Franklin Era: The Great Moments

It is easy to pretend like Penn State had nothing but misery during the James Franklin Era. I know some fans act that way, but it is definitely not true. I want to focus on some of the great moments since 2014.

The Franklin Era kicked off with excitement with a game against UCF in Ireland. The Knights took the lead, 24-23 with 1:13 to go. But the Nittany Lions were not done, Christian Hackenberg scrambled for first down on 4th & 3. Then he made three consecutive passes to get the team in field goal range with just three seconds on the clock. Sam Ficken drilled a 36-yard field goal as time expired. It was an exciting beginning for the new head coach. 

The 2016 season was chock full of great moments. That team loved to be down after the first half, then make a comeback. The first one came against Minnesota. The Nittany Lions had two losses (to Pitt and Michigan), and they were losing 13-3 at halftime to the Gophers. But they came back to take the lead, then Minnesota tied it up. In overtime, Minnesota went first and kicked a FG. The next play? Saquon runs it 25 yards for the TD. Two weeks later was the Ohio State game. The blocked FG and return for a touchdown was exciting, but the best part of that game? Stopping J.T. Barrett from being the hero. The Jason Cabinda sack still plays on repeat in my mind. After that game, it felt like there was no stopping Penn State. They went to the Big Ten Championship, and were down 28-14 at halftime to Wisconsin. Trace McSorley led the offense with some help from Saquon to outscore the Badgers 24-3 in the second half. I remember watching that game at home, it felt like a switch turned on when they came out of the locker room. 

The next year was highlighted by one truly great moment. Trace to Juwan Johnson in the endzone as time expired at Iowa under the lights. Penn State left Kinnick Stadium victorious, 21-19. Also, that year was the Fiesta Bowl, which they beat Washington. The score looked close, but I remember that game never feeling close at all. The Huskies scored a TD in the 4th quarter to make it look close. But if you look at the stats, it was all Penn State that day. 

2019 was a fantastic year. The Nittany Lions went 11-2, with great wins against #16 Michigan, #24 Indiana, and a Cotton Bowl victory over #15 Memphis. This was the first year of Sean Clifford as the starting QB, and honestly, he did not disappoint. He had some great games that year. Particularly the Michigan and Indiana games. 

There was nothing good about 2020, we can just move right past that year.

The 2021 season kicked off with the Nittany Lions heading to Madison to face the #12 Badgers. Penn State’s defense did their job, holding Wisconsin to just ten points. Clifford had a good game, and it was apparent that 2020 was fluke. This team was ready to play. Two weeks later they beat Auburn at Beaver Stadium, which helped bump them to #6 in the rankings. But then Clifford gets hurt at Iowa and the season collapses. But man, that was the season of What iF…

2022 was another great season, but it was also a season of complaining from fans. The Nittany Lions went 11-2, but guess who they lost to? Michigan and Ohio State, and those games were not close. In fact, there was only one close game…the season opener against Purdue (that game also pissed off fans because it was on a Thursday night). Sean Clifford had to drive down 80 yards for a score with only about two minutes to go. After that game, every game they won was not really close. They even dominated Utah by two TDs in the Rose Bowl. 

And 2023 was basically the same, but without any close games. Losses to Ohio State and Michigan during the regular season. I think a great moment that year was the opening game against WVU. I am probably biased since I was at the game. It was an exciting time since Drew Allar was finally the starter. 

Last year there were a bunch of great moments. My favorite was the Tyler Warren game against USC. There was also the opening game at Morgantown, where Pat McAfee swore up and down that WVU was going to upset the Nittany Lions. It did not happen. Then we made the playoffs, beat SMU and Boise State, and came soooo close to making the finals. 

What were some of your favorite moments? And stay tuned because the heart-breaks are coming…