James Franklin Addresses Referee Situation That Made Him Lose Cool at End of Nevada Game

Penn State’s season opener against Nevada had all the right beats for James Franklin. 46-11 final, nine scoring drives, three turnovers forced, defense looking like a brick wall. But even in a blowout, the head coach found something that was not to his liking. And it wasn’t his quarterback, his O-line, or even the weather. Nope. It was the zebras.

With just 25 seconds left, quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer had the offense in the huddle, and then boom, a delay of game flag. Franklin wasn’t buying it. In the post-game presser, he laid it out straight. “The official is in the huddle holding us. Turns to the umpire, says, ‘Pump the clock.’ He doesn’t do it. Then throws a flag on us. Then I go and address it. And the same thing, he’s behind him going, I tried to tell him… wasn’t happy about that.”

James Franklin was venting about a messy sequence with the officials. He said Penn State didn’t win the penalty battle and was especially upset about one call at the end. According to him, the referee in the huddle told the umpire to “pump the clock” but the umpire didn’t do it, and instead threw a flag against Penn State.

When Franklin went to question it, the official admitted he had tried to warn the umpire, but the damage was already done. And when the explanation he got was basically “yeah, my bad, I told him,” that just made it worse. Franklin lost his cool a little. He even made a beeline for the officiating crew as soon as the game ended before heading over to shake hands with Nevada’s Jeff Choate.

Now, Franklin wasn’t all doom and gloom. He flipped gears and talked about the middle eight, that crunch time stretch bridging halftime. He loved how Penn State milked the clock, managed their timeouts, and basically suffocated Nevada’s chances. In Franklin’s words, that part was “great.” That’s coach-speak for ‘we handled our business’.

And honestly, he had plenty to smile about. Penn State’s offense scored on every possession until a late fourth-down stop. The defense smothered Nevada to just 203 yards, snagged 3 turnovers, and even when the reserves gave up a garbage-time TD, the game was long done and dusted. It was Franklin’s 102nd win in Happy Valley.

James Franklin is happy with the Nittany Lions’ performance, but..

James Franklin walked out of Beaver Stadium smiling. Penn State fans know the look. Franklin loves what he’s got in this squad, but he’s wired to nitpick even the good nights. After a 46-11 beatdown of Nevada, most coaches would’ve been ready to kick their feet up and call it perfect. But Franklin? Nope. He leaned into the CBS mic and said, “We gotta get kickoff coverage cleaned up a little bit… but overall we played really good.” That’s Franklin in a nutshell.

He’s not wrong. Penn State put Nevada in a chokehold from the jump, going up 27-3 by halftime and never looking back. Drew Allar looked calm and steady, slinging 22 completions for 217 yards and a touchdown. The kid spread the wealth like he was passing out Thanksgiving plates. Kyron Hudson turned on his go-to spark with six grabs for 89 yards and a score. Trebor Pena moved the chains with seven catches, and even Nicholas Singleton got in on the receiving game with four snags.

Still, the ground game felt like the identity piece. Singleton and Kaytron Allen kept Nevada’s defense off balance, piling up touchdowns even when the yardage wasn’t crazy. Allen’s eight carries for 43 yards and a score showed his burst, while Singleton punched in two TDs despite a modest 19-yard night. And yes, Allar even tucked it a few times just to remind defenses he’s mobile enough to force respect.

For now, Penn State stays home, lining up FIU on Sept. 6. The Panthers might want to bring extra helmets. Because if Franklin’s guys clean up even the small cracks, Beaver Stadium could turn into a nightmare zone real quick.