Hot mic catches James Franklin asking ‘Are you f****** kidding me’ in celebration

CBS got a little more than it bargained for on Saturday while trying to let viewers into what was being said in a conversation between Penn State coach James Franklin and one of his players.

While USC led for much of the game, the Nittany Lions stayed close. Penn State scored a late touchdown to tie the game. Then, after the Trojans missed a field goal on their first possession of overtime, Penn State’s Ryan Barker nailed a 36-yarder to win the game for the Nittany Lions — much to the chagrin of Colin Cowherd.

Shortly after the game, Franklin was interviewed by CBS field reporter Jenny Dell, who asked Franklin, “How much confidence did you have in Barker out there?”

“A ton,” Franklin said. “A ton. But I’m…”

Franklin then saw Barker walking by him and put his interview on hold to embrace the kicker. Dell then moved her microphone close to the pair and it picked up what Franklin said to his kicker.

“Are you kidding me? Huh? F****** awesome,” the coach said.

“Are you kidding me? Huh? Fucking awesome.”

Penn State coach James Franklin to kicker Ryan Barker after Barker kicked the game-winning field goal against USC. pic.twitter.com/GbhJTtpGJw

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 12, 2024

This is slightly different from a few recent hot mic moments. Los Angeles Dodgers star Kiké Hernández clearly knew what he was doing in his interview after Game 5 of the NLDS against the San Diego Padres. Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia was certainly excited and caught up in the moment after leading his team to a win over Alabama but like Hernández, his comment came during the interview. Franklin, meanwhile, actually stepped away from his interview. In fact, this was probably only heard because Dell put the microphone there.

In doing so, she captured quite a raw moment between player and coach.

[Photo Credit: CBS]