James Franklin Passionately Defends Last-Second Touchdown In Blowout Win Over Maryland: 'Not My Problem'

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Typically, college football games with a scoreline of 44-7 do not deliver any drama or controversy, but that wasn't the case during Penn State's dominant victory over Maryland. 

While the Terrapins did hold a 7-3 lead at the end of the first quarter, the Nittany Lions woke up in the second quarter and jumped out to a 31-7 lead at halftime, and the game was virtually over. Penn State head coach James Franklin started rolling out second, third, and even fourth-string players as the game rolled on, and didn't exactly take his foot off the gas down the stretch.

Penn State, up 38-7 at the time, forced a turnover with just over one minute left in regulation. Instead of taking a knee twice and running out the clock, backup quarterback Beau Pribula threw a 15-yard touchdown pass on the final play of the game.

Most would say scoring a touchdown as time expired while up 31 points is the definition of running up the score, but Franklin didn't see it that way. 

"My job is to put threes and fours in the game, but when the threes and fours get to go in the game, they get to play football," Franklin told reporters after the game. "Those guys deserve to play football."

"There's also a change in college football. We are trying to play as long as we can, make the Playoff and be seeded as high as possible," Franklin continued. "Scoring as many points and a point differential matters. All of that matters. And if you don't get that, it's really not my problem."

While James Franklin is known for being the coach that can make some rather out-of-pocket comments, him wanting to see his third and fourth-string players score in the final game of the regular season isn't some sort of sin.

You have to imagine there were plenty of walk-ons and seniors on the field for Penn State's final touchdown, and it's not their fault that Maryland no-showed for the final three quarters of the game and couldn't stop a slew of backup players throughout the game. 

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.