The Penn State Nittany Lions lost their second game in a row this week, falling to the Michigan State Spartans on the road, 27-24. After the game, Lions head coach James Franklin was a class act -- when one of his players was going to walk off the field without shaking the Spartan players’ hands, Franklin sprinted after him to make him line up and do so:
After loss, James Franklin chased down his players to make them shake Michigan State’s hands
This was a good look.
This is obviously a great look from Penn State’s head coach, and good on him for noticing his player and then doing the right thing. Nobody likes to lose, but you always have to shake the players’ hands afterward.
Franklin has had some head-scratching moments this season when it comes to gamesmanship. Earlier this season, he iced Georgia State’s kicker while his team was up 56-0, which he later explained was because the backup kick-block group was having a hard time getting lined up. And after his team beat Pitt, he compared the Panthers to Akron:
So Franklin’s quote, which can fairly be taken as the kind of dismissive rival banter that exists in a state rivalry dynamic like this one, isn’t really targeted at Pitt. It’s for Penn State fans and recruits.
Beating Pitt doesn’t improve PSU’s season prospects all that much, but it’s fresh equity for Franklin with a fan base still remembering how to brag. Franklin has now excised road losses at Temple (2015) and Pitt (2016) by returning the following season with deeper, more talented teams.
Shoutout to the camera crew for capturing this moment from Franklin after a tough loss.
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