College Football: Hokies Land Former PSU Coach

Maybe Penn State made the right decision.

Maybe it was time for the Nittany Lions and James Franklin to part ways.

Maybe they had gone as far as they could with him as head coach, failing to win a national title.

Maybe they were never going to be on a consistent par with the likes of Ohio State and Michigan under his tutelage.

Maybe the relationships that he had within Nittany Nation, including those with school administrators and athletic director Pat Kraft, had largely grown toxic.

Maybe there was no fixing the problems that were rising on the field and off.

Maybe …

What isn’t a “maybe” is that Virginia Tech just became the big winner in the current “fill the head coach vacancy” cycle by coming to terms with Penn State’s castoff on Monday after stealing the Week 12 show on Saturday with word of “early negotiations” leaking out.

Make no mistake, regardless what rationale a PSU fan or alum uses to justify what went down not just last month, but during Franklin’s entire “unwelcomed” tenure in Happy Valley, he – at worst – is the second-best head coach in the program’s history and he is THE guy who put that program back on the map after the nightmarish, near-hellfire that almost ended its existence a decade and a half ago.

He was the best option available on the market, especially when you consider how preposterous some of the names were being put out there as options: Nick Saban. Urban Meyer, Marcus Freeman, Mike Elko, Matt Rhule, Curt Cignetti – all of whom are happy and well-compensated in their current positions. Frankly, even Lane Kiffin, whose love for playing the game of “will I stay or will I go” may cost him his job at Ole Miss, cannot claim on his resume what Franklin can, regardless of how much LSU and Florida covet him and his trolling expertise.

Franklin has a Power 4 conference title, a College Football Playoff berth, a national semifinal appearance, a 13-win season, and long-term stability as evidenced by his 12-year stay at Penn State

Comically, Franklin wasn’t just the best option available for every other opening outside of Penn State, he was the best option for Penn State, too. The Lions just didn’t want him anymore.

But the Hokies did.

They made him Choice No. 1 from the jump. After relieving Brent Pry, ironically Franklin’s former defensive coordinator at Penn State, from his head coaching duties in September, they barely had a chance to start building a list of candidates before Kraft pulled the plug on Franklin 360 miles away just a few weeks later.

Tech had to pinch itself. Franklin was ideal and familiar.

Not only was he a winner, and a big one at that, at both Penn State and – gasp – Vanderbilt (word to the wise, Clark Lea has been the Commodores’ second savior this century), but he was a superstar assistant coach at ACC rival Maryland a total of eight seasons over two stints and even for a one-year run up the road (Interstate 81) at James Madison.

He recruited the ever-crucial DMV (D.C., Maryland and Virginia) like a madman and showed a gift for teaching, leading and inspiring young men.

Want a hint at how well he connects with his players? Since his firing, Penn State has lost 17 recruits. By comparison, LSU and Florida have lost a combined one after canning Brian Kelly and Billy Napier, respectively.

The fit between Tech and Franklin is almost too good to believe.

With both sides motivated through the roof.

Not only is Franklin pumped to prove Penn State made a mistake, but Tech, with fond memories of the Frank Beamer days refusing to fade, has grown tired of recent failures by its program under Pry and his predecessor, Justin Fuente. So much so that it will be putting almost a quarter billion dollars into Hokies Football over the next four years.

Truth be told, the mind boggles just thinking what Franklin will be able to do with those kinds of funds.

At minimum, expect the balance of ACC power to shift back to Blacksburg in short order and Tech to become nationally relevant again. At best, Franklin probably morphs his and Tech’s ultimate goals into one reality: a national championship.

Maybe?

UNI WATCH

Kinda crazy, but Tennessee’s latest in its Smokey Grey series, the “Volunteer Spirit,” were the uniforms that caught my eyes the most this past weekend … in a good way. Basically, you got charcoal grey helmets (with the orange “T” logo) and pants with black jerseys (orange numerals with charcoal outlining). The nameplates on the back and front of the jerseys were correctly color-coordinated to be charcoal as well. That last part really made my day, going totally against outfitter Nike’s non-color-coordinated norm. Kudos to UT for pulling that off.

Texas A&M in the all-maroon attire with the old-school helmet logo was giving off a serious John Roper era vibe. Thumbs up for that.

Air Force, with goggles on its helmet, was looking like the Iowa Barnstormers during Kurt Warner’s Arena League days. Scrap them.

Notre Dame, just burn the white pants. Please.

GAME OF WEEK 12

Navy 41, South Florida 38. The Midshipmen rebounded from a big loss at Notre Dame the week before to score a victory against the then-24th-ranked Bulls. The teams combined for almost 1,100 yards of offense with each clearing 500. Navy had two 100-yard rushers (Alex Tecza and backup QB Braxton Woodson) and a brilliant 185-yard all-purpose effort by WR Eli Heidenreich. Meanwhile, South Florida QB Byrum Brown was unstoppable, throwing for 327 yards, running for 136 and totaling 4 TDs.

Amazingly, the Middies went up 7-0 thanks to Tecza’s 76-yard TD run early in the first quarter and never surrendered the lead.

NO MORE SUPER JOE

Sadly, UConn seventh-year senior quarterback Joe Fagnano’s season of playing INT-free ball came to an end this past Saturday. Sure, he directed the Huskies to their eighth win this season, a 26-16 victory over visiting Air Force, but pick No. 1 in a rather ho-hum game from him offset the celebration. Fagnano now has 25 TDs and 2,995 yards passing this season to go along with that one aerial miscue.

HEISMAN HYPE

Methinks Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza may have locked up the trophy in getting the Hoosiers to 11-0. In beating Wisconsin, 31-7, he went 22-for-24 passing with 299 yards and 4 touchdowns. He now has 2,641 yards and 30 TDs (against 5 INTs) on the season, completing 73 percent of his attempts. He also has 5 TDs rushing.