Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1541276
5 2 D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M E D I T O R I A L MATT HERB MATT.HERB@ON3.COM VARSITY VIEWS A fter all the angry shouting, both online and in real life, it was good to hear someone express an em- pathetic viewpoint following James Franklin's dismissal in mid-October as Penn State's head football coach. Unsurprisingly, that viewpoint came from super senior center Nick Dawkins. "Ultimately, as players, there's an overwhelming sense of guilt," Dawkins said on a conference call with reporters two days after Franklin's exit. "It's like we got our coach fired. We didn't play well enough. We didn't do our job good enough, and now he doesn't have a job anymore. … It's just a new sense of own- ership, responsibility." The recipient of last year's Wuerffel Trophy, which salutes community ser- vice and leadership on and off the field, Dawkins has been a thoughtful and com- pelling representative of Penn State's football program at every turn. That Penn State trusted him to speak to the media even before the shock of Franklin's firing had fully subsided says a lot about the high regard that people in the Lasch Building have for him. And on this particular issue, an em- pathetic viewpoint is entirely appro- priate. Because while there's plenty of blame to go around for this historically disappointing football season, the Lions haven't just been beset by bad perfor- mances and bad coaching decisions. They've also had some really bad luck. Think back to the Big Ten opener against Oregon. Recall the replay re- versal that undid a long fumble return by redshirt senior safety Zakee Wheat- ley, a decision that was made during a commercial break and led directly to an Oregon touchdown. A different replay crew might have let the ruling on the field stand, given that the video evidence certainly looked inconclusive. This crew didn't. Remember, too, that Oregon quar- terback Dante Moore later fumbled in overtime with Penn State leading by a touchdown. A PSU recovery would have clinched a victory, but the ball didn't roll anywhere near any Nittany Lion defend- ers. Instead, it landed at Moore's feet, allowing him to fall on it and keep the possession alive. The worst piece of bad luck to befall Penn State occurred a few days after the Lions' 30-24 double-overtime loss to the Ducks. When junior linebacker Tony Rojas suffered a season-ending injury in practice, it was a Tomahawk missile strike to the Nittany Lions' most vulner- able area. Prior to Rojas' injury, Penn State was surrendering 119.5 yards per game on the ground. That number was compiled primarily against inferior nonconference competition, but the Lions also kept Or- egon within reach even though their own offense was floundering throughout the first three quarters. A week later against UCLA, everything was different. While Penn State had held the Ducks to a field goal through the first 41 minutes of action, the Bruins had 10 points before PSU even touched the ball on offense, and 27 points by halftime. UCLA had been fielding one of the country's worst offenses prior to Penn State's arrival in the Rose Bowl, but quarterback Nico Iamaleava carved up the Lions' defense, finding vast stretches of open space in the middle of the field and rushing for 128 yards and 3 touchdowns to go with 166 passing yards and 2 scoring tosses in a 42-37 upset. Penn State hasn't won a game since, and its defensive struggles have been a big reason for its collapse. Through nine games, the Nittany Lions were ranked 89th in the country against the run, al- lowing 153.7 yards per game. One could argue that a single injury to a non-quarterback shouldn't have the kind of domino effect that transforms a supposed national championship contender into one of the worst teams in its conference. Fair point. Depth is a necessary part of any realistic national championship bid. If the Nittany Lions were so thin at linebacker that they had no answers when Rojas went down, they were never worthy of a top-five national ranking to begin with. Of course, the Lions did end up los- ing their quarterback, too. Injuries to QBs can be season-crushing just be- cause of the nature of the position. The loss of senior Drew Allar was another piece of supremely bad luck, though it must be noted that the Lions were already out of the championship pic- ture by the time he went down with an ankle injury late in the game against Northwestern while fighting for extra yards on a scramble. There are still a few games to play this year, but for entirely understandable reasons, Nittany Nation seems to have already turned its attention to 2026 and beyond. Whoever ends up succeeding Franklin, whether it's Mike Elko of Texas A&M or Kalen DeBoer of Alabama or Eli Drinkwitz of Missouri or someone we haven't even considered yet, that coach will have to hope Penn State has some karmic payback coming its way in 2026. Because if not for bad luck, PSU wouldn't have had any at all this season. ■ The Nittany Lions' Luck Ran Out In 2025 The loss of linebacker Tony Rojas to a season-ending injury in late September has proved difficult to overcome. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL