James Franklin is under no illusions as to what his alternate reality would have looked like had Penn State dropped Saturday’s road game at Minnesota.
That’s because Franklin would be shouldering a lion’s share of the blame.
With 3 minutes, 47 seconds to play and Penn State up 26-25, the Nittany Lions faced a fourth-and-1 from their own 34-yard line.
The Nittany Lions sent the punt team on the field, with the Gophers about to get a final offensive possession, only for Franklin to call a fake attempt that paid off as Luke Reynolds turned upfield for a 32-yard gain.
“If it didn’t work, you wouldn’t be having fun with me talking about the fried turkey or the roasted turkey — you would be roasting James Franklin,” he told reporters in State College Monday. “I totally get that.
“Everyone has opinions after the play. For me it just comes down to trusting my staff and, most importantly, trusting the players that it’s about executing what we call.”
After the successful fake, Penn State’s offense managed two more first downs, driving deep into Minnesota territory and icing the game.
The win improved Penn State, which stayed put at No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings, to 10-1 (7-1 Big Ten) on the year.
One game remains in the regular season for the Nittany Lions: Maryland (4-7, 1-7) on Saturday afternoon at Beaver Stadium.
Franklin’s Nittany Lions remain very much alive for a berth in the Big Ten championship Dec. 7.
However, their fate is not totally in their hands.
In addition to a win vs. the Terrapins, Penn State needs No. 2 Ohio State (10-1, 7-1) to drop its finale this weekend against Michigan (6-5, 4-4).
Top-ranked and undefeated Oregon has punched its ticket to the title game in the Ducks’ inaugural season as Big Ten members.
It will be Penn State, Ohio State or No. 10 Indiana (10-1, 7-1) that faces the Ducks.
Franklin is aware of the many scenarios that could play out next week, as well as lingering implications regarding CFP seeding.
He and his players would welcome a chance to compete for the Big Ten crown, but unsurprisingly, all attention is on the task at hand.
“I haven’t spent a whole lot of time thinking about that,” Franklin said. “I’m literally completely focused on the Terps and the University of Maryland, and after that game there (are) a lot of other things I think that have to happen. But that is a possibility.
“For us, we want an opportunity to compete as many times as we possibly can this year. If that includes a conference championship game, we would be very, very excited about that opportunity.”
Against Maryland and beyond, Penn State will be without two key players on both sides of the ball.
Franklin announced Monday that starting right tackle Anthony Donkah and defensive tackle Alonzo Ford suffered unspecified long-term injuries.
Looking at the interior defensive line, Penn State’s depth is down to Zane Durant, Devon J-Thomas and Coziah Izzard, all veteran players.
Nolan Rucci is expected to step in for Donkah.
“I think we were pleased with Rucci, and we sure are glad he’s on our team,” Franklin said. “We felt like that all year long. We’re going to need him to have a really good week this week in preparation, as well as on Saturday, and (we) have a lot of confidence that he will.”