounded by Michigan and Mich St fans, they all thought he’s a joke and can never win a big game. I have others who are Ohio St fans, sane thing. They’d rip on him constantly and just laugh at me about it. They all wanted him to stay! There is not one person around me here, family, friend or co-worker who thinks he was a good game day coach.
Well, I don’t live in Michigan or Ohio and I hear differently. Different perspectives from different fan bases. I just talked to an Ole Miss fan last week and he thought it was a really dumb move to fire him.
 

Ludd

All-Conference
Oct 12, 2021
3,895
4,203
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So was Franklin just a poor recruiter, judge of talent, or player development?
His play worked better than all the teams he had more talent than most of the time….just like Georgia’s plays work better than most of the teams they play….thats kind of the point.
 

Nitanee1234

Sophomore
Dec 1, 2025
70
129
33
His play worked better than all the teams he had more talent than most of the time….just like Georgia’s plays work better than most of the teams they play….thats kind of the point.
Actually, the point is that he wasn’t able to either bring in more talent or coach up the talent he brought in. That’s why he couldn’t beat O$U or UM and that’s why he was fired (and deservedly so). Get it?
 
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Ludd

All-Conference
Oct 12, 2021
3,895
4,203
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Actually, the point is that he wasn’t able to either bring in more talent or coach up the talent he brought in. That’s why he couldn’t beat O$U or UM and that’s why he was fired (and deservedly so). Get it?
Yes he couldn’t bring in more talent than OSU or Michigan and neither will the next guy (or the next). Get it?
 

ConcealedCarry

Sophomore
Nov 7, 2015
77
164
33
I agree with most of what you said and I loved Joepa. But staying too long cannot be minimized. As you stated, he was slipping and was being propped up by the good will inherent in the program that he had built and his assistants. Everyone knew he had to go but he stayed because he was too big to be told otherwise. IMO, it was selfish to stay. When the Sandusky scandal hit, he became the story and he was unable to handle it the way a younger coach may have. As a result, the program that he built and his legacy were irreparably damaged. Personally, I have great appreciation for everything he did, but his legacy includes the building of the program AND the epic collapse resulting from the Sandusky scandal. The end result is a legacy that the university cannot fully embrace with the pride it initially deserved.
The Sandusky scandal was on Sandusky, The Center County D.A. and Children & Youth. The media was allowed to frame it as a: "crisis", even though it occurred years before 2012, with absolutly no push back from the BOD. The BOD was more concerned on any blow - back was going to have on their Fortune 500 Companies. During that period Penn State needed a strong leader to keep the media at bay; none emerged. Tom Corbett governor, at the time, looked to see how he could profit politically by the "crisis" and we see how that turned out for him. Penn State threw millions of $$$ away on Lanny Davis who brought nothing of value. Leadership was surly lacking at a time the University needed it the most. Joe Paterno deserved better.
 

Kroixklk

Senior
Aug 16, 2006
511
998
93
View again the tape of the first game AFTER Oregon.SAME OLD as in Past years after major big game defeats. He folds as a leader of the team.
Was he the one with no gap discipline or a plan for a mobile QB? Because that’s why they lost. Blame Knowles, Barnes or the players. You hired the best defensive coordinator in the country. That dude should have been able to scene up something.
 

Ludd

All-Conference
Oct 12, 2021
3,895
4,203
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I get that you fail to appreciate Penn State’s potential.

Have you asked Santa for Virginia Tech gear for Christmas?
And what potential is that? We haven’t consistently recruited five star talent in years and years.
 

Nitanee1234

Sophomore
Dec 1, 2025
70
129
33
And what potential is that? We haven’t consistently recruited five star talent in years and years.
You said in the other thread that Franklin was recruiting top 10 classes. I’ll connect the dots for you. If Franklin can recruit Top 10 classes, the PennState has the potential to recruit AT LEAST top 10 classes. If a kid can be coached up (something Campbell has proven he can do I.e POTENTIAL to do) then …wait for it…PennState, as a program, has the POTENTIAL to succeed on the field.

In other words: good players + good coaching = wins.
 

Pa$ky859

Junior
Jul 4, 2025
139
286
63
Really? That’s what we’re falling back on?
Not falling back on anything. Standing firm.

Saban won and won big. Sure. He is also 19-12 in bowl games. Let’s not act like he never lost games when he had the most talent on the field. He won 6 of his titles at Bama where his teams were media darlings (a few times they lost and barely fell in the polls compared to others). I am very suspicious that money was already starting to flow in major proportions. NIL deals were already starting to happen, just not legally, and not quite to present day extent. Did it always happen? Perhaps? But not like recent years with Sports gambling, handlers, and all kinds of revenue/conference TV Money. Bama was ahead of the game and had a salary to get top recruits that I don’t believe JoePa ever fooled around with. He built the program and had true student athletes for the most part.
 

Ludd

All-Conference
Oct 12, 2021
3,895
4,203
113
You said in the other thread that Franklin was recruiting top 10 classes. I’ll connect the dots for you. If Franklin can recruit Top 10 classes, the PennState has the potential to recruit AT LEAST top 10 classes. If a kid can be coached up (something Campbell has proven he can do I.e POTENTIAL to do) then …wait for it…PennState, as a program, has the POTENTIAL to succeed on the field.

In other words: good players + good coaching = wins.
There’s a big difference between being #10 and being #1….thats where the five stars come in and PSU doesn’t get many of those.
 

Ludd

All-Conference
Oct 12, 2021
3,895
4,203
113
Not falling back on anything. Standing firm.

Saban won and won big. Sure. He is also 19-12 in bowl games. Let’s not act like he never lost games when he had the most talent on the field. He won 6 of his titles at Bama where his teams were media darlings (a few times they lost and barely fell in the polls compared to others). I am very suspicious that money was already starting to flow in major proportions. NIL deals were already starting to happen, just not legally, and not quite to present day extent. Did it always happen? Perhaps? But not like recent years with Sports gambling, handlers, and all kinds of revenue/conference TV Money. Bama was ahead of the game and had a salary to get top recruits that I don’t believe JoePa ever fooled around with. He built the program and had true student athletes for the most part.
I was referring to the post that pulled the 1994 team as being better than OSU and Indiana….if you have to go all the way back to ‘94, it’s best to not post anything.
 
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Nits1989

All-Conference
Oct 29, 2021
1,228
1,791
113
It’s starting to look like Franklin lost a lot of 2026 recruiting battles because he didn’t want to give $ to recruits. He wanted to reward loyalty. Maybe he could have won some of those battles. It appeared that PS was a serious contender, but lost out. It looked like recruits gave PS plenty of time to match an offer.
 

rigi19040

Senior
Aug 1, 2024
1,059
630
113
It’s starting to look like Franklin lost a lot of 2026 recruiting battles because he didn’t want to give $ to recruits. He wanted to reward loyalty. Maybe he could have won some of those battles. It appeared that PS was a serious contender, but lost out. It looked like recruits gave PS plenty of time to match an offer.

You can't make up your mind. High price players you complain. Low price players uou complain. High price staff you complain. Low price staff, complain.
 

Ludd

All-Conference
Oct 12, 2021
3,895
4,203
113
It's not going back, that team would've pounded both Indiana and tOSU. Get over yourself.
What’s the next post going to say, my dad can beat up your dad? Good lord, who gives a rats a$$ what the 94 team could’ve done. Maybe you could add that our wrestling team could beat either of them as well, it’s equally relevant. And no, the 94 team wouldn’t have pounded them.
 

Ludd

All-Conference
Oct 12, 2021
3,895
4,203
113
So then maybe Franklin wasn’t the great recruiter some want to make him out to be.
Or maybe five stars don’t want to come to PSU because of other reasons besides the coach. I guess we’ll find out.