Penn State football was up one point with less than five minutes left in the game and in fourth place. Penn State head coach James Franklin led his kicking team onto the field and then made a game-changing, possibly season-defining decision. He greenlighted a fake punt call. The result was a 35-yard run by freshman Luke Reynolds and a 26-25 victory.

Penn State reporter Greg Pickel discusses the decision and the game in general in this week’s Instant Analysis recap. Watch the full video on the Blue White Illustrated YouTube channel or here in this article.

Franklin breaks down the play after the game

After the game, head coach James Franklin discussed how that fake punt worked.

“Dom Rulli deserves a lot of credit. He is a man who is not talked about much, but is loved and respected in our locker room,” Franklin said. “He’s the quarterback of that play. We’ve been working on it since training camp. We’ve mentioned it in other games this year, but unless you have the right look, you won’t be able to pull it off.

Franklin wanted his offense to win the game. He discussed why he wanted this offense to stay on the field instead of punting and trusted his defense to get the ball back to them one last time.

“You know, I just felt like we had to try to end the game on our terms with the ball in our hand. Give them a lot of credit. They did a good job producing yards,” Franklin said.

What’s next for Penn State?

Pickel discusses the rest of the game, which was heavily influenced by special teams. Penn State is now 10-1 and has a shot at an 11-1 win with Maryland at home to close out the regular season next weekend.

Blue White Illustrated has a full week of coverage between then and now! Our exclusive premium podcast, The Lions Den, airs on Monday this week. Penn State is just over a week away from National Signing Day, with plenty of drama in the final stretch. We discuss the latest news only for subscribers of Blue White Illustrated.

We will also replay Franklin’s press conference live on Monday shortly after it ends.

On Tuesday, we’ll recap Penn State’s win over Minnesota on the BWI Live Show, and discuss the upcoming senior game with Maryland.