It’s far from unusual in sports to see or hear about a coach disciplining a player for making a mistake on the field. But, on Saturday, Penn State coach James Franklin decided to take a page out of that book in order to teach himself a lesson.
The teaching moment came late in the second quarter of No. 14 Penn State’s home game against Maryland when Franklin was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. The call cost the Nittany Lions offense 15 yards but proved not to impact the drive too much as kicker Jake Pinegar converted a 50-yard field goal to put the team up 24–0.