Game Thread: Orange Bowl, CFP Semi : Penn State vs Notre Dame, 7:30PM ET, ESPN, 1-9-25

denver

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How long does Franklin get to continue to lose any key game and still keep his job? Maybe PSU expectations are such that they accept he will never get them to the top...and going 9-3 is ok every year...this year the stars lined up for them and they still couldnt get it done...he's something like 3-15 against top 10....?
 

BamaBoySince89

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How long does Franklin get to continue to lose any key game and still keep his job? Maybe PSU expectations are such that they accept he will never get them to the top...and going 9-3 is ok every year...this year the stars lined up for them and they still couldnt get it done...he's something like 3-15 against top 10....?
He is who he is, this was probably his best(and easiest) chance to do so and he wet the bed again.
 

Bpilktree

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How long does Franklin get to continue to lose any key game and still keep his job? Maybe PSU expectations are such that they accept he will never get them to the top...and going 9-3 is ok every year...this year the stars lined up for them and they still couldnt get it done...he's something like 3-15 against top 10....?
They are 35-8 the last 3 years. There were just in the College football semifinals which is the best they have been since about 1993 and you think he is close to getting fired?
 
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PA Tide Fan

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How long does Franklin get to continue to lose any key game and still keep his job? Maybe PSU expectations are such that they accept he will never get them to the top...and going 9-3 is ok every year...this year the stars lined up for them and they still couldnt get it done...he's something like 3-15 against top 10....?
I think the 12 team playoff saved Franklin's job for now. He won 2 playoff games and made it to the semifinal so it will appear to the fanbase that the program made progress this season rather than remain stagnant. This loss will be blamed more on Allar than Franklin.
 
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Krymsonman

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I think the 12 team playoff saved Franklin's job for now. He won 2 playoff games and made it to the semifinal so it will appear to the fanbase that the program made progress this season rather than remain stagnant. This loss will be blamed more on Allar than Franklin.
Yeah, nobody is stopping to think that Penn State had the absolutely easiest road to the semi-finals playing SMU and Boise State.
 

selmaborntidefan

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Ok so just to be clear:

we HAD to expand the playoff so the little guys would get a chance they were being denied for championships and the first time we do, the national champion will either be the team with the 2nd most in the modern era, the team with the 4th most, or a team (Texas) with the 7th most.

There is more logic in someone arguing pro wrestling is real than in 99% of college football arguments.
 

selmaborntidefan

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How long does Franklin get to continue to lose any key game and still keep his job? Maybe PSU expectations are such that they accept he will never get them to the top...and going 9-3 is ok every year...this year the stars lined up for them and they still couldnt get it done...he's something like 3-15 against top 10....?


Up until 2023, I was a defender of Franklin and thought he was one of those Mack Brown coaches, a guy just about ready to make the next move forward.

He isn’t, he is a shining mediocrity, a guy who - were he a white coach - would be fired for his failure to achieve at the school at least as far as their expectations used to be.

It is time for him to follow the route of Larry Coker or Tommy Tuberville or fRan and start attempting to win games at the lower levels to pad his record for his eventual enshrinement in the Hall of Fame.
 
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TitleWave

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Up until 2023, I was a defender of Franklin and thought he was one of those Mack Brown coaches, a guy just about ready to make the next move forward.

He isn’t, he is a shining mediocrity, a guy who - were he a white coach - would be fired for his failure to achieve at the school at least as far as their expectations used to be.

It is time for him to follow the route of Larry Coker or Tommy Tuberville or fRan and start attempting to win games at the lower levels to pad his record for his eventual enshrinement in the Hall of Fame.
Big Games James is "padded up" enough already - he competes in the B1G, remember?

Of course, he's got a lifetime grace period amongst a certain demographic of 'Bama fans because of his staff hiring practices in the SEC and having based it on assistant coach candidates having "hot wives" and then there's Big Games James's all-time encomium that he "fraudian slipped" for the GOAT, "Nick Satan."
 

TideEngineer08

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I didn't watch the game, but reading up on the stats, Penn State did not have single WR to record a catch.

That's not going to win many games nowadays. And yet, it was such a close game?

ND is going to get steamrolled by Ohio State or Texas. All of those people mocking Brian Kelly today (and make no mistake, he should always be mocked) need to understand he also had no problem getting ND to this particular point - the finals only to be destroyed by the other team.

I know, let's wait and see. But IMO, Freeman has made ND no better than Kelly did. And ND is still the beneficiary of not playing in a league and having a scheduling agreement with the most mediocre conference in the "P4" - the ACC. Oh they beat mighty Georgia! Yeah, Georgia who was without its starting QB.
 

CrimsonBloodn62

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I didn't watch the game, but reading up on the stats, Penn State did not have single WR to record a catch.

That's not going to win many games nowadays. And yet, it was such a close game?

ND is going to get steamrolled by Ohio State or Texas. All of those people mocking Brian Kelly today (and make no mistake, he should always be mocked) need to understand he also had no problem getting ND to this particular point - the finals only to be destroyed by the other team.

I know, let's wait and see. But IMO, Freeman has made ND no better than Kelly did. And ND is still the beneficiary of not playing in a league and having a scheduling agreement with the most mediocre conference in the "P4" - the ACC. Oh they beat mighty Georgia! Yeah, Georgia who was without its starting QB.
Come on, TideEngineer08. Did you not enjoy seeing Ole Bowl Cut getting destroyed by ND and ending all that nonsense dynasty talk? Lol
 
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davefrat

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Up until 2023, I was a defender of Franklin and thought he was one of those Mack Brown coaches, a guy just about ready to make the next move forward.

He isn’t, he is a shining mediocrity, a guy who - were he a white coach - would be fired for his failure to achieve at the school at least as far as their expectations used to be.

It is time for him to follow the route of Larry Coker or Tommy Tuberville or fRan and start attempting to win games at the lower levels to pad his record for his eventual enshrinement in the Hall of Fame.
Seriously dude?
 

CB4

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Let’s also remember Notre Dame had the #57 strength of schedule, didn’t play in conference and therefore didn’t play in a conference championship game. Additionally they really didn’t play back to back to back games against really physical teams.

IMO Notre Dame is finally starting to see these last two games what SEC teams experience almost weekly during in the regular season. They are beat up going against tOSU or Texas.
 
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81usaf92

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I know, let's wait and see. But IMO, Freeman has made ND no better than Kelly did. And ND is still the beneficiary of not playing in a league and having a scheduling agreement with the most mediocre conference in the "P4" - the ACC. Oh they beat mighty Georgia! Yeah, Georgia who was without its starting QB.
IDK about this.

1) Freeman’s teams play a lot more confident and competent than Kelly’s later ND teams.

2) Georgia had a competent quarterback playing in place of a turnover machine. I don’t think Carson Beck being in really changes the outcome. Where the game was lost was Kirby getting greedy at the end of the half and trusting Mike Bobo will save your offense

3) I think out of the four teams in the semis, ND might have the 2nd best resume. I have far more issues with PSU and Texas dodging tough schedules than I do ND. OSU barely gets by because they played Oregon twice and played Tennessee. Otherwise they aren’t that much different than the rest of the Final Four in playing weak competition
 
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Bpilktree

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Up until 2023, I was a defender of Franklin and thought he was one of those Mack Brown coaches, a guy just about ready to make the next move forward.

He isn’t, he is a shining mediocrity, a guy who - were he a white coach - would be fired for his failure to achieve at the school at least as far as their expectations used to be.

It is time for him to follow the route of Larry Coker or Tommy Tuberville or fRan and start attempting to win games at the lower levels to pad his record for his eventual enshrinement in the Hall of Fame.
When is mediocrity 34-8 over last 3 year (we are 32-8) and playing in 6 major bowls in the last 9 years. Penn State has been a top 10 team for most of his tenure which is much better than they had been. They still have a bit of a stigma over the school from the Sandusky era which doesn’t help build them nationally. They are not in the best recruiting place as there just isn’t the same athletes in state like some areas. They have a pretty large fan base but so far have not put any big money into the nil transfer portal like say Ohio State another Big Ten team.