The coaching staff is in a no win situation with the Franklin hating morons here. When they win, the opponent is garbage. When they lose, it’s Armageddon. Never mind that with all of the injuries and bad breaks, they’ve continued to bust their ass recruiting and never lost the team.
These people are never truly happy unless they’re miserable.
Close hurts, especially when you figure a reasonable number will go your way randomly...not so with Iowa or Ohio State, even Illinois or Michigan. I think what this year showed: 1-You need back up QB who can get thrown in at a moment's notice in a big game to not just hold a lead but to maintain or even extend it (not saying Christian V is the next great PSU SB, but it was a pleasant surprise what less than one year under Yurcic did, ie progress-or in the case of previous highly recruited QBs didn't do, ie regress), 2- Even being not at deep as OSU, with an injury disadvantage, effectively no running game, and a potentially game-changing referee surprise call-typical referee behavior in PSU-OSU games, had them reeling and more than within reach,
Not sure whether to count Illinois or Michigan in the toss up to the 'uncontrolled', as coaching strategy and play calling had as much effect as the usual toss-up random out-of-your-control things.
Overall, other than with the QB at Iowa, and RB through the year, I think the team responded well with injuries-DE early, DT with Mustipher, and OL this week-maybe it should have happened earlier.
The portal proved surprising if not vital for certain position-especially DL, and somewhat the kick coverage (FSU DB Lyton), not so much with the OL or RB-a little disappointing with opportunities in big games. I think this leverages Franklin's strength in recruiting/relationships-he builds them quick and early, but they can somewhat suffer with competition in the long term-which is less of a factor with the portal. I would only add I'd to see more activity with the portal in the OL, LBs, and possibly WR...but I realize it is situational-who of us knows what brought these transfer players to look at PSU or tipped their decisions.
I, like some on this board, get more than a little anxiety from some of Franklin's sideline mannerisms, seeming to get too high (vs act like you've been there) or too low/silent (giving the appearance of being disengaged, or not even having a clue). It may or may not have any effect on the game or the team's image, but it is an expectation I have for a team with the resources they have and a coach being compensated as he is and having been in this program this long....and more importantly my team. I do realize this may be who Franklin is as a person, he does wear his emotions on his sleeve and at his core as he mentions often is a relationships person....I believe Joe was very similar (to my aggravation it wasn't all about winning and many times he erred with his principles vs doing everything to win contrary to the current mass media slant), but maybe had more a drive to teach the players both the sport and life.
So a mixed bag for the rest of the year, and going into next year. Let's see what they do with the rest of the year, get some experience for the younger players, see what the coaches do with the portal and early entry freshman, and wait for some surprises.
