A history lesson for Penn State fans who are frustrated with Coach James Franklin: Joe Paterno did not win any championship for 17 years into his coaching career

… I do feel your pain, but I was upset previously

At present, Penn State Nittany Lion football fans are very upset that Coach James Franklin’s undefeated team that they believed had an opportunity of winning a national championship lost to what they consider to be an inferior Minnesota team last week — albeit an undefeated team.

They have reason to be upset. They complain that the Nittany Lions will never win a national title as long as Franklin is coach. They Lions played very poorly, and after beating tougher teams like Michigan and Iowa, this was particularly galling.

I even read one comment that said, “This would never have happened under Joe Paterno.”

History

The truth is that Paterno did not win a national championship until 1982, 17 years into his coaching career at Penn State. He won another one five years later, but did not win another one in the final 25 years of his career.

So, placing Franklin in that category may not be fair. I know that I have criticized Franklin in the past, but let’s look at the positive accomplishments of both coaches.

Franklin brought the Nittany Lions back into national prominence much sooner than many anticipated after the Jerry Sandusky scandal practically decimated the program. They were hit with a huge $60 million fine and scholarship reductions that were terrible. They could not play in bowl games, and were on the verge of being given the NCAA “death penalty.”

After putting together consecutive 7-6 seasons, he put together a tremendous year in 2016, winning the Big Ten title after upsetting the consensus best team in the conference, Ohio State, to do so. The Lions finished 8-1 in the Big Ten-East and finished seventh in the country in the AP poll after losing a nail-biter to Southern Cal in the Rose Bowl.

In his third year! That is impressive by any standards.

The following year, the Lions finished with an 11-2 record, second in the East, and won the Fiesta Bowl. They finished eighth in the country in the AP poll — in his fourth year.

In addition, he recruited the 2018 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, Saquon Barkley, and quarterback Trace McSorley. Barkley is with the Giants and McSorley with the Ravens. His recruiting has been very good, a step above what PSU was recruiting in the late Paterno years.

So, Franklin has restored Penn State to national prominence, something that fans may not recall.

I did a rough list of those PSU players who were on preseason NFL rosters, and there were 35. There are probably fewer now, perhaps quite a few, but that is a tribute to Franklin and Bill O’Brien and to Paterno.

Paterno’s legacy

While Joe Paterno’s legacy was diminished by the Jerry Sandusky sexual-abuse scandal, people have to remember a few accomplishments.

First, Paterno built a program that was good into one that was consistently a national power in his early years. In his third and fourth seasons, he finished 11-0, but did not a national title either years. He had another undefeated season, 12-0, in 1973, and had three 11-1 seasons before winning a national title in 1982.

Second, Paterno built Beaver Stadium from a 40,000+ facility to one that now can seat 105,000 on a white-out night. Okay, the seats are tight, but still, compare that to a Pitt program that struggles to fill a 69,000 seat stadium in Pittsburgh.

Paterno recruited some premiere players over the years, ones that have been honored as members of the NFL and college football halls of fame.

In addition, Paterno’s players graduated at a high rate, and many excelled academically and in the work world. That was very positive.

Criticisms

Much of the animus toward Franklin has to do with his game coaching. My observations are that he sometimes hires coaches who have not been that great. Right now, I am not crazy about either of his coordinators.

He is also legitimately criticized for not being able to win on the road against ranked teams. That is a major concern.

The real anger occurred with two one-point losses to Ohio State in the past two seasons, ones in which the Lions held substantial leads.

However, again, I will not that it took Paterno quite a while before he won a championship.

Much of the criticism against Paterno, in addition to the Sandusky problems, centered on the play of his teams over the past decade or so of his tenure. In addition, the players often drew negative publicity because of their involvement in criminal activity, which did not during the early years.

The other was that he hit a skein from 2000 until 2004 when he had four losing seasons. Their record during those years was 26-33, even with a 9-4 record included.

When Penn State entered Big Ten competition in 1993, the media said that it would now be Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State competing for the title each year. That did not happen. The Lions won only one outright, in 1994 when they went 12-0, but failed to win a national title.

They tied for the title in 2005 and 2008.

Conclusion

So, a few general ideas are paramount. Franklin has been justifiably criticized, but he won a Big Ten title in his third season and has built them back into a national power. I maintain that some of his game coaching problems relate to his coordinators, but he is responsible for them, too.

If the Lions continue and lose just one game, to Ohio State, this should be considered to be a good season. If not, then the criticism will intensify.

My criticism of Joe is that he had teams that were very capable of winning national titles but did not. Sometimes, that was the luck of the draw, sometimes, like in 1968, coaching decisions had a negative effect.

However, in fairness, the program would never be where it is right now without him. His leadership was instrumental in the development of PSU into a national power.