OT: How does Franklin keep losing these?

psu83

Junior
May 29, 2001
254
318
63
104-45 Franklin's record is in the books. Matt Campbell is enjoying excellence at the highest level.
BLJ says THANK YOU
Real Music Milk GIF by Robin Gan
 

MacNit

All-Conference
Oct 12, 2021
2,334
2,277
113
Personally, I thought MC would be a massive improvement in terms of putting the best players in the best position to succeed. I thought he was bringing over the cream of the crop of the ISU team. Mix in some key holderovers and key portal additions and the seemingly easy schedule, I thought 9-3 was a realistic goal. I ignored the team being basically gutted before he even got here. I ignored the highly regarded ISU WR coach who took another job after committing to come to Penn State. I ignored that Lions had absolutely no depth, so just a few key injuries could derail the whole season.

My main concern going forward is that the staff doesn't look like a playoff caliber staff. Talent can be added, but the lack of imaginative play calling on both Off and Def, the lack of in-game adjustments, doesn't bode well for the future.

I would think talent-wise, this is team is similar to Purdue, Minn, Rutgers and Maryland. If we can finish the year 7-5, I'd have some hope for next year. 6-6 and I'm thinking next year is gonna be a similar struggle. Anything less and I'm thinking MC was a huge mistake by a guy out of his depth, which I think anyway.
Need to buy much better players…”cream of ISU crop” ~ Minnesota’s/Wisconsin
 

MacNit

All-Conference
Oct 12, 2021
2,334
2,277
113
Speaking of getting things down to a science, after yesterday’s loss to Indiana Nebraska has now lost 31 straight to ranked opponents. But don’t let your Franklin Derangement Syndrome get in the way of an assinine comment a year after he was fired.
What syndrome? He has the worst big game record in CFB…earned over a decade plus.
NIL is not the reason we lost to NW. Will more NIL money turn Campbell into a better game day coach, cause right now he sucks at it. Maybe more NIL will get us some better supporting coaches.
relax. Campbell has been successful every where he has been. With much better players, he will have a chance to do the same here.

Must pay or this will be the product.
 
Last edited:

BUFFALO LION

All-Conference
Oct 4, 2001
1,215
1,935
113
face it though, given when Kraft decided to make a hire, if Campbell didn't bring a base of players from Iowa State, we'd be in even worse position. But some of the guys from ISU just don't seem to be up to B1G level. Number 8, for example, just seems to bounce off runners instead of tackling them. Also he was the cover guy on that option guy and he never even made it to that side of the field. Do we have anybody better?...apparently not.

Looking at things somewhat realistically, this year is done. And, we lose quite a few last year of eligibility guys after this season. So we either have a lot of good players sitting on the bench, coming in as freshmen, or we'd better be spending a lot of time identifying players from other teams who might be portal material. If Kraft was smart he'd be spending 24 hours a day lining up NIL money for 2027.

I'm not holding a great deal of hope, or expectations, for next year. There are just too many holes to fill all throughout the roster. We could have the greatest coaching staff in the country, and without players it won't make any difference. And right now we don't have the players

Yep. The biggest problem the boo birds and Kraft got us into was that they intentionally flipped the recruiting switch. When James was here, we were a “Program” destination. We had stability and certainty. Now, we are a “Cycle” destination. A recruit and his parents will not be sure if their son will be playing for the same Head Coach that recruited him. We’ve now lost that edge. An edge that takes many years to build, but only one day to blow up.

I hate to break it to you guys, but this may be the best roster we have for many years to come. It was hand picked by Campbell, who picked the 24 best players from his semi-successful P-4 squad, including his All World QB, to restock this team. He won’t have that luxury going forward. Add that to the fact that we blew up our 2026 recruiting class, and our 2027 class appears to be below what we are used to, and you have a recipe for disaster going forward.

Then you have the next Coach, and the next Coach, and the next Coach, and the next,……….and then you have 2040. Hence, to a recruit and his parents, an uncertain “Cycle” destination.

Haste makes waste. We just wasted 11 solid and successful years of Program growth because of three losses, each with at least some level of explanation. If we can’t handle the easiest schedule we’ll have for years to come with this squad of hand picked professionals, I have a hunch you ain’t seen nothing yet.
 
BWI

Latest

  1. 01 BWI Football First Impressions of Penn State's 31-23 loss to USC
  2. 02 BWI Penn State vs. USC Film Review: Lions trying to fix holes, can't exploit weaknesses
  3. 03 BWI Football Latest loss exposes Penn State's difficult reality: Improvement isn't enough
  4. 04 BWI Football How did Penn State's players perform vs. USC? PFF Snap Counts & Grades
  5. 05 BWI Penn State’s Loss to USC: What We Know From the Live Analysis