Trace McSorley left it all out on the field for Penn State but head coach James Franklin didn’t make all the right decisions to play for a win.
Penn State senior quarterback Trace McSorley broke his foot during the Citrus Bowl vs. Kentucky. It was believed his career was going to come to an end much sooner than he anticipated. Just as soon as it was reported that he would be out for the game, McSorley apparently didn’t get the memo, because he refused to sit out the rest of the game, no matter how much his foot may have hurt him.
McSorley returned and quickly led Penn State to a pair of touchdown drives to make it a 27-21 game vs. Kentucky late in the fourth quarter. He displayed the fiery competitiveness that he did so often during his career with the Nittany Lions, but his head coach let him down a few moments later.
Facing a fourth-and-seven from the Kentucky 14 with 4:12 left in the game, James Franklin elected to play it conservative and kick the field goal. The short field goal was successful as the Nittany Lions drew within three. This was a decision that wasn’t second-guessed, however, this was a decision that was questioned before Jake Pinegar lined up for the kick.
Franklin clearly didn’t heed Herm Edwards’ advice to play to win the game. Franklin, unmoved by his quarterback’s unrelenting passion and determination to give everything he had on the field, Franklin played it safe and it cost Penn State a chance to win the Citrus Bowl and get to 10 wins.
After the kick, Kentucky rode all-time leading rusher, Benny Snell, to pick up two first downs and exhaust Penn State’s three timeouts. Kentucky punted and gave Penn State the ball with one second.
It was too little to do anything as the Nittany Lions lost by 3 and will have all offseason to wonder what would have happened if Franklin trusted his quarterback who gave his body for the program to make one play. It’ll be a long offseason in Happy Valley with many wondering if Franklin can lead the program back to a Big Ten Championship and to the College Football Playoff.
No, he’s not in any danger of losing his job and he’s not on the hot seat. This was just one loss, and a loss to arguably the best Kentucky team of all-time, but it’s a decision that will linger in the minds of Penn State fans for months. This was a game they should have won and instead of trying to win it, he didn’t make the right call.
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