'We Have to Own This Season'

Penn State held its first Victory Monday team dinner of the year after beating Michigan, an affair that included ribs, crab legs and evidently some pretty good milkshakes.

"It was sensational," linebacker Jesse Luketa said. "I enjoyed those milkshakes. I had to take two to go."

The Lions' 27-17 win over Michigan required a celebration, no matter how distanced and protocoled it needed to be, which players and coaches alike enjoyed. The 2020 season has worn on Penn State for a variety of reasons, the most front-facing being its 1-5 record.

Coach James Franklin has said he won't use COVID-19 protocols or injuries or unconventional training methods as reasons for the team's record. Yet Franklin also acknowledged that external reactions to this haywire season have had an impact, considering all those forces.

Last week, Franklin told the players and their parents that, "We have to own this season," which included Penn State's first 0-5 record in school history. But he quickly sought to contextualize the year, particularly for fans who see only the record.

"We have to own it, but this is not the totality of who we are," Franklin said. "The Cotton Bowl champions, we're that, too. The Fiesta Bowl champions, we're that, too, the Big Ten champions. ... For me, I just try to keep the big picture in mind as much as I possibly can. But for me to sit here and say that my staff and my players aren't aware of it, that it doesn't have an impact? Yes, yes it does."

Franklin has admitted to having an occasional weakness for allowing negative reactions to fester, so he tries to limit them from his field of vision. He knows that the weekly Sunday tweet of Penn State's next opponent will produce a thread of snark, particularly this year. So Franklin mostly has a staff member handle his social media.

Likewise the incoming letters and email, which his assistant filters for the positive correspondence. They're certainly plentiful. But so are the negatives.

After the win over Michigan, Franklin thanked fans not only for their "suggestions" on how to improve the team but also for lining the airport fence to send off the team positively before its flight to Michigan.

"The reality is, that's been the way it has been for six years," Franklin said. "When we lost a game, there's anger. We've won 11 games three out of the last four years and nine games the other season. And when we have lost a game, there has been anger. That's the nature of college football and sports. I wish it wasn't."

Franklin said he wished he could show more positive reactions publicly after wins, but his style is to remain consistent. He even worries about post-game handshakes with opposing coaches after victories, trying not to embarrass or upstage them.

But the longer he coaches, Franklin realizes that the losses have grown more difficult. Particularly this season, when it took six weeks for Penn State to celebrate its first victory.

Things certainly could go sideways again this week, if Penn State loses to Rutgers for the first time since 1988 and just the third time ever. In the meantime, Franklin will continue reminding fans about context.

"In this profession, in this game, it can change quick," he said. "You can win for four seasons at a level as high as anybody in the country and then during the season, that's been challenging on our world and a year that's been challenging our world, it can change quickly. For me to sit here and say that's not hard, that's hard."

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