Why does Feleipe Franks get criticized when Joe Burrow doesn't?
LSU and Florida have both won close contests so far this season. At the end of LSU's win against Texas, quarterback Joe Burrow did this.
At the end of Florida's win against Miami, Feleipe Franks did this.
I get it. Franks threw an interception the next drive that could have lost Florida the game. The timing of the whole thing was a bad look. But was it deserving of this?
“I was so excited to watch Feleipe Franks against Miami and I saw same old Feleipe Franks,” ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit said. "So much for maturity. So much for showing he’s the CEO of that team and that offense. He showed a lack of that even worse against Miami than he showed all of last year."
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To be fair, Herbstreit said this the week after the Miami game on College Gameday. LSU's win over Texas was this past Saturday, so we can't assume he will not mention Burrow's antics. However, on the broadcast his description for the LSU QB was “he’s just wired differently” and also the simple fact that the Tigers jumped up to the No. 4 spot on ESPN's weekly rankings tells me that that crew does not have the same distaste for the goodbye wave.
This is absurd.
Herbstreit and others need to remember a date: Oct. 6, 2018. On that day, Feleipe Franks and Joe Burrow played head-to-head for the first, and until Oct. 12 this season, the only time in their careers. If you don't remember how that played out, allow me to refresh your memory.
In a back-and-forth, largely defensive and ground attack affair, neither QB posted gaudy numbers that day. However, Franks helped the Gators more than Burrow helped the Tigers and there is no getting around that.
Burrow was 19-34 for 192 yards passing. He did not throw or run for a single touchdown. Franks went 12-27 for 161 yards passing. However Franks did throw a touchdown, and he also rushed the ball six times and got 42 yards out of it, averaging 7 yards per carry and let's not forget his 15-yard reception off of a trick play.
Let's also not forget the most important part about this entire thing: Burrow threw two interceptions with less than two minutes to go, one returned for a touchdown, to lose it for the Tigers when they had a real shot to take the lead.
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Herbstreit also said, "If Florida ever wants to ever get serious about winning the SEC East, their leader and their quarterback needs to show maturity or they’ve got no chance of challenging anybody in the East."
Neither team has played an in-conference game yet. To crown Burrow as a world-beater and Franks as a guy you can't challenge for the SEC East with is absurd. In fact, let's get bigger than the head-to-head game, let's look at the entire season, there is a very legitimate argument that Franks was better than Burrow.
Franks had a better completion percentage (58.4) than Burrow (57.4). His touchdown-interception ratio embarrassed Burrow's, as Franks was 23-6 while Burrow was 12-4. I get it. Franks was awful in all three losses last season for the Gators. Kentucky, Georgia and especially Missouri were all horrible looks for him. But you can't tell me a guy that threw for almost half the touchdowns is head-and-shoulder better than him.
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This piece is not meant to argue that Franks is better than Burrow. You can decide that on your own. This piece is to argue that even if you think Burrow is better, to argue that he is so much better that his antics are acceptable and Franks's are not is ridiculous. They are comparable enough that you have to pick one. You are either fine with both acting this way or you are not.
So, if you are someone that criticizes Franks seemingly for his every move, and you didn't think twice about Burrow's wave goodbye, be better. Please, be better.
