James Franklin ridiculed for bizarre decision on massive Penn State-Notre Dame play

History is written by the victors.And X immortalizes the dubious decisions of the losers.Penn State head coach James Franklin made a few in Thursday night’s Orange Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal — a game his Nittany Lions lost on a late-game field-goal by Notre Dame’s Mitch Jeter — but none has drawn more ire than his play-call on that game-winner.Notre Dame Head Coach Marcus Freeman sent out the field goal unit with 12-seconds remaining on the clock and the ball set dead center between the hash marks at Penn State’s 23-yard line.

Franklin, in response, sent two players back about 15 yards off the line of scrimmage — presumably, in case Freeman had dialed up a fake kick.Freeman had not. Nine Penn State defenders rushed at the snap and the two edge rushers were each within only a step or two of getting a hand or finger on the ball.But the snap came through cleanly, the hold was good and Jeter’s kick crossed the line of scrimmage unobstructed.The two defenders backed up near the 10-yard line watched as the kick sailed overhead and in through the uprights to put the Fighting Irish up by three points.After the ensuing kick off, Penn State took back over from their own 25-yard line with just seven seconds on the clock.

 The abrupt end to the season certainly stings, but that didn’t stop a slew of commenters on X from piling on.“Sometimes you hit the wrong button playing Madden,” quipped one.“Gotta hand it to James Franklin.He was NOT going to let Notre Dame beat him with a fake field goal,” wrote another.Other users pointed out that Franklin and company would have never been in the spot of having to defend against a field-goal with their season in the balance had the Nittany Lions not turned the ball over late in the fourth quarter.With the game knotted at 24 apiece and Penn State backed up to their own 28-yard line, Franklin dialed up a pass that Notre Dame sophomore cornerback Christian Gray intercepted near mid-field.

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