James Franklin Getting Ripped For His Decisions In The Fiesta Bowl
Penn State had complete control of the Fiesta Bowl against Boise State, but James Franklin may have just thrown momentum away with a bizarre call.
The Nittany Lions jumped out to a 14-0 lead thanks to their rushing attack. Kaytron Allen already has 57 rushing yards on just five carries. Instead of leaning on his ground game in the second quarter, Franklin opted to get too cute on offense.
During the second quarter of action, he dialed up a trick play on third down. On the very next possession, Boise State put together an eight-play, 52-yard touchdown drive.
Immediately after Franklin called a trick play in the Fiesta Bowl, fans ripped him to shreds on social media. They're convinced his team can win by simply running the ball between the tackles all night long.
"Penn State's been averaging 6.5 yards a carry, but James Franklin goes calls a trick play on 3rd & 3 while backed up inside his own 20? That's really bad," one fan said.
"They're dominating the trenches and they can't tackle either back with one guy and instead James Franklin cannot help himself," a second fan tweeted.
"Classic James Franklin. Your running game is averting like 12 yards a carry. So on 3rd and 3 from your own 17. A TRICK PLAY………that doesn’t work," another person wrote.
"Hey James Franklin, let’s get back to running the football," a fourth fan said.
"These are the reasons why James Franklin is an idiot. Momentum can swing big time here," a social media user added.
It's possible Penn State responds with a scoring drive of its own, but for now, Boise State finally has momentum on its side.
To make matters worse for the Nittany Lions, it appears Abdul Carter is battling an injury. If he's less than 100 percent, that'll impact this game in a major way.