It was barely past 8:15 on the Friday morning before the Rose Bowl when James Franklin let it slip.
But no one noticed.
The second-floor ballroom of The LA Hotel Downtown was packed full of round tables, reporters, cameras and drowsy Penn State football players and coaches.
It was Penn State Media Day. Actually, it lasted 23 hours less than a day.
Still, for 60 minutes reporters from back east and TV people from Hollywood interviewed, poked and prodded Franklin, his players and his coaches, seeking an angle heretofore undiscovered on the Nittany Lions’ nine-straight-victory march to Pasadena.
Franklin occupied a booth in the back of the room and, to be honest, there weren’t more than a half-dozen or so media types there, grilling James. The large contingent of Penn State beat reporters was searching for folks who weren’t usually available, like true freshmen and authentic assistant coaches.
As a result, Franklin’s comments the morning of the penultimate day of the year slid under the wire. The transcript from that morning shows he was asked 18 questions and gave over 3,000 words worth of answers.
Yet, his biggest bon mot of the morning went undiscovered. At least by me, until the next day when I was reviewing the set of printed Q&A’s provided by the Rose Bowl PR folks. That’s when I found it:
The stat of the century – or at least the century as it went back to 2005, especially as it pertained to Penn State football and its emergence from the Dark Ages and its corresponding rise to 11-2 seasons and the Rose Bowl, followed by a deep sanction-fueled fall and, finally, the clawing return from the ashes and a triumphant return to face, again, the Trojans. (Who had undergone their own rebirth.)
Only thing was, it was revealed – in stunning context, compared to the rest of college football – that the fall never really happened. Not The Fall. Not like folks thought it would. Or that the NCAA hoped it would.
A DOZEN
Franklin bungled the number at first. But when he finally put it out there, it was a diamond among the usual media-day lumps of coal. No wonder, since it had taken a dozen years of never-seen-before pressure to emerge as the crown jewel of Penn State’s supposed demise and definite renaissance.
The question was about overcoming the sanctions. Franklin’s answer was about the resiliency of a university, of several head coaches, of dozens of assistants and staffers, of hundreds of players and thousands of fans.
The crux of the answer, 1,115 words into that 3,317-word transcript, was this:
“I also think it speaks about what Penn State is,” said Franklin, “because very few programs could survive what we’ve been able to work through and be able to be back so quickly.
“You’re also talking…I think we’re one of only 12 programs — excuse me, five programs — in the country that have had 12 seasons in a row without a losing season. You know? That’s through what we went through. I’m really proud, I’m really proud of our players. I’m really proud of our coaches and our community.”
There have been more than five, actually. More like eight over the past dozen seasons. And that includes Penn State. As in:
11-1, 9-4, 9-4, 11-2, 11-2, 7-6, 9-4, 8-4, 7-5, 7-6, 7-6 and then, 11-2 heading into the Rose Bowl. By the hair of James’ 31-30 Pinstripping OT win over BC chinny chin chin.
IF…
The turmoil off the field during a good – and bad – part of that time was one thing. But on the field? As the Brit Rudyard Kipling put it in 1895 and then that Patriot Tom Brady punctuated just the other day:
“If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you…”
Well, you get the gist of it.
Bottom-line, Penn State emerged from four years, three losing seasons, a 22-26 record and a should-Joe-retire conundrum that lasted almost a half-decade – and more – to win 40 games in four years, before getting sucked into a maelstrom of scandal and sanctions. Only to have OB and CJF do better than the OK that is .500.
And, despite all that, never having a losing season in a 12-year period. It is a record of achievement – no losing seasons from 2005 to 2016 – matched only by a few other teams in major college football.
Not Ohio State (6-7 in 2011). Not Michigan (3-9, 5-7 and 5-7 under Rich Rod and Hoke). Not Iowa, Nebraska or Michigan State (MSU has had four losing skeins in the past 12 seasons, including 3-9 n 2016).
Not Alabama (6-7 in 2006, under Mike Shula). Not Notre Dame (3-9 in 2007 under Charlie Weis and 4-8 in 2016 under Brian Kelly).
Not Georgia (6-7 in 1010) or Florida (4-8 in 2013).
Not Pitt (with a 6-7, a 6-7, another 6-7, a 5-7 and a 5-6). Or Maryland (six losing seasons) or Rutgers (four sub-.500’s).
DRUMROLL, PLEASE
Only Penn State and…
…LSU. USC. Wisconsin. Oklahoma. Virginia Tech. And Florida State.
Among non-Power Five schools, you can throw in Boise State. But that’s it. (Technically, you can include BYU, which was 6-6 in 2005, and has had winning records ever since.)
Florida State’s streak is the longest. The Seminoles’ last losing season was back in 1976, when they went 5-6 in Bobby Bowden’s first season.
That’s amazing. But, Penn State’s may be the most impressive. Because, perhaps, no really noticed it back in that L.A. ballroom on Dec. 30.
