Penn State's James Franklin 'disappointed' that Big Ten schedule comments were misinterpreted

When James Franklin made vague references Tuesday to an unidentified Big Ten team buying out game contracts with nonconference opponents, many speculated which conference rivals the Penn State football coach had in mind.

Michigan was a commonly identified culprit, given some of its scheduling activity the past several years. But guesses ventured beyond the Wolverines, with many Big Ten fans openly wondering and theorizing what team Franklin was referring to.

On Wednesday, at the start of a post-practice media session with reporters, Franklin lamented how he felt his comments were misconstrued, noting multiple times that it was “frustrating” and “disappointing.”

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"Anybody that watched the entire interview, or anybody who read the whole transcript, I was actually complimenting the schools from a scheduling perspective,” Franklin said. “It's what we've been doing. Even in the question that was asked to me, that’s what was said. I know every fan base and different school is looking for a reason to get angry and get mad and get motivated or something, but that to me is disappointing when real media members grab a partial quote and use it out of context. That’s frustrating and disappointing.”

What did James Franklin say in press conference?

The comment in question came at Franklin’s weekly news conference on Tuesday, when the 10th-year Nittany Lions coach was asked how nonconference scheduling philosophies might change with the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams. The question referenced a quote Franklin made after the 63-7 win over Delaware that “pretty good data and evidence” suggested a more manageable nonconference schedule was key in trying to win the Big Ten and make the playoff.

“I would say there's a team in this conference, specifically, that's buying out of a ton of game contracts that are already signed, to go in the complete opposite direction,” Franklin said Tuesday. “No, I don't think it's changed. I would say you could even make the argument it's magnified and that's why people are changing their schedules because you look at who people are going to have to play, just in our conference, it's going to be even more challenging than it's ever been.”

He went on to stress on Tuesday how teams have “got to do whatever you possibly can to give yourself a chance” to finish undefeated at the end of the regular season, even if a 12-team playoff field offers more opportunities for teams with one or perhaps even two losses.

The first part of the quote became the source of not only social media rumblings, but news stories, with outlets openly asking if Franklin called out Michigan or claiming he criticized a conference foe’s supposedly weak schedule.

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Penn State nonconference schedules

In reality, Franklin could have been talking about any number of teams in the conference when discussing buying out game contracts outside of Big Ten play.

Indeed, Michigan had backed out of a few scheduled matchups, most notably a home-and-home series with UCLA in 2022 and 2023 that created openings ultimately filled by UConn and UNLV, respectively. However, the idea that the Wolverines were avoiding difficult nonconference games seems ill-conceived, as they’re scheduled to face Texas in 2024 and 2027 and Oklahoma in 2025 and 2026.

They’re hardly the only Big Ten program that has bought out games in recent years. Last month, for example, Indiana withdrew from the second game of a three-game series with Louisville, a decision that comes with a $1 million penalty. The Hoosiers reportedly plan to fill that open date with a game against an FCS team.

The idea that Franklin was lambasting other Big Ten teams for scheduling easier nonconference schedules is even more off-base considering Penn State’s slate in recent years and in the years to come. The Nittany Lions played just one non-Big Ten Power Five opponent this season, West Virginia, and their non-conference schedule hasn’t featured more than one Power Five team since the Big Ten moved to a nine-game conference schedule in 2016. Penn State doesn’t have more than one Power Five team outside the Big Ten on any of its schedules listed through 2028.

If anything, it’s a prudent move considering the strength of the Big Ten and, specifically, its East Division, which features annual matchups against Ohio State and Michigan. The league will only get more difficult in the coming years with USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington joining next season.

It’s what made the reckless parsing of his words earlier this week that much more frustrating for Franklin.

“You can’t control the person that has their own little social media page or whatever and they’re doing it from their mom’s basement,” he said on Thursday. “I can’t really control that person, but it’s disappointing when I think some respected national and other people put things out that are inaccurate and don’t do the homework of actually watching the interview or reading the transcript.”

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: James Franklin: Press conference talk on Big Ten schedules misconstrued