Penn State Football: Barbour Not Worried Following Rocky 2020 Season

There are a lot of ways to summarize Penn State football’s 2020 season and a lot of reasons why it might have unfolded the way it did.

At this point everything has been beaten to death, but for the 100th rehash: There were injuries and departures, a coaching change, a pandemic, some bad luck, some good opponents, some average quarterback play and a bunch of turnovers.

Maybe new offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca wasn’t quite up for the task, maybe James Franklin was a bit distracted by the absence of his family and the general oddities of the world. Maybe Franklin could have simply done a better job.

The “why” is important, yes, but there’s also something to be said for taking it all in stride.

Which is what Penn State AD Sandy Barbour did on Tuesday when asked to assess the Nittany Lions’ season.

“Certainly the start was concerning, but I think that James and his staff certainly found a lot of answers, and whether it was we found our footing in a pandemic or we actually solved some things schematically or personnel-wise, I think what we saw in the back half of that season is way more indicative of our program,” Barbour said.

“Now, frankly, it’s going to be a different squad in 2021, whether it be through graduation, or leaving for the NFL, or transfers, or other things, and I feel very confident about James’s leadership, where our staff is, and where our young men are right now. I’m looking forward to 2021.”

In short: that sure did escalate quickly, but it’s almost unlikely to be the norm.

And this seems to be the most reasonable way to put a bow on Penn State’s flailing attempt at 2020. It happened, it was bad, and now it’s over.

Penn State will now look towards a slightly more normal 2021 season. While Barbour did indicate that Penn State is hoping to have fans in the stands come September, she was quick to note that how many fans are allowed inside Beaver Stadium is very much a question for the future. Be it just families or 107,000 – somebody will be there.

And the more there are, the better things will likely be going in the rest of the world.

As for the world on the field, Franklin’s partial answer to 2020 – the firing of Ciarrocca and hiring of former Texas offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich – didn’t come without a price tag of its own. Ciarrocca carried with him a buyout on his multiple-year contract and Yurcich’s previous salaries would put him well over a $1 million on Penn State’s books in 2021.

But sometimes spending money is an investment in making more money.

“I think you all know James by now, that he’s constantly evaluating,” Barbour said. “He did a lot of evaluating to make the decision that what was best for the long term success of our football program was to make a change.”

An the long term success of the program under Franklin is unlikely to look like 2020, a good reason to put it in the past. At least for now.