Northwestern coach fires back at James Franklin comment about fans

It’s fair to say that Penn State’s Week 5 matchup against the Northwestern Wildcats ended up being more interesting than anyone expected. On the field, the Nittany Lions took the best shot from one of the worst teams in the Big Ten during the first 30 minutes of play. Off the field, brutally honest comments from Penn State football coach James Franklin regarding the atmosphere at Ryan Field made waves across the college football world earlier in the week. Franklin’s comments about the Wildcat fans went unanswered until after Saturday’s game, when Northwestern coach David Braun had a fiery response for the Penn State football program.

James Franklin comments on Northwestern crowd go viral

Going into last week, it was clear that the matchup at Northwestern would be much different for Penn State football from the week prior. After playing in front of the second-largest crowd in Beaver Stadium history, the Nittany Lions traveled to Ryan Field, which currently has the lowest attendance rate in the Big Ten this year.

Leading up to Saturday’s game, Penn State football coach James Franklin was direct about the challenge playing in that type of environment could pose one week removed from an emotional White Out win. The full context of Franklin’s quote during post-practice media availability on Wednesday focused on preparation and intrinsic motivation. However, it was his comments about the lack of crowd noise at Northwestern that went viral.

“For me to act like it’s not a factor? It is,” Franklin said of the lack of noise. “We haven’t had any music…They were asking me to turn it [the music] up today. And I said, ‘No.’ It’s just little things like that.”

Northwestern coach David Braun fires back at Franklin’s comments after Saturday’s game

Early in the game Saturday, it looked like Franklin’s comments may come back to haunt the Nittany Lions. Early fumbles stalled the Penn State offense. Penn State went into the half tied at 10 before outscoring Northwestern by 28 points en route to a 41-13 win.

Following the win, James Franklin spoke highly of Northwestern and the Wildcats’ plan on the field. “That win they had last week, they used that momentum and that confidence from that 21-point comeback and really had a nice plan for us, and played well early in the game,” Franklin said in his opening remarks during post-game media.

Elsewhere in the bowels of Ryan Field, we got to hear from Northwestern coach David Braun and his perspective on Franklin’s comments for the first time. When asked about the quote from Franklin earlier in the week, Braun’s response was equal parts fiery and proud.

Braun has talked a lot about letting his competitive fire show to the team and the fans more often since Duke.

I think that was on full display in the postgame press conference after @davidgoldINU asked him about James Franklin’s practice methods this week. pic.twitter.com/nzyFlBJMuP

— Matthew Shelton (@M_Shelton33) September 30, 2023

“Do we know when Penn State returns to Evanston, to Ryan Field?” Braun responded. “I saw a group in the student section. Maybe not right there at 11:00, but as the game wore on, I saw a student section that started to show up. I saw a group of energized fans in that first half. And I see a football program that’s trending in the right direction. New stadium on the way. A lot of awesome stuff to get behind.”

Braun finished his remarks on the issue with a shot back at James Franklin, noting, “I look forward to inviting Coach Franklin and Penn State back into Ryan Field, and seeing what type of environment we can create for him next time he’s here.”

Undoubtedly, the comments from interim coach David Braun will make for interesting fodder the next time Penn State football travels to Evanston. But in the more immediate future, the Nittany Lions enjoy a bye this week before returning to action against UMass on October 14.

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