Penn State head coach James Franklin isn’t worried about making any friends or winning any popularity contests. A couple weeks ago, he dissed in-state rival Pitt by comparing them to Akron after gaining revenge for Pitt’s upset victory over the Nittany Lions last year.

This week Franklin stepped into somewhat controversial waters once again by having the audacity to ice Georgia State’s kicker at the end of the game with a 56-0 lead. Apparently Franklin didn’t appreciate Georgia State trying not to get shutout and responded by calling a timeout at the last second. It worked as the second kick was missed and Penn State’s shutout was preserved.

Franklin tried to brush it off by saying he needed time to get the right players on the field, but his dismissive reaction on the sideline tells the real story of what actually happened.

The coach’s antics haven’t gone unnoticed. And on Monday none other than Mike Francesa came storming out of the gates and destroyed Franklin for the petulant timeout. Francesa called it an “absolute disgrace” among other things.

Regardless of the circumstances, Jim Delany has to love that the Big Ten is getting any air time in New York City, even if it isn’t about “New York’s Big Ten team” in Rutgers.

Francesa is at his best when he’s full of righteous indignation and he has every right to be in this case. That was a pretty low move by Franklin. Just let the kid kick the ball through the uprights so that Georgia State can leave State College with something. What difference does it make to Penn State if they win by 56 or 53 points?

It’s good to see da pope go on an energetic rant like this as he winds down his WFAN contract this fall and go out with a bang. That is, if he is indeed actually leaving the Fan.

[Video via @BackAftaThis]