Let’s revisit James Franklin’s takeaway from Penn State’s 33-14 win against Pitt Saturday one more time.
“Last year, for their win, it was like the Super Bowl. But for us, this was just like beating Akron.”
Franklin did much damage with that flip, two-sentence observation. He disparaged Pitt and denigrated Akron, but that was just the start. He insulted the crowd of nearly 110,000 that came out to Happy Valley to make one of the great scenes in all of sports for a game that didn’t feel like just another game. He demeaned hundreds of former players and coaches who made the Penn State-Pitt rivalry among the best in college football before he was even born.