James Franklin confronts detractors for ‘taking winning for granted’ at Penn State

James Franklin has been all over the headlines in the last month, but not always for what his Penn State football program has done on the field. From non-conference scheduling to the media quoting him out of context, Franklin has been outspoken on several topics beyond the eight wins and one loss for his Nittany Lions this season. The current issue that the Penn State football coach has spoken about candidly in recent days: enjoying winning. After firing back at critics when discussing the subject earlier this week, Franklin was at it again following Penn State’s 51-15 win over Maryland, confronting detractors for “taking winning for granted.”

James Franklin won’t apologize for winning

It sounds silly to say that the importance of winning has taken on a new emphasis around Penn State football lately. But it has. And James Franklin has been thrusted into the spotlight of that discussion.

This storyline started after the 20-12 loss at Ohio State. Franklin was questioned as to how much accountability he should take for Penn State’s poor record against top teams during his tenure.

The discussion bled into last week following a near-upset against Indiana. In an emphatic response when asked about the Nittany Lions’ struggles on Wednesday, Franklin expressed his belief that some around the Penn State football program get “overly concerned” when the team doesn’t always win in dominating fashion.

“It’s a long season; you’re not going to dominate every single week,” Franklin said in part. “You’ve got to find ways to win however you do it…But when we don’t play as well as people think we should, and still win. I’m not going to apologize for winning.”

Franklin believes some in the media take “winning for granted” at Penn State

Evidently, James Franklin wasn’t done sharing his thoughts on the value of winning. Following the Nittany Lions’ dominant 51-15 win over Maryland on Saturday, Franklin was asked about winning on Penn State’s terms compared to the Indiana game, where the team was pushed to the brink.

The Penn State football coach again fired back at the notion, emphasizing that some of his detractors may have lost sight of how difficult it is to win in college football.

“I guess I disagree with that,” Franklin said in response to the question after the Maryland game. “I get we’re all just totally focused on us. But you look at the scoreboard, you look at games, there are people battling and losing games they’re not supposed to lose. Or battling with people every single week. We’re just totally focused on Penn State, I get that. But at the end of the day, it’s a long season. You got to find a way to get wins. You got to find a way to get wins.”

“We got a win last week. We built on it. We got better,” he continued. “We got better this week. I think that’s something that’s really important. We’ve won a decent amount. Not as much as what everybody wants, I get that. But I also think we’ve taken winning for granted a little bit. We win games, and you come in the press conference, and it doesn’t necessarily feel like that.”

Penn State wants to savor the Maryland win before moving on to the next test

But James Franklin wasn’t done there. A frustrated Franklin struck a similar tone to his comments earlier in the week as he continued, reiterating the importance of recognizing and enjoying each win.

“I want to make sure the things I can control,” Franklin stated. “I can’t control the press conference; I can’t control outside of the press conference. But I can control the Lasch Building. And I want people feeling good after wins. That doesn’t mean we don’t have things to correct and, learn from and get better. But I want to feel good for wins, because they’re hard to get.”

“And there are examples that you guys could use as well, every week of people that don’t win the way they’re supposed to win, or don’t win at all,” he continued. “So, that’s what I’d like to do. I’d like to be happy for 15 minutes and then and then get on to the next opponent.”

While Franklin stresses that all wins need to be valued, a victory this week would likely be cherished a little more. Penn State battles for its College Football Playoff hopes Saturday when it takes on Michigan inside Beaver Stadium at noon.

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