Penn State Football
Head Coach James Franklin
Postgame Press Conference
vs. Ohio State – September 29, 2018
Opening Statement
First, I want to thank the fans for coming out. Unbelievable environment with a record crowd. I couldn't ask for a better support from the community and from the university. This one hurts, obviously. We didn't finish the game when we should've finished the game. There is no doubt about it, we played a great first half and we weren't able to finish late in the game. Obviously, you second guess some things after a loss like that. Should've kicked the field goal in the first half, but I felt like trusting our offense rather than putting a true freshman out in that situation. Obviously after the second half it's easy to second guess that decision. When you play that type of opponent, I didn't feel like you could beat that kind of opponent kicking field goals. We were going to have to score touchdowns and be aggressive. The reality is, we had opportunities, but we didn't make plays. We didn't tackle well in open space, we dropped some balls, we just didn't make plays when we needed to make plays. At the end of the game we had a situation there, going for it on fourth down. Obviously when we don't have the success we should've had, we should've called something different there. I'm pretty upset right now because I am hurting for those guys right in that locker room. I know how hard they've worked. The reality is that we have gone from an average football team to a good football team to a great football team. We have worked hard to do those things, but we are not an elite football team yet. As hard as we have worked to go from average to good, and from good to great – the work that it's going to take to get to an elite program, it's going to be just as hard as the ground and the distance that we have already traveled. Scratch and claw and fight. Right now, we are comfortable being great. I am going to make sure that everyone in our program, including myself, is very uncomfortable because you only grow in life when you are uncomfortable. So, we are going to break through and become an elite program by doing all the little things. Lose by one point this year, lose by one point last year, you make that up by all the little things. By going to class consistently so the coaches don't have to babysit you and we can spend our time developing you as men and as people and as players, and not be babysitting little things. Don't get me wrong, our guys do a great job with going to class, but there are two or three guys. It's all the little things that are going to matter and we are going to find a way to get from being a great program – which we are just so everyone is crystal clear. We are a great program. We lost to an elite program, and we are that close. We have gotten comfortable being great, we will no longer be comfortable being great. We are going to learn from this and grow from this, and we are going to find a way to take that next step as a program because we have been knocking at the door long enough. It is my job as the head coach, I am ultimately responsible for all of it. I will find a way, we will find a way, and with all the support of everybody in this community and everybody on this campus and the lettermen and everybody else, we are going to get this done. I give you my word, we are going to find a way to take the next step. I can read off all these stats, but the stats don't matter. We are done being great.
Q: James, there seems to be a lot of debate on the sideline before that fourth-down call. Was there something else before the play that ended up being called? Did Ohio State give you a different look before the timeout?
A: They changed looks, so we called a timeout and had some discussions. We obviously didn't make the right call in that situation, and that's on me, nobody else. Obviously, it didn't work. We have called something similar like that in other situation, and it broke for big plays, but that is on us. That is on me.
Q: In the second half, Ohio State's offense wanted to more east and west, more laterally, how do you think the defense was able to defend against their skills players in space?
A: They got their athletes in space. They threw the key screen, the bubble screen in space, they threw the screen to the tailback and got the linemen out in front. They have really good players and good athletes, and we didn't do a great job in space with them. It was a good plan by them. It was a nice adjustment that they made. The reality is if we could just get guys down on the ground, and fight another down or another series, you've got a shot, but you can't give up those huge plays for touchdowns at the end of the game.
Q: With about four-and-a-half minutes to go in the game, you guys had a fourth-and-six on the Ohio State 37. Was there any thought to potentially going for it in that situation?
A: Yeah. Obviously, you can try a 60-yard field goal or you could go for it, but again, if you don't get it, then you're leaving them with great field position. So, we thought we'd punt them deep, which we did. I think we punted them to the three-yard line. Obviously, we went for it on fourth down early in the game—didn't get it. We didn't go for a fourth down there, pinned them deep, really had a good situation, but then we give up a huge play on first down and it swings momentum. Yes, after the fact, we probably should've went for it.
Q: Have you ever been this emotional about a win or a loss in your career, whether it's been coaching or as a player?
A: Yes. I'm an emotional guy. I've been really angry about losses in the past. Listen, obviously, I'm not mad at you guys. I'm upset with myself, because I know those guys in that locker room are hurting—our assistant coaches and our players. We should've finished that game and, like I said, it's not about the fourth-and-one. It's not about the fourth-and-five and whether we punted it or not. It's getting everybody to commit to waking up every single day and trying to be the best you possibly can be, and we haven't done that. We've gotten to a point where we are great, and we're comfortable with being great. That's the issue. We haven't broken through with these types of programs yet. That's everything. Every single thing matters. I'm going to be all over all of it. Myself, the coaches, the players, the trainers, the doctors, the facilities, the administration—all of it. Because no one's happy with this. Our fans aren't happy. I'm not happy with it. I could sit here and say it's a moral victory and all that because we lost to a higher-ranked team by one point. No. It's not good enough. So, if I drove everybody crazy the last four years, we're going to take it to a whole other level.
Q: What is the difference between great and elite?
A: It's all the details. It's all the little things. It's finding a way to overcome adversity consistently. It's, like I said, going to class to consistently. It's getting to meetings on time. It's having your phone turned off in the meetings. It's not settling for a "B" in a class when you could've got an "A". It's taking notes in every single meeting—every single meeting. Not because the coaches told you to do it, but because you want to be great. It's the coaches making sure that that's the standard. That we don't settle, we don't make excuses, we don't allow it to happen. There is a way to be unbelievably successful in life, in football. That's what we're going to do. And we have let little things slip by. That isn't happening, because those little things that have slipped by is one point last year and it's one point this year. It's not happening anymore. You guys thought I was a psychopath in the past? You have no idea. And I don't want you to take it the wrong way. I'm not saying that from a negative standpoint. I'm not a negative guy, but I am going to make sure that, in our program, that we do everything right. And we grow every single day and we challenge ourselves every single day and we get uncomfortable. We get comfortable being uncomfortable and break out of "great" to get to that next phase.
Q: How did you think your defense played for, at least, three-plus quarters of this game? And then, how do you take that moving forward? Like you said, it's all the little things, but did you see the defense make a jump from Point A to Point B tonight?
A: Yeah, I thought our defense played great for three quarters. In the fourth quarter, they got their athletes in space. We did not do a good job of tackling their athletes in space. Did we take a step as a defense against an elite program? Yeah, I think our defense for three quarters really well – really well – against a team that's been scoring, what, 55 points a game? But I'm not going to sit here and say it was good enough. It wasn't good enough. And again, I don't want anybody to misinterpret anything. I'm not blaming the players. I'm not blaming the assistant coaches. It's on me. James Franklin…James Franklin. And we're going to get it done together, but ultimately, I'm responsible. I'm going to make sure it gets done, no matter what.