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GLENDALE, Ariz. — Tom Allen has been in James Franklin’s shoes as a college football head coach.
Allen competed against Franklin when he was at Indiana and now works for him at Penn State.
The Nittany Lions defensive coordinator believes that his boss is and has been underappreciated.
“All the dude does is win and then you’re criticizing him?” Allen said Tuesday night. “I get it. You can win a bunch of games, but you have to win the big one whatever that means. To me, it means consistently playing at a high level. That’s what we’re doing now. That’s what he’s done in the past.”
Franklin and Penn State moved within one game of playing for the national championship with a decisive 31-14 victory over Boise State Tuesday night in the Fiesta Bowl.
It was the Lions’ second win in the College Football Playoff in their first appearance and the second one over a top 10 team. The pressure on them and Franklin was immense Tuesday night because they were 11-point favorites over the Broncos.
“I don’t know if this will silence critics,” offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki said. “Probably not. I’m sure there are people out there who are saying we didn’t win that game by enough. That’s the way it is. We get it. That’s what we signed up for.
“But I hope it does quiet the critics a little for his sake. He deserves some, ‘Yeah, I guess he’s all right,’ from some people.”
Those people, some who follow Penn State and some around the country who don’t, mock Franklin by calling him “Big Game James.”
Yes, the Lions have dropped eight straight to Ohio State. But they’ve won 34 games since the start of the 2022 season, the most in school history in a three-game stretch. They set a school record with their 13th win Tuesday night.
Before the naysayers chime in and say, ‘Well, they’re…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/penn-state-coordinators-t-grasp-044700300.html
Author : Reading Eagle, Pa.
Publish date : 2025-01-02 04:47:00
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