John U. Bacon's take on Penn St.
John U. Bacon said this on Sam's show last Friday. Thought it was interesting.
"James Franklin is popular with the fans there but the insiders? Nah. They consider him a hell of a recruiter. Once you're on campus he doesn't care about you. Even his ability to recruit top staffers, the key to their success in my opinion, even that is starting to wane as these guys are leaving for other jobs and not being replaced with high caliber coaches. You might see Penn St. start to slip over the next 2-3 years. That's my guess."
October 25th, 2018 at 10:02 PM ^
We'll see soon.
Once the trifecta of Moorhead / Saquon / McSorely is completely gone, we will see . . . if it was him or if it was them.
October 26th, 2018 at 1:50 AM ^
This assumes they do not get excited new blood and the OP says that Franklin can recruit. The major issue that the PSU coach has right now is the loss of Moorhead. Moorhead was an offensive genius and someone I wish was Michigan's offensive coordinator. Think of all the national championships we could win with him and Don Brown? Drools!
October 26th, 2018 at 8:22 AM ^
Moorehead's offense isn't doing much at Miss St because he doesn't have a passer like McSorely, a RB like Barkley, and a WR/TE combo like they had. And when they did, they still couldn't control the ball and grind out a clock-killing drive to win a game when they needed it. Ask OSU or USC if you need confirmation on that.
I'll take the offense we have today over the ones I saw from Moorhead. They were far more entertaining, in that they could score quickly. from almost anywhere. But Michigan's offense today can also score from anywhere - whenever/wherever they get the ball. And in getting that score, they're going to beat a defense into soul-sapping submission - something PSU has not been capable of, Moorehead or not...
October 26th, 2018 at 10:02 AM ^
After watching Michigan, I am TOTALLY in this camp. Controlling clock and slowing it down and scoring is the ideal way imho. Case in point:
Oklahoma vs Georgia - boat racing in CFP. OSU in "shoot out" with Purdue.
No thanks. Pound the ball, eat the clock, tire out the other defense and dominate.
I think an interesting study would be to see and compare these types of offenses. Eye test says a crushing running game with good passing > air raid/shoot outey offense.
October 26th, 2018 at 10:07 AM ^
This is how Grand pa and Dad did it, worked till RR tried to tell us we'd been doing it wrong.
October 26th, 2018 at 3:35 PM ^
To be fair, after the Rose Bowl w/USC, App State, Oregon, and several years of Troy Smith, many of us thought we were doing it wrong.
October 26th, 2018 at 11:05 AM ^
I don't know. It may look that way because our defense is so good. If we were giving up another 10 points a game and had to play from behind more often when we had to score quickly, would we feel the same say?
Yes we had to play from behind against NW but the defense was completely lights out the second half and we only needed 20 to win. What if the defense gave up just one touchdown in the second half.
I'd like to see more quick strike evidence. I think the capability is there (shit, look at those receivers, especially with Black back), but we need to actually see it occur.
October 26th, 2018 at 11:30 AM ^
Yup, the way to beat that Penn State offense is to keep McSoreley on the sideline while Higdon pounds the rock for 4.5 YPC.
October 26th, 2018 at 8:47 AM ^
Uh... I, for one, am perfectly happy with Michigan's current offense. It's a crazy amalgamation of 9OL man-ball and spread option and seems like it's just becoming fully operational.
October 26th, 2018 at 9:46 AM ^
Seconded. Also, I'm happy our offense looks like "Michigan," however irrational that might sound to some: full backs, tight ends, TOP, etc. Our three-year experiment in ritzy offense wasn't fun or successful.
October 26th, 2018 at 10:24 AM ^
Make that for two.
Two things are happening that people last year and early this year said were complaining. The offense has slowly increased in complexity and unpredictability, and we have guys that can run it. It's like '15/'16 with better guys. (I'm including Warinner in that).
Last year was a disaster personnel wise and people just bitterly complained like it was the normal.
This year we have an offense that is slowly looking to be seriously legit. Next year, while I worry a bit at losses, I still think we will be okay even if Shae leaves and McCaffery or Milton takes over, and we still have Warinner as O line coach.
October 26th, 2018 at 11:29 AM ^
Yes, it is easy to forget this point. RR had many faults - but in the end his down fall wasn't that he lacked imagination or insight into the offensive side of things. After stops at West Virginia, here, and now Arizona it is clear if you want a certain type of offense, hire him and he can give you that type of offense. BUT if you are looking for a head foot ball coach that understands all of the nuances that goes into being a modern big time college head football coach, he isn't your guy.
Harbaugh's willingness to incorporate spread elements into his offense shows his high caliber - he can adapt with what he has - he has basic principles that he is looking for in his team but he won't ignore obvious talent and ability. Too bad he never got to work with Devin Gardner or Denard Robinson.
October 25th, 2018 at 10:03 PM ^
He owes pretty much all of his career success to Joe Moorhead. He's a great recruiter but not much of an actual coach, and unless he has rockstar coordinators (which I'm not sure he does currently) he's not gonna do that well.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:05 PM ^
His whole career? Only the last two years. Moorhead wasn't with Franklin at Vanderbilt and they hadn't worked together elsewhere.
We heard Franklin owed all his success to Bob Shoop when he left, but at the time it was (probably) more accurate. Shoop had been Franklin's DC at Vanderbilt and in 2014-2015 at Penn State.
Whatever you say about the guy (and he is probably the worst game day coach in the country), Franklin has done an excellent job of hiring coordinators.
I do think Franklin is going to have trouble getting top notch staff talent going forward. He's a hell of a salesman, but too many people have seen them play Ohio State the last two years. He should have had last year's team in the playoffs.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:38 PM ^
anyone who saw the OSU and MSU games this year watched Franklin piss away those games. just awful play calling and clock management.
October 26th, 2018 at 4:24 PM ^
FG Franklin??
October 26th, 2018 at 2:01 PM ^
His success at Vanderbilt is also slightly misleading. Yes, I know its Vanderbilt but all he did was finally start beating the other crappy teams on his schedule. I think he had one win against an SEC team that finished above .500 in the conference.
October 25th, 2018 at 10:06 PM ^
Let’s beat him, then let’s check his record against UofM, OSU, & MSU.
October 25th, 2018 at 10:33 PM ^
3-11 so far. He has one win against OSU, UM and MSU.
October 25th, 2018 at 10:39 PM ^
We all hope he stays a long time.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:29 PM ^
My goodness. I knew he was a fraud, but that’s pretty bad for a coach who’s supposedly better than Harbaugh. Had he not had Moorhead, he would have already been fired.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:57 PM ^
Franklin benefitted in 2016 from our loss at Iowa. Had UM-OSU-PSU all ended tied and UM with a 2 OT loss at OSU, he would have been 3rd place in the bowls with the loss at Pitt and 49-10 to us.
Plus, when has Jimbo called TO to ice a kicker late in the 4th to try to preserve a shutout in a 50-0 or so game?
James is a piece of work
October 26th, 2018 at 8:26 AM ^
Jimbo Fisher?
October 26th, 2018 at 8:27 AM ^
What PSU's 2016 season came down to was breaks against Ohio State. They got the blocked kick that bounced up to their guy who returned it for a TD. We know about the JT spot. If either of those go differently, nobody is talking about how good Franklin is.
October 26th, 2018 at 9:12 AM ^
The Minnesota game was huge in 2016. PSU won in OT and was getting beaten. They would have gone to 2-3 I think. Collapse and dismissal was a hot topic. That win saved him.
October 26th, 2018 at 9:05 AM ^
He also challenged a call in their Pitt game this year under 1 minute to go in the 4th and they were up 51-6. Even the announcers wanted to call him a D-Bag during that televised segment.
October 25th, 2018 at 10:09 PM ^
Next year when Trace is gone will be a huge down year. That guy made PSU's resurrection from the football ashes. There doesn't appear to be anyone like that as the #2, so Franklin is going to twist in the wind at best post-Trace.
October 25th, 2018 at 10:25 PM ^
Agreed. Franklin has amassed a great talented group in Happy Valley, but i'm not sure he knows how to use that talent properly. They're going to be loaded at RB for a while with Miles Sanders, Ricky Slade, Devyn Ford this year. And they have a good group of WRs/TEs. They don't have a good o-line though. If it wasn't for McSorley running and making something out of nothing, they would be much worse off. Their defense isn't anything special either. Individual talent is there. But lots of holes as well.
Nevertheless, I hope Harbaugh has everyone focused for PSU. We need to return that thrashing and make their look absolutely pedestrian in the big house.
October 25th, 2018 at 10:37 PM ^
Penn State crushed Michigan last year because it was easy as hell for them to get motivated as they all remembered the rout they experienced in Ann Arbor in 2016. This year the shoe is on the other foot and I'm certain that no-one on Michigan is not zeroed in on that game 100%.
Of course, it helped PSU last year that it was a very flawed Michigan team which made it relatively easy to live out their revenge fantasies. We'll see this year how PSU stacks up.
October 25th, 2018 at 10:43 PM ^
No Barkley this year, huge difference. This year will look more like 2016.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:07 PM ^
And no Moorhead. (For PSU, this is the one time the literal meaning is worse than the innuendo.)
October 25th, 2018 at 11:19 PM ^
Badoom-shish!
I love the use of innuendo as innuendo.
October 26th, 2018 at 4:40 AM ^
Do Brown has been thinking every day about what happened last year. Penn St might be destroyed by him this year.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:46 PM ^
Their #2 is Tommy Stevens, I believe. Hes another really good athlete. Much taller than McSorley. Dont know if he can throw, but they often use him as a RB/WR so you know he can run. He wears #2.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:59 PM ^
Stevens is a JR I believe. Their starter likely next year. Not the thrower McSorley is but a capable QB
October 26th, 2018 at 10:49 AM ^
Sure but Mcsorely is slippery and fast for a QB. Many a times he jukes people. Their #2 doesn't strike me that way. Which means sacks galore.
October 25th, 2018 at 10:15 PM ^
They’re already looking pretty shaky. Two losses so far this season with Iowa, M, and Wisconsin upcoming. 7-5 is a real possibility, with McSorely in his last season.
October 25th, 2018 at 10:20 PM ^
I'd love to see them lose at least 2 of those games. And then for Michigan to try and get back in contact with Dixon and Smith.
October 25th, 2018 at 10:20 PM ^
Their Big Ten championship in 2016 might be the flukiest of all time. 3rd best team in their division. Somehow they pull it off because of a 3 way tie.
October 25th, 2018 at 10:34 PM ^
2015 - MSU makes title game because of a botched snap
2016 - PSU makes title game because of a blocked FG return for a TD + Michigan-OSU spot which shall not be named
October 26th, 2018 at 1:57 AM ^
Actually just a regular tie between them and OSU got them in. We had two losses (OSU and Iowa). OSU only lost to PSU. And PSU only lost to us. PSU got in because of their head to head win over OSU
October 26th, 2018 at 9:43 AM ^
Oh yeah.
Either way it was clear they were the 3rd best team in the division. This is yet another reason it's dumb to have the setup the way that it is, with a watered down conference where you don't play 30% of the teams but then a single championship game determines the outcome.
October 26th, 2018 at 7:41 AM ^
Wisconsin had PSU beat in the Big 10 championship game (winning 28-14) before a slew of injuries sidelined a half dozen or so key players. Franklin definitely benefited from things beyond his control.
October 25th, 2018 at 10:29 PM ^
Franklin is over rated. without a great OC and Saquan Barkley they would never have had their record the last few years. the OC Moorhead is gone. Barkley went to the NFL. his record is going to take a beating.
and FUCK Penn State and their delusional Joepa loving fans.
October 25th, 2018 at 10:38 PM ^
I approve of this message!
/nicely done
October 25th, 2018 at 10:31 PM ^
I don't even know how popular he truly is with the fans. I know a handful of PSU grads that can't stand him as a coach and that even extends back to that fluke of a Big Ten title. I think a decent chunk of their fans recognize a guy that is a complete liability in close games.
October 25th, 2018 at 10:43 PM ^
I was at a wedding last weekend with a couple Penn State guys, and they thought I was a crazy person for saying Franklin was a crappy in-game tactical coach. My friend who just started at PSU this year hasn't been back yet, but I'll ask her what she thinks when I do. But based on my (very limited) sample size, the fans love him.
October 26th, 2018 at 12:01 AM ^
I work with a couple of PSU grads. They love him - for now. A BIG title and last year a big bowl win vs. Washington. Things can change though. 8-4 this year would put him under pressure next year - not to be fired but to win reluctant fans back.
October 26th, 2018 at 9:01 AM ^
I live and work near Washington DC, which is a home of wayward Pennsylvanian's as much as Chicago is a home for wayward Michiganders. PSU fans surround me nearly everywhere I go (so do Penguins and Steelers fans, ugh...), and - to a man - they love them some James Franklin. They think he's a better coach than Harbaugh on the field, off the field, recruiting, whatever. They reproduce the same tired old trope we always hear - Harbaugh can't win, hasn't won, will go back to the NFL, yadda yadda yadda. Mention Moorehead and their collective blood pressure goes through the roof as they get loud in telling you how Franklin made him what he is.
He's got several years of good will built up with the fans, he's not going anywhere anytime soon.
October 25th, 2018 at 10:42 PM ^
Heard bacon.
Franklin has be roasted on this blog for years.
Yet He did Win the Big Ten, can't take that away from him. And don't tell me it his staff that won it.
M should beat psu this year handily.