PSU’s Franklin rankles Terps with late TD in rout
Maryland coach Mike Locksley took challenge with Penn State throwing a landing move on the ultimate play of Saturday’s 44-7 Nittany Lions win and let his counterpart James Franklin find out about it.
Locksley and Franklin had a tense alternate after the sport, which ended with Franklin strolling away and yelling, “If that is what you assume, that is tremendous!” Nittany Lions backup quarterback Beau Pribula threw a 15-yard landing move to Tyseer Denmark because the clock expired.
Penn State’s win clinched a spot within the Massive Ten championship recreation, the place it’ll face No. 1 Oregon on Dec. 7 in Indianapolis. The Nittany Lions haven’t appeared within the recreation since 2016, once they gained their lone Massive Ten title beneath Franklin.
“It was bull—, is what it was,” Locksley mentioned in regards to the remaining play. “I respect the sport. I’ve received loads of respect for James, his program. I feel it was bull—.”
Franklin mentioned he understands the criticism however that he needs Penn State’s reserves to “play soccer” once they enter video games.
“Your 1s [starters] are within the recreation, you had been making an attempt to attain, we’re making an attempt to attain,” Franklin added. “On high of that, you are taking part in Cowl 0. Play Cowl 2. And on high of that, there’s additionally a change in school soccer. We try to play so long as we are able to, make the playoffs and be seeded as excessive as doable, and scoring as many factors and some extent differential issues. All that issues. If you do not get that, it is actually not my downside.”
Franklin twice served as a Maryland assistant and labored alongside Locksley from 2000 to 2002. Maryland in 2009 named Franklin head coach-in-waiting, though an athletic director change sophisticated issues and he finally left to steer Vanderbilt‘s program.
Since taking on at Penn State in 2014, Franklin is 9-2 in opposition to Maryland with six wins by 30 factors or extra.
