James Franklin on 100th win at Penn State: ‘It’s all about the players’

Saturday was steeped in history for Penn State football as the Nittany Lions dismantled SMU in the opening round of the 2024 College Football Playoff.

The 38-10 victory checks off multiple firsts for the Nittany Lions, becoming the program’s first playoff win in the first postseason game played at Beaver Stadium. On the backs of a stifling defensive performance, Penn State punched its ticket to the CFP Quarterfinal and the school’s eighth Fiesta Bowl appearance ever.

But Saturday was also a milestone day in the career of James Franklin, who earned his 100th win as Penn State football coach. Franklin joins the exclusive club of Rip Engle (104) and Joe Paterno (409) as the only other Nittany Lions coaches to reach triple-digit wins.

“It’s all about the players, staff,” Franklin says following 100th win at Penn State football

But in the grand scheme of it all, the historic number of win means very little to Franklin. In an emotional locker speech and in his postgame press conference, the 11th-year head coach explained his true motivation.

This is what playing at Penn State is all about.#WeAre x @CoachJFranklin pic.twitter.com/tg68VRhYB0

— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) December 22, 2024

“I can remember in training camp just talking to the guys that I wanted these types of moments for them,” Franklin told reporters after the game. “I want them to experience what it’s like to win a Big Ten Championship and play in that type of game and in that stadium and in that environment. Obviously, talk about battling like everybody in the country to try to either get a bye in week one or a home game; we were able to do that.

“To watch Sal [Wormley] leaving the field today like he was taking the moment in. It was his last game at Beaver Stadium. He’s played here for nine, 10, 11 years, however long he’s been here, and he didn’t want to leave the field. Not an emotional guy; he’s emotional [today]. It’s emotional for all of us.

“A lot of college coaches I saw this week talking about [how] this is a four-game season. It’s not. It’s a one-game season with an average of 65 plays on offense, 65 plays on defense, and 20 plays on special teams, and how you value those reps and how you prepare for those reps would give you an opportunity to play again. We’re in a one-game season, and we just extended our season one more game: 65 more plays.

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“I think we’ve have 10 days or whatever it may be, and every one of them is like gold. Not only that, I also want them to get some time with their families for Christmas. You’re trying to balance all of those things. These guys are going through it for the first time, even for the vets. Depending on what bowl game we played in, depending on the time of the year, another New Year’s Six game, we played in a bunch of them. Dramatic pause just so everybody can take that in. We played in a bunch of them. My family, we’re used to spending Christmas in hotels. Not everybody is.

“We’ve got to do whatever we’ve got to do to put ourselves in the best position to win this game, but I also want to be respectful and thoughtful of these guys’ families and the holidays as well, and we’ve got a good plan for that. I appreciate you bringing up the 100 wins and all that kind of stuff, but to me, I’m at a point in my career, it’s all about the players. It’s all about the players, the staff. It’s cool: Terry Smith has been there for every single one of them. Chuck Losey, every single one of them. So cool.”

Penn State football now prepares to face Boise State on December 31. Franklin is already 1-0 in the Valley of the Sun, defeating Washington 35-28 in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl.

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