James Franklin wasn’t very happy Saturday evening, and it didn’t necessarily have everything to do with a tough loss.
After a lengthy rain delay, Penn State lost to Michigan State on a field goal with no time remaining. It was the second consecutive hard-to-swallow loss for the program, coming on the heels of blowing a 15-point lead on the road against Ohio State last Saturday.
After this latest bitter pill, some of Franklin’s players decided they didn’t want to have anything to do with the customary postgame handshakes with their vanquishers. The head coach, seeing what was transpiring, sprang into action as he wasn’t having any of the unsportsmanlike sulking.
James Franklin sprints off field to tell player to “GO SHAKE HANDS!” after #24 Michigan State upsets #7 Penn State 😳 #MSUvsPSU pic.twitter.com/DnI8pFcvY9
— High & Outside Sports (@HighandOutside_) November 4, 2017
In his postgame press conference, Franklin explained what could’ve been a potentially bad look on his part.
“But make sure everybody’s clear, and don’t misinterpret this at the end of the game that I was running off the field, I would never do that,” the head coach began. “I saw a few of our players running off the field, not going to shake hands, and we’re going to win with class and we are going to lose with class, and we are going to shake people’s hands and give them credit because they deserved it.”
Franklin, who has some previous experience with handshake issues during his time in Happy Valley, may have been called a horse’s ass in some corners earlier this season, but this was simply a classy gesture on his part.