Caltagirone

To liberally paraphrase a comment attributed to Winston Churchill, Penn State football’s inability to win big games under James Franklin was a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.

With justification, the name Franklin was recently added to the list of college football head coaches who have been fired this season.

The who, what, when and where of the situation were all known.

The great unknown is why Franklin’s Nittany Lions seemingly always failed to measure up to Top-10 teams or highly-regarded opponents on a grand stage, such as a prominent bowl game or the College Football Playoff.

When benchmarking against Power 4 Conference teams, Penn State seems to be relatively on par in relation to talent, resources and facilities.

Strategy and tactics have certainly been subjects of debate over the years.

Obviously, poor execution in pivotal moments cost the team dearly during Franklin’s 12-year tenure.

So what caused the meltdowns in the heat of the brightest spotlight?

All things considered, the problem seems to be subliminal.

Despite an infusion of new coaches and players, something was running through this program’s circulatory system that is negatively impacting judgment, critical thinking and performance.

Anyone who can identify the systemic nature of the problem — whether it be physical, cognitive or psychological — deserves James Franklin-like compensation.

At this point, it’s very possible that a demonstration which Jimmy Johnson conducted for his young Cowboys team in preparation for Super Bowl XXVII has relevance.

Johnson first reminded the players that a global audience would be watching them perform against a Buffalo Bills team that was making its third consecutive Super Bowl appearance.

He then placed a two-by-four piece of lumber on the floor of the meeting room and asked three star players to walk across the board from end to end.

After all three successfully completed the task, Johnson said, “If I’d put this two-by-four just 10 feet in the air, what’s your thought process then? You’re suddenly not laughing and thinking, ‘It’s easy.’ You’re going to think, ‘Don’t fall, don’t fall.’ And you know what’s going to happen as you think that? You’re going to fall.”

The purpose of the demonstration was to impress upon the players that, if they blocked out external distractions and internal perceptions, the Super Bowl would be just another football game.

Pick almost any sport and you’ll find an example of an individual or team that acquired a reputation for not producing when it counted most.

Greg Norman has been labeled golf’s most prolific runner-up for his failure to close the deal at major tournaments.

Between 1959 and 1969, the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers played the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals seven times and lost all seven series.

From 1941 to 1953, the Brooklyn Dodgers lost five World Series, all to the New York Yankees.

The Buffalo Bills lost four consecutive Super Bowls in the 1990s.

Jessica Pegula, now on the women’s professional tennis tour for over a decade, is still searching for her first Grand Slam title despite advancing to five quarterfinals and one final.

Until a trip west to play a winless UCLA team a few weeks ago, Penn State football was a consistent winner against substandard competition during the previous three seasons.

But today, even with Franklin now a former Penn State head coach, it’s time for someone associated with the football program to go out and buy a two-by-four piece of lumber.

Jim Caltagirone writes a monthly column for the Mirror.