In the grand scheme of things, this one didn’t mean anything. Penn State said as much on Tuesday, when it locked up James Franklin for 10 more years even though his team had dropped nine games in the previous 12-plus months.
Win, lose or tie, the Nittany Lions’ coaching future was set long before they kicked off one of the snowier games you’ll see against yet another ranked opponent, their sixth of the year. So, considering the outcome wouldn’t really affect anything other than which lower-tiered bowl destination was in Penn State’s future, there was no reason for anyone to get too worked up about the result, right?
Well …
Once again, this flawed but feisty team did just enough to make you believe the game was in its grasp while simultaneously failing to get out of its own way at just about every crucial juncture.
