Blue White Illustrated

SUDDEN-CHANGE SITUATIONS The Lions haven't lost often in recent years, but when they have, the disappointment has lingered ictory was within reach against a top-10 opponent. It was the fourth quarter, and James Franklin's team was up by more than a touchdown. Then it all fell apart. Defeat came abruptly. It was sudden, and it stung. And the sting didn't just go away. The following week, Franklin's team came out flat, prompting speculation that the disheartening loss had carried an aftereffect. "I didn't think we started out the first quarter with the same type of speed and aggression that we've played with all year long," he acknowledged, "and that lingered into the second quarter a little bit." They fought back, and that's never a question with teams coached by Franklin. They do play hard. The come- back bid, however, fell short, and Van- derbilt lost to Florida, 26-21. The year was 2011, and Franklin was halfway through his first season with the Com- modores. After pushing No. 8 Arkansas to the brink the week before in a 31-28 loss, the fiery young head coach was starting to gain attention around the country as he was lifting Vandy from the ashes to legitimately compete against the nation's best. It also might have revealed the start of something else, something that no one saw com- ing. Following back-to-back losses earlier this month at home to Ohio State and Michigan State, there is a worrisome trend here that has continued at Penn State. Simply put, Franklin's teams don't play well after a loss, especially when that loss comes suddenly and abruptly, and the numbers are there for evidence. The Nittany Lions have now lost con- secutive games in four of five seasons under Franklin. Dating back to that first year with Vandy, he has lost at least two games in a row during six of his eight years as a head coach. In the only season at PSU in which he didn't (2016), the Lions found themselves in a one-possession dogfight against Tem- ple one week after a 3- point loss at Pittsburgh. That's the thing, too: Every one of the first losses that breaks the ice is a heartbreaker and the pain hangs over. No one suspected that the Arkansas game in 2011 might turn out to be a har- binger of what was to come, but the similarities and patterns make it too hard to ignore. Even the postgame comments years later overlap. "We're not going to make these mistakes much longer," Franklin said after that loss on Oct. 29, 2011. "I can guarantee you that." The following week in his press con- ference after the loss to the Gators, he stressed the importance of "finishing" and emphasized how small "the margin of error" is between victory and defeat. He's still saying those things. "We've got to be able to finish," he said after Penn State allowed a deciding touchdown to Michigan State with 19 seconds left in the game Oct. 13. "Our margin of error is small." His point holds true. The Nittany Lions' five losses dating back to the Rose Bowl against Southern California have been by a combined 12 points. Solace can be found in the minor scoring differen- tial, but the realization should be that too often these losses are occurring in pairs. Of the 34 losses in Franklin's ca- reer, 21 have come in consecutive fash- ion. But why? That's what I'm trying to figure out. Following the 21-17 loss to the Spar- tans, Franklin was the only one who even mentioned the possibility of a car- ryover from the game against the Buck- eyes two weeks before. "After seeing the results, the first thing you question is, did we get over the loss from the previous game?" he said. "Obviously, you're going to question that. I didn't see signs of that during the week, during our preparation, but let's be honest. That was an emotional game, so I think we need to question that." So I asked around to some of his upperclassmen after the game if they had no- ticed anything different, or if these tough losses can be hard to get over. They said they didn't see any warning signs. "There weren't any red flags," quar- terback Trace McSorley told me. "No loss hurts more than the other," safety Nick Scott said. "No win is greater than the other, just because that's the style of our team. We remain even-keeled." Said defensive end Shareef Miller, "Get better from it and move on." They're saying the right things, living by the 1-0 weekly mantra, but maybe the unknown reasoning behind it is the JUDGMENT CALL V The old football cliche warns against letting one team beat you twice. That's a trend that Franklin will have to reverse if Penn State is going to achieve the goals he has laid out for the program.

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