I saw this type of reaction coming a mile away, before the season even started. Preseason I expected us to start 5-0 with the way the schedule was back end loaded. I thought we'd lose 1 or 2 in the Iowa, UM, MSU stretch, lose to OSU, and possibly 1 other game that we shouldn't given the youth of the team. I was worried that with a likely 5-0 start the team would likely be on the cusp of a top 10 ranking and that fans' expectations would start to change from what they were in the preseason, and people would start talking major bowls and what not. Then by going 3-0 in what was perceived to be the toughest stretch coming into the season and being #4 in the first playoff rankings gasoline was dumped on that fire. My expectations changed too, instead of thinking we'd have a 3-4 loss season I now thought we were looking at 1-2 (OSU and one we probably shouldn't lose). But despite the #4 ranking I didn't actually think we were the 4th best team in the country because of on our inconsistency on offense and the pass defense struggles. I'd consider OSU, LSU, Bama and Clemson all ahead of us in a on-field matchup and I think we'd have our hands full with Georgia, Florida and maybe the top 2 PAC 12 teams and Oklahoma. That said, we deserved the #4 ranking though based on being undefeated and our resume to date, which was better than Bama's and Clemson's at the time. Unfortunately Minnesota beat us which is probably meets my fear of someone beating us that shouldn't, although I say that purely based on overall talent and being favored because Minnesota outplayed us and deserved to win on Saturday. Hopefully this is a wake up call for the players that even a team without the storied history of an OSU can handle a talented PSU team if they execute well, and Minn executed extremely well and better than PSU on Saturday.
This was about as best case for a loss that we could have asked for though. Close game... check. On the road... check. Ranked opponent... check. Not in our division... check. Doesn't hinder our ability to win the east or the conference in any way... check. College playoff still within reach and in our own control... likely check.
Everyone would have been thrilled if before the season started we were told we'd be 8-1 at this point with the only loss being on the road to an undefeated and top ranked non-division opponent. Now because the fans moved the goalposts on expectations they want to get all bent out of shape about coaches, and nobody is giving Minnesota credit because they aren't a historically great program, so they interpret this as a really bad loss, which it wasn't. If we manage to beat OSU, which will be extremely difficult, this loss will quickly be viewed as a blip on the radar for a great team that is deserving of a top ranking.
I for one am thrilled with having Franklin as our coach and I love how the team has showed nearly continuous improvement on the field and in terms of roster talent under his watch. No, he's not perfect, he'd be the first to say that. But there are very few coaches in the country that I'd think would be a realistic possibility to come here and do a better job, all while maintaining the emphasis on academics, sportsmanship and off the field behaviors that we want. I hope Franklin is here for a long, long time.
