What a bunch of babies

mr.michigan

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I think a lot of what you write is true. The problem is what has transpired at Michigan. They, and Harbaugh, were left for dead after the 2020 season. We had beaten them 2 years in a row. Since then, however, they have become unbeatable. Haven't lost a B1G game in 2 years. Blew out OSU at OSU last year. Just beat us yesterday without their head coach. So I think it's pretty natural for Penn Staters to see what Michigan is doing and ask why they can have this transformation and we can't. I think it's a very fair question.
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Ludd

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Those willing to settle for less often do. It’s the difference between Georgia and Penn State. If we’re going to freeze expectations based on past performance I’d like the PSU administration to find better, more productive ways to spend hundreds of millions of dollars. Start with axing the HC. If we don’t want the things that are going to make us better, because we don’t care about results, why spend money on them?
Not settling for less has worked wonders for Texas A&M, Texas and USC. It takes more than just the coach to build a dynasty.
 

mr.michigan

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He won the game single-handedly? Hm, could have fooled me. And when your team is hiding you on offense and you’re the QB, that’s not a big plus for you as a QB. If the roles were reversed and we had won just as Michigan did, this board would be roasting Allar for not passing and the coaches not having any faith in him. At least be consistent .
They weren't hiding him. He's in the top 5 qb's in the country. Pass pro was leaky. I think our coach panicked a little and was terrified of JJ getting killed and possibly strip sacked. If Harbaugh had coached we would have been less conservative, thrown more on early downs (we had easy throws there in the first half) and won 34-15. Did what we had to do though. See you in a few years
 
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Midnighter

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Not settling for less has worked wonders for Texas A&M, Texas and USC. It takes more than just the coach to build a dynasty.

Texas and USC have National Championships since 2000. What do you fear? Could be worse? Could also be better. Live a little. Otherwise, Franklin will have a miserable existence for the next eight years. With Oregon, Washington, USC, and UCLA joining the Big Ten, it’s just going to get worse. I guess that is where not caring about winning is a plus.
 
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Yes he has been criticized for some of his decisions. The question is had he made the opposite calls in those situations, would we have won? I think not. He definitely made some mind numbing calls, but that’s not what lost us the game.
Exactly. PSU played a team that was physically superior. UM realized after the first half that all they had to do in the second half with the lead was run the ball, hold on to it, stay solid on special teams, and play defense. UM did not throw an official pass in the second half. Not one. The essential point is that UM and tOSU are just flat our better teams than PSU. Admittedly, however, you'd hope that PSU could pull off a truly meaningful win against one of these teams on the rare occasion. The last one that really ended up mattering was in 2016.
 
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HarrisburgDave

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Not settling for less has worked wonders for Texas A&M, Texas and USC. It takes more than just the coach to build a dynasty.
This old nugget again.

Not settling for less did not hurt Georgia and LSU. And it did not hurt Washington, TCU, Michigan, Notre Dame and other schools who have appeared in the playoffs.

This line is just an excuse for standing pat and doing nothing. It is a brother-in-law type of excuse. Fortunately, most of us are not related to Franklin, or act like we are.
 
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Texas and USC have National Championships since 2000. What do you fear? Could be worse? Could also be better. Live a little. Otherwise, Franklin will have a miserable existence for the next eight years. With Oregon, Washington, USC, and UCLA joining the Big Ten, it’s just going to get worse. I guess that is where not caring about winning is a plus.
True for USC and Texas, but 2003 and 2005 respectively. Then again, that makes 1986 seem recent. :)
 

MaconNitt

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Texas and USC have National Championships since 2000. What do you fear? Could be worse? Could also be better. Live a little. Otherwise, Franklin will have a miserable existence for the next eight years. With Oregon, Washington, USC, and UCLA joining the Big Ten, it’s just going to get worse. I guess that is where not caring about winning is a plus.
Who doesn't care about winning? You should stay in your lane and stick to "Who's the Hottest" polls.
 
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Midnighter

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Who doesn't care about winning? You should stay in your lane and stick to "Who's the Hottest" polls.

I mean, people in this thread saying Penn State hasn’t been a top team for decades so who cares that we aren’t one now? I did make a bit of a leap in logic but feel comfortable with it.

And really, I’m not even good at making the polls.
 

CDLionFL

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Since late in the last century we have rarely been a top 10 team. However, we have consistently been in the 10 - 20 range. That is our fate. It would be nice to be Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State or Michigan, but we aren't them. After the Sandusky debacle and sanctions, we could have degenerated into pitt status. We didn't. We should embrace what we are and accept it. We will finish 10 - 2 this year and go to a great bowl. I am happy with where we are as a football program and am proud to be a Penn Stater. There are about 150 significant college football programs. We are in the top 10% year after year. There are about 125 programs that envy us and would love to be us.

The attitude of most on this board is like the high school guy who got a pretty prom date but is pissed because she isn't the homecoming queen. That attitude makes no sense. Embrace who we are. We are an elite program.
Horse$hit. We are not elite. The only elite football programs in the country are Georgia, Alabama, and Ohio State. Clemson was in that group until their recent wane. Michigan's not there quite yet but they're close. That's it, that's all. I said it in a post after the OSU game -- you don't want to become like Nebraska and dump someone who constantly has 10-win seasons only to turn into a below .500 lot. But at SOME point, this coach has to win one or two of these games against the big programs. Isn't the point of competition to win championships, whether they be conference or national? Next year, the goalposts move and PSU will be well-positioned to get into the playoff. But there are also some very good programs popping onto the schedule and if Franklin has issues winning against the Ohio States and Michigans, what's going to happen if Washington, Oregon, and USC stay at their lofty status? And given Franklin's penchant in big games, he may get his teams into the playoff but it'll be a consistent first round exit.

But hey, I apologize for not settling back on my yacht and smoking my cigar and sipping my cognac to 10-2 seasons when I KNOW that those 2 losses could have been wins if we had better sideline management. Last year, Michigan was just better but OSU was not. This year, neither team was better but the Headsets didn't put the team in the best position to win.
 
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Fortunately I can fall back on great memories- like all the head to head matchups with Bear Bryant's Alabama teams that we won,,,,,, nevermind.
I was acquainted with a former player during my undergrad days and for several years after graduation. Haven't seem him in over 30 years. Anyway, one of our friends asked him what he really thought of Joe. He said, "Joe was great. He was great, but he couldn't beat The Bear." Never forget the way he said it and looked when he said it. Half sad for Joe and half with reverence for The Bear.
 

WestSideLion

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Since late in the last century we have rarely been a top 10 team. However, we have consistently been in the 10 - 20 range. That is our fate. It would be nice to be Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State or Michigan, but we aren't them. After the Sandusky debacle and sanctions, we could have degenerated into pitt status. We didn't. We should embrace what we are and accept it. We will finish 10 - 2 this year and go to a great bowl. I am happy with where we are as a football program and am proud to be a Penn Stater. There are about 150 significant college football programs. We are in the top 10% year after year. There are about 125 programs that envy us and would love to be us.

The attitude of most on this board is like the high school guy who got a pretty prom date but is pissed because she isn't the homecoming queen. That attitude makes no sense. Embrace who we are. We are an elite program.
The fact that we survived Sandusky speaks to the resilience and meaning of this program on the national level. PSU is capable of and should expect more. Don’t settle. Ever.
 

Midnighter

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I was acquainted with a former player during my undergrad days and for several years after graduation. Haven't seem him in over 30 years. Anyway, one of our friends asked him what he really thought of Joe. He said, "Joe was great. He was great, but he couldn't beat The Bear." Never forget the way he said it and looked when he said it. Half sad for Joe and half with reverence for The Bear.

Only played 4 times….
 

Tom_PSU

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I think a lot of what you write is true. The problem is what has transpired at Michigan. They, and Harbaugh, were left for dead after the 2020 season. We had beaten them 2 years in a row. Since then, however, they have become unbeatable. Haven't lost a B1G game in 2 years. Blew out OSU at OSU last year. Just beat us yesterday without their head coach. So I think it's pretty natural for Penn Staters to see what Michigan is doing and ask why they can have this transformation and we can't. I think it's a very fair question.
Just find another Connor Stalion who can keep his mouth shut, not use Venmo in his own name, and wear better disguises and we’re on our way.
 

WestSideLion

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You’ll only find them here, where they are a very vocal minority. No Penn Stater I know personally likes and defends Franklin. Calling him out is like admitting defeat or something…
We have been defeated. It’s time to admit that, eat our crow for the next 4-5 years while formulating a plan to do better with the next hire.

If Franklin were making half what he is for these results, then it’s a different story. But paying top dollar means top expectations.
 
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Only played 4 times….
They were big games though, and this person participated in two of the biggest (79 Sugar Bowl and 81 home loss). Look at the rankings of the teams in each of those games. They were all big games for both programs. 4 games and The Bear was 4-0. We all painfully remember 79, but the 81 loss was brutal too. PSU had a great team that year. Walter Lewis was dynamite in that game though.


2December 31, 1975New Orleans, LA#3 Alabama13#7 Penn State6
3January 1, 1979New Orleans, LA#2 Alabama14#1 Penn State7
4November 14, 1981State College, PA#6 Alabama31#5 Penn State16
5October 9, 1982Birmingham, AL#4 Alabama42#3 Penn State21
 
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lemonears

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Horse$hit. We are not elite. The only elite football programs in the country are Georgia, Alabama, and Ohio State. Clemson was in that group until their recent wane. Michigan's not there quite yet but they're close. That's it, that's all. I said it in a post after the OSU game -- you don't want to become like Nebraska and dump someone who constantly has 10-win seasons only to turn into a below .500 lot. But at SOME point, this coach has to win one or two of these games against the big programs. Isn't the point of competition to win championships, whether they be conference or national? Next year, the goalposts move and PSU will be well-positioned to get into the playoff. But there are also some very good programs popping onto the schedule and if Franklin has issues winning against the Ohio States and Michigans, what's going to happen if Washington, Oregon, and USC stay at their lofty status? And given Franklin's penchant in big games, he may get his teams into the playoff but it'll be a consistent first round exit.

But hey, I apologize for not settling back on my yacht and smoking my cigar and sipping my cognac to 10-2 seasons when I KNOW that those 2 losses could have been wins if we had better sideline management. Last year, Michigan was just better but OSU was not. This year, neither team was better but the Headsets didn't put the team in the best position to win.
I have a different opinion. I think Michigan is light years better than us this year. I think Harbaugh looked at film and realized that they could beat us any way they wanted. He wanted to impress the selection committee who have been complaining that Michigan hadn't played anyone. So Harbaugh decided he was going to show the selection committee that they could beat us by passing and then change up and show them that they could also beat us by running the ball. I think Michigan has far more talent than we do. We have a few stars on defense but no big time stars on offense. Maybe you can say that Fashanu is a star, but he is the only one on offense. We have holes all over the place, like we have receivers that might be the worst group in the Big 10. Michigan has no holes. They are two deep at every position. If we played Michigan 10 times we would likely lose 9 of the 10. That is my opinion.
 

lemonears

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The fact that we survived Sandusky speaks to the resilience and meaning of this program on the national level. PSU is capable of and should expect more. Don’t settle. Ever.
I would love to win the national championship every year just like all the other posters on this board. It seems like the expectation is to win every game and if we don't then "Fire Franklin". It wasn't that way when Joe was here. We all revered Joe and even if he had a 7 - 4 year we didn't insist he be fired. We used to love 10 - 2 years with a New Years day bowl. Not anymore. The standard is to win every game or else we suck.
 

Midnighter

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They were big games though, and this person participated in two of the biggest (79 Sugar Bowl and 81 home loss). Look at the rankings of the teams in each of those games. They were all big games for both programs. 4 games and The Bear was 4-0. We all painfully remember 79, but the 81 loss was brutal too. PSU had a great team that year. Walter Lewis was dynamite in that game though.

2December 31, 1975New Orleans, LA#3 Alabama13#7 Penn State6
3January 1, 1979New Orleans, LA#2 Alabama14#1 Penn State7
4November 14, 1981State College, PA#6 Alabama31#5 Penn State16
5October 9, 1982Birmingham, AL#4 Alabama42#3 Penn State21

Do you think Joe could never beat him based on these results?
 

Midnighter

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I would love to win the national championship every year just like all the other posters on this board. It seems like the expectation is to win every game and if we don't then "Fire Franklin". It wasn't that way when Joe was here. We all revered Joe and even if he had a 7 - 4 year we didn't insist he be fired. We used to love 10 - 2 years with a New Years day bowl. Not anymore. The standard is to win every game or else we suck.
Not at all what anyone is saying. Not close.
 

WestSideLion

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I have a different opinion. I think Michigan is light years better than us this year. I think Harbaugh looked at film and realized that they could beat us any way they wanted. He wanted to impress the selection committee who have been complaining that Michigan hadn't played anyone. So Harbaugh decided he was going to show the selection committee that they could beat us by passing and then change up and show them that they could also beat us by running the ball. I think Michigan has far more talent than we do. We have a few stars on defense but no big time stars on offense. Maybe you can say that Fashanu is a star, but he is the only one on offense. We have holes all over the place, like we have receivers that might be the worst group in the Big 10. Michigan has no holes. They are two deep at every position. If we played Michigan 10 times we would likely lose 9 of the 10. That is my opinion.
PSU’s recruiting is largely a mirage because they lack the culture and plan to successfully develop many of these kids once here.

It’s been a common theme under Franklin. Collect stars on signing day and then waste many of them once here.
 
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Ludd

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They weren't hiding him. He's in the top 5 qb's in the country. Pass pro was leaky. I think our coach panicked a little and was terrified of JJ getting killed and possibly strip sacked. If Harbaugh had coached we would have been less conservative, thrown more on early downs (we had easy throws there in the first half) and won 34-15. Did what we had to do though. See you in a few years
Top five based on what? They’ve played one good team and he was non-existent.
 
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WestSideLion

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I would love to win the national championship every year just like all the other posters on this board. It seems like the expectation is to win every game and if we don't then "Fire Franklin". It wasn't that way when Joe was here. We all revered Joe and even if he had a 7 - 4 year we didn't insist he be fired. We used to love 10 - 2 years with a New Years day bowl. Not anymore. The standard is to win every game or else we suck.
The expectation is to be highly competitive with OSU and Michigan most years and beat them at a higher clip than 20%. If PSU could beat them half the time, then the Franklin criticisms go away. PSU would have multiple CFP appearances by now.
 

Ludd

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Texas and USC have National Championships since 2000. What do you fear? Could be worse? Could also be better. Live a little. Otherwise, Franklin will have a miserable existence for the next eight years. With Oregon, Washington, USC, and UCLA joining the Big Ten, it’s just going to get worse. I guess that is where not caring about winning is a plus.
I don’t fear anything, it’s not my decision to make. I’ll support whoever our coach is.
 

PSUAVLNC

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I would love to win the national championship every year just like all the other posters on this board. It seems like the expectation is to win every game and if we don't then "Fire Franklin". It wasn't that way when Joe was here. We all revered Joe and even if he had a 7 - 4 year we didn't insist he be fired. We used to love 10 - 2 years with a New Years day bowl. Not anymore. The standard is to win every game or else we suck.
Respect fully disagree - I just want a team that can compete with the OSU's and Michigans of the world, what I don't want is head coach who gives us zero chance with his stupid game management decisions
 
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Ludd

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This old nugget again.

Not settling for less did not hurt Georgia and LSU. And it did not hurt Washington, TCU, Michigan, Notre Dame and other schools who have appeared in the playoffs.

This line is just an excuse for standing pat and doing nothing. It is a brother-in-law type of excuse. Fortunately, most of us are not related to Franklin, or act like we are.
TCU, LSU and and are just reaping the benefits now aren’t they?
 

Ludd

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Not at all what anyone is saying. Not close.
It’s exactly what people are saying. Every loss PSU has had since James took over has been blamed on the coaching….if you don’t believe that, go look it up. It’s not like suddenly now posters are calling for him to be fired….its been going on since year one. The only thing acceptable is to win every game.
 

Midnighter

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It’s exactly what people are saying. Every loss PSU has had since James took over has been blamed on the coaching….if you don’t believe that, go look it up. It’s not like suddenly now posters are calling for him to be fired….its been going on since year one. The only thing acceptable is to win every game.

He’s not a good coach. And many saw that in fewer than 10 years. Others are catching up.
 
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