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As Penn State football takes on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff (CFP) on Thursday night, there have been some criticisms of head coach James Franklin. With people locking in their predictions for the Penn State football game, the school's athletic director (AD) comes to the defense of Franklin as they are in the quest for a national championship.
There is no denying that Franklin's Nittany Lions have struggled against Top 10 AP teams in the country as he's been 4-19 and even 3-10 when his own squad is ranked in that range. The woes continue against Top 5 teams as the record is at 1-14 with the last time being in 2016 against No. 2 Ohio State but AD Patrick Kraft speaks of the program's confidence in Franklin according to ESPN.
“I'm not going to give credence to the criticism, because I see it differently,” Kraft said. “When I got here, I was really surprised where just the infrastructure and how everything was set up, how behind we really were. Yes, wins and losses are what we are all judged on, but I will tell you, the culture of that building and the young men he brings in and graduates are second to none.”
“You don't see behind the curtain as a fan or just someone watching,” Kraft continued, “and when you get behind the curtain, the thing that oozes out for me is culture and family. That's really how it's built, but the infrastructure behind it wasn't matching that culture and we still have a ways to go. So yes, we want to win every single game — that's the expectation for every program, but to see what he has done and that consistency is what's remarkable to me.”
Penn State football's James Franklin looks to prove critics wrong
However, the known struggles against top-ranked teams saw a lift when the Penn State football team beat Boise State who was ranked No. 3, but some question it since they were the Mountain West conference champions. They also beat No. 11 ranked SMU as some would even say that they have had the easiest path to the semifinals.
Franklin is aware of the criticisms against himself as he would speak about holding himself accountable after the Nov. 2 loss to the Buckeyes who were No. 4 at the time.
“Nobody is looking in the mirror harder than I am,” Franklin said. “I've said this before, but 99% of the programs across college football would die to do what we've been able to do in our time here.”
Someone else who stood for the head coach was first-year Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Tom Allen who said that he'd heard those criticisms about Franklin when he was at Indiana and that he's ready to break the narratives.
“Now that I'm here and I see the behind-the-scenes and the day-to-day and see how much of a bulldog he is, he's a bulldog for the details and the little things and just being on top of everything,” Allen said. “To me, those criticisms, they're not fair, but until you win those big games, they're going to be there. And I think we all as coaches understand that.”
The next opportunity to prove the doubters wrong is Thursday against No. 7 Notre Dame at the Orange Bowl.
