This is Year No. 8 and School No. 3 for James Franklin and John Donovan working side by side on the offensive side of the ball.
And, on average, their offenses have rarely been as good as average – at least not statistically.
So, in that context, the Nittany Lions’ lackluster offensive performance – just 18 points per game since playing Ohio State last year — shouldn’t be all that surprising.
Should fans expect drastic change? The numbers say no.
Historically, no matter what the circumstance, offensive innovation that has translated into big stats or big points has not been Franklin and Donovan’s stock in trade.
From 2008-10, Franklin was associate head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterback coach at Maryland, while Donovan was the running backs coach.
In 2011-13, the pair moved to Vanderbilt, where Franklin was head coach and Donovan was offensive coordinator, as the pair used a good amount of prestidigitation to pull wins in the SEC out of thin air.
And they’ve been together for the past 14 games and 21 months at Penn State, where Franklin is head coach and Donovan is offensive coordinator and tight ends coach.
Admittedly, they’ve been in some tough situations. Vandy was a Southeastern Conference bottom-feeder that they willed to 24-15, with help from a Shoop-utopian defense. Maryland went from 9-4 to 2-10 to 8-5 as the turmoil of a change at athletic director and a coach-in-waiting situation with Franklin caused some tension. And Penn State is still faced with myriad problems stemming directly from the NCAA sanctions. Overall, from 2008-2015, the James & John Show has been saddled with, and been responsible for, teams that have been a combined 50-41.
So, whether their quarterback has been Danny O’Brien, Jordan Rodgers or Christian Hackenberg, their offenses have consistently ranked in the bottom half of college football. Or worse.
True, Penn State’s offending performance against Temple was an anomaly. But, in other ways it was not that much of an outlier.
Not counting Saturday’s game, when the Nittany Lions scored 10 points in the first quarter – their biggest opening-quarter offensive showing of the Franklin Era – Franklin and Donovan, in tandem, have traditionally guided offenses that have annually ranked in the lower quarter of all major college offenses.
In the seven seasons from 2008-14, Franklin’s offenses have had an average national rank for total offense – the core barometer of a balanced, successful attack — of 90th. That’s among the 125 or so FBS teams.
Broken down further, the offenses directed by Franklin and Donovan have not fared much better. Since 2008, their squads have averaged a national ranking of No. 80 in rushing offense, 71 in passing and 71 in scoring. That’s the average. Only once, in seven years across four categories, has one of their offenses ranked in the Top 50 in at least one of the key categories. That was in 2010, when the Terps’ offense ranked No. 29 in the country in scoring.
THE OFFENSIVE NUMBERS
Here’s a breakdown, year-by-year:
Maryland, 2008 (8-5): Franklin – OC, QB, AHC; Donovan – RB. Total offense – 68th; rushing – 61st; passing – 64th; scoring – 92nd.
Maryland, 2009 (2-10): Franklin – OC, QB, AHC; Donovan – RB. Total offense – 102nd; rushing – 105th; passing – 68th; scoring – 98th.
Maryland, 2010 (9-4): Franklin – OC, QB, AHC; Donovan – RB. Total offense – 80th; rushing – 82nd; passing – 65th; scoring – 29th.
Vanderbilt, 2011 (6-7): Franklin – HC; Donovan, OC, RB. Total offense – 98th; rushing – 47th; passing – 97th; scoring – 61st.
Vanderbilt, 2012 (9-4): Franklin – HC; Donovan, OC, RB. Total offense – 80th; rushing – 57th; passing – 80th; scoring – 55th.
Vanderbilt, 2013 (9-4): Franklin – HC; Donovan, OC, RB. Total offense – 93rd; rushing – 92nd; passing – 67th; scoring – 56th.
Penn State, 2014 (7-6): Franklin – HC; Donovan, OC, TE. Total offense – 111th; rushing – 117th; passing – 61st; scoring – 110th.
Average, 2008-14: Total offense – 90th; rushing – 80th; passing – 71st; scoring – 71st.
There may yet be hope.
On Wednesday, Franklin said he was going to get more involved in the Nittany Lion offense. What that entails exactly, he didn’t say.
But perhaps Franklin will reach back to nearly a decade ago, when in 2007 he was the play-caller and quarterback coach for Kansas State. With Franklin as OC, future NFLer Josh Freeman at quarterback and current Penn State QB coach Ricky Rahne serving as a K-State grad assistant, Kansas State had a darn good offense.
They were ranked No. 40 in the nation, including 21st in passing and 18th in scoring. There was one big problem, though. The Wildcats finished the season with a 5-7 record.
