James Franklin badly outcoached by P.J. Fleck in Penn State’s loss to Minnesota

P.J. Fleck outcoached James Franklin in Minnesota’s win over Penn State.

The land of 10,000 lakes is now 10,001 because of Penn State tears.

Penn State probably thought they’d go to Minnesota and leave with a double-digit win and remain undefeated. A funny thing happened along the way as the Golden Gophers looked like the No. 4 team in the College Football Playoff rankings and Penn State looked like the team that was being glossed over as an undefeated team who isn’t really that good.

It was the No. 17 Gophers behind a brilliant gameplan by head coach P.J. Fleck and the execution of his Minnesota team to hand James Franklin and the Nittany Lions a 31-26 loss, their first of the year.

Fleck was masterful in putting quarterback Tanner Morgan in favorable situations where he could connect with his future NFL receivers, Rashod Bateman and Tyler Johnson to keep the chains moving.

Morgan was surgical, completing 18-of-20 passes for 339 yards and three touchdowns. Bateman had seven receptions for 203 yards and a touchdown. Johnson had seven receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown as the vaunted Nittany Lions defense had no answer.

Minnesota jumped on Penn State in the first three minutes with a convincing touchdown that let the Gophers know they can beat this team and give some extra juice to the fans for the biggest game in program history in decades.

Franklin was put in a situation his team hasn’t faced much of this year. They were losing. The defense couldn’t get off the field and the offense behind Sean Clifford and K.J. Hamler could never give the team the lead.

There was never a point in the game where it felt like Franklin’s team was the favorite on the road. Was he looking ahead to Ohio State on Nov. 23? Was he thinking about USC? Florida State?

He definitely didn’t have his team ready for what Fleck and Minnesota gave them. He admitted as much to start the second half of the ABC broadcast when he said he was seeing things he hadn’t seen on film. Part of being a coach is preparing for what you can’t prepare for. Fleck did that in getting his players ready for a big-game atmosphere despite never playing in one before.

https://twitter.com/espn/status/1193254182913855488

Franklin, meanwhile, was overseeing his team throw a fade on 4th and goal from the 5-yard line down 31-19. Going for the touchdown was the right call but the low-percentage fade with the season on the line was a brutal decision.

If you really want to double-down on Franklin’s questionable decisions, he went for a two-point conversion in the third quarter that made it a 24-19 game. The two-point try was unsuccessful. But if Franklin kicked the PAT, it would have been 24-20, then 31-20 after Minnesota’s ensuing touchdown. But that would have changed Franklin’s decision to go for it on fourth down that ended with the turnover on downs after the incomplete fade. Franklin would have kicked the field goal if the score was 31-20 to make it a one-score game.

When you’re the No. 4 team in the nation and lose as a favorite, whether it’s to a fellow undefeated team or not, the head coach will have to take the heat. Franklin will just have to take a bigger dose because the decisions against and preparations for Minnesota were big failures on his part. He blew this game.

Penn State was the better team, but credit Fleck and Minnesota for dominating the lines of scrimmage, executing and being the best team on Saturday. They deserved that win and Franklin deserves to take the blame, as all head coaches must do when they get thoroughly outcoached in a loss.

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