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James Franklin has no idea who (or where) Penn State is playing this weekend
For the umpteenth week running, the college football headlines are all about who will be the next head football coach at USC. On Tuesday, two of the biggest names currently attached to the job—Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and Penn State head coach James Franklin—took to the podium to address the rumors. One of them did so with fire and conviction …
… the other, um, not so much.
After an embarrassing home defeat to 24-point dogs Illinois on Saturday, Franklin was asked about his commitment to Penn State at his weekly press conference. With a HUGE tilt against 5th-ranked Ohio State on the schedule, Franklin meant to say his focus was entirely on that big-time Big Ten rivalry … but couldn’t even get the team right.
"My focus is completely on Illinois, and this team, and this program," Franklin told reporters. "I think I've shown over my 8 years my commitment to this university and this community. And that's kind of my statement."
Yikes. If that doesn't sound like a man in the middle of updating his cover letter, we don't know what does. But just wait, it gets worse.
As we all know, the Ohio State Buckeyes play in a little place called The Horseshoe. They’d rather dissolve the program than call The Big House home. Franklin should know better. Franklin does know better. But if the multi-million-dollar question is whether or not he’s distracted by the USC rumors, well, this seems to be the multi-million-dollar answer.