"Total frauds" - Barstool owner Dave Portnoy rips Penn State for Orange Bowl humiliation

The Penn State Nittany Lions under coach James Franklin could not hold onto a 10-3 halftime lead against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, ultimately losing 27-24. They suffered due to a Mitch Jeter field goal in the last minute of the Orange Bowl.

The Fighting Irish will proceed to the national championship game where they will face the winner of the Cotton Bowl Classic clash between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Texas Longhorns.

Immediately after the game, outspoken Barstool founder Dave Portnoy bashed the Nittany Lions on X for being on the end of another big game loss.

"You know what’s crazy. Penn State didn’t beat 1 good team this year. Total frauds," Portnoy posted.

For his part, embattled Penn State coach James Franklin was complimentary towards both his players and the Fighting Irish for reaching the Orange Bowl.

“Obviously we need to give Notre Dame and Marcus a ton of credit,” Franklin said. “They did a great job. We knew it was going to be a fourth-quarter game, come down to a possession, and that’s exactly what happened.

“Give Notre Dame a ton of credit. I wish them the best of luck moving on to the National Championship. But I love every guy in that locker room. I love every person in that locker room. Proud of them. Played our tails off tonight. Obviously, we made too many mistakes that were costly. Give Notre Dame credit. We’ll learn from this, and we’ll be better.”

Penn State coach James Franklin falls short yet again

Over the years, the one criticism leveled at Penn State Nittany Lions coach James Franklin has been his big game record. This season, the Nittany Lions have fallen just short in the big games that they have been involved in.

In Week 10 of college football action, the Nittany Lions lost 20-13 at home to the Ohio State Buckeyes and then lost the Big Ten championship game 45-37 to the Oregon Ducks.

The loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will be a damning loss in Franklin's ledger. But during his postgame news conference, he batted away questions about his big game record and instead focused on what he has accomplished with the team.

“It’s about the guys and their development. So, I want them to get drafted as high as possible. I understand the transfer portal is a part of college football now, and NIL is a part of college football, and we’ll embrace those things, too, but I want this experience to be so much more than a transactional experience. I want it to be transformational. That’s what it’s all about for me.”

The Penn State Nittany Lions were No. 8 on the AP Preseason poll and have more than exceeded expectations by reaching the semifinals of the college football playoffs.