In view of recent events, Penn State should be announcing revised lyrics for the chorus to its traditional “Nittany Lion” song.
Here is the update: Hail to the Lion, his fans are blue,
Can’t beat the Buckeyes, and Wolverines, too.
Winning the Big Ten, is only a dream,
And all this makes the fans just truly want to scream!
Penn State played Ohio State yet again Saturday, with both teams highly regarded; at least going into the game they were highly regarded. Penn State lost again. If you are keeping score at home, that’s seven consecutive losses to the Buckeyes.
To be fair, once upon a time, coach James Franklin had a Penn State team beat Ohio State, making him 1-9 overall vs. the Columbus bullies.
This setback sank Franklin’s record to 2-12 on the road vs. Top 25 teams
Franklin’s Penn State teams do slightly better vs. Michigan at 3-6. But that’s nothing to brag about, either, when you want to portray your program as among the nation’s elite.
If I’m an Ohio State or Michigan fan, I’m setting up a GoFundMe account designed to keep Franklin coaching Penn State in perpetuity.
Yes, Franklin has already been gifted with a contract that grants him a king’s ransom annually for failing to do more than elevate Penn State’s football program into the head of the also-ran category in the Big Ten.
I guess when a school has had its reputation besmirched by a sexual misconduct scandal in the not-so-distant past, that’s good enough.
But, for fans who would desire a return to the days of competing for conference titles and even a national championship, it’s a bit short of the mark.
This was a game Penn State might have been expected to win, a sentiment expressed in this space recently. For once, the Ohio State offense was not being directed by a quarterback a few months away from advancing to running an NFL team.
This Buckeyes offense had a questionable line, and limited depth both at running back and wide receiver.
Ohio State has a typically competent defense, but it was going to need it based on its offensive unit.
Admittedly, Penn State’s unbeaten record prior to the game had been run up largely on a schedule populated by teams on par with Sisters of the Poor, or School for the Blind.
But Penn State had won the games. The defense had looked strong. The offense had looked capable of keeping up with a troubled Ohio State offense in terms of production.
No doubt, some Penn State fans will cry foul over a defensive holding call that wiped out a fumble return for a touchdown Saturday. It was a legitimate call, followed closely by yet another grab on an Ohio State receiver that was missed by the game officials.
Penn State’s defensive gameplan seemed to be to mug the Ohio State wide receivers and count on the zebras to ignore some calls. The defense might have done a bit better on Marvin Harrison, Jr., who dropped a few and was roughed up at times, but still managed 11 grabs for 162 yards and a touchdown.
On one play, a combo wheel route, Penn State completely lost track of Harrison.
Inexplicable? You bet. Similarly inexplicable is Franklin’s reputation as a top coach in view of his ability repeatedly to come up small in big games.
The talking heads on the TV postgame shows were roasting the Penn State gameplan for being short on imagination. Execution was lamentable, too, as evidenced by converting just 1 of 16 third-down plays into a first down.
There is a benefit to all this failure in big games. Judging by his already lofty salary, there would not be enough money in the world to pay Franklin were he able actually to beat Ohio State or Michigan. And so the Penn State bean counters no doubt are grateful for yet another egg laid on the day of a big game.
Hail to the Lion, his fans are blue.
Sam Ross Jr's site 