Paul Finebaum dismisses James Franklin as ‘big-time coach’: ‘He does the same thing every time’

Despite forcing overtime after trailing 17-3 in the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s game against Oregon, Penn State once again fell short in a marquee matchup against a top college football team. In the aftermath of the game, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum believes it’s hard to take Penn State’s James Franklin seriously as one of the sport’s best coaches.

Franklin discussed the game and Penn State in general on The Matt Barrie Show on Sunday.

“There’s not much emotion in talking about James Franklin anymore, Matt, because it’s become so repetitive,” Finebaum said. “And how many times are we going to hear him say, ‘Yeah, I mean, this was our chance.’ I mean, it’s just, it’s unreal. And I think Oregon, is a really, really outstanding team and their quarterback play is elite. OK, that’s pretty much the every year conversation, but you marked the game with the whiteout. This is your moment. And if you’re going to be taken seriously, you have to deliver.

“I say this with no emotion and with no glee, but it’s getting really difficult to take James Franklin seriously anymore as a big-time coach because he does the same thing every time,” Finebaum continued. “He manages, or his team manages under him to blow up the big game. It’s a terrible narrative. But as he said, it’s fact.”

“And Matt, at this point, Penn State will lose to Ohio State. I don’t hear any dissent. And they’re going to have a 10-2 record. And why in the world do they deserve to be in the playoff? They do not deserve to be in the playoffs if they’re 10-2. I think they have Indiana on the schedule, so we’ll give them half an effort. But the rest, I mean, their schedule’s terrible. Even in the Big Ten, I think they have UCLA and Northwestern and who knows who else cares? So don’t, don’t waste any time trying to convince me of that.