Maryland's Mike Locksley Calls Penn State's Late Touchdown 'Bull----'

The Nittany Lions threw a touchdown pass vs. the Terps as time expired. "I'm good with it. Anybody that's not, that's their problem," James Franklin says.

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin (left) shakes hands at midfield with Maryland Terrapins head coach Michael Locksley (right) following a game at Beaver Stadium. / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

STATE COLLEGE | Maryland coach Mike Locksley called the touchdown "bull----," and Penn State coach James Franklin said, "I'm good with it." So continued the "fake rivalry" between the Nittany Lions and the Terrapins on Saturday at Beaver Stadium.

Penn State quarterback Beau Pribula threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to freshman Tyseer Denmark on 4th-and-12 as time expired, punctuating the Nittany Lions' 44-7 victory over the Terrapins. Penn State called passes on its final two plays, the last with 4 seconds remaining, leading by 31 points and having clinched a berth in the Big Ten title game. Locksley, who worked with Franklin on Maryland's offensive staff from 2000-02, shared some words with Franklin after the game. One sounded like the same word he used to describe the touchdown in his postgame press conference.

Initially asked for his reaction to the touchdown, Locksley said, "I have no reaction." But later asked about his interaction with Franklin, Locksley came to a low boil.

“I just asked about his family, Christmas cards, addresses, all those things," the Maryland coach said. "Bull--- is what it was. I respect the game, I’ve got a lot of respect for James, his program. I think it was bull----.”

Maryland's Mike Locksley was not happy with Penn State's James Franklin after taking a 44-7 loss at Beaver Stadium. pic.twitter.com/NGl8TrO43k

— Mark Brennan (@MarkXBrennan) December 1, 2024

Franklin owned the moment, as he has before. The Penn State coach long has maintained a play-to-the whistle ethos, which he has demonstrated with multiple late touchdowns over his 11 seasons and with his decision to call a timeout before Georgia State attempted a field goal trailing 56-0 in 2017.

"We are trying to play as long as we can, make the playoffs and be seeded as high as possible," Franklin said after the game. "Scoring as many points and point differential matters. If you don’t get that, it’s really not my problem."

The two coaches and programs clearly have some entertaining history together. Before the game, Franklin noted that he was the "coach in waiting" at Maryland before leaving to become Vanderbilt's head coach in 2011. "Got a lot of history there," Franklin said, which emerged the first time Franklin coached against Maryland in 2014. That's when the Terrapins captains refused to shake hands with Penn State's captains before the game. Randy Edsall was Maryland's coach, and the program was fined $10,000 for the stance.

Meanwhile, in an entertaining video for the Big Ten Network, Locksley joked that he would engage a food taster if Franklin cooked for him at Thanksgiving. "Just kidding, James," Locksley said. "You know I've got to keep the fake rivalry going."

Franklin understood that joke and may or may not have applied it to Saturday's game. The Penn State coach explained the touchdown from a different perspective, though. College football has changed, Franklin said, style points matter, and he was trying to collect as many as possible to appeal to the College Football Playoff selection committee.

"I get it. At the end of the game, we throw a touchdown," Franklin said of Locksley's postgame reaction. "My job is to put the [third-team players] and [fourth-team players] in the game. But when the threes and fours get to go in the game, they get to play football. Those guys deserve to play football.

"Your ones [Maryland's] are in the game. You're trying to score. We're trying to score. On top of that, you're playing Cover 0. If you don't want [to give up a touchdown], play Cover 2. So I'm good with it. And on top of that, there's also a change in college football. We are trying to play as long as we can, make the playoffs and be seeded as high as possible. And scoring as many points, and point differential matters. All that matters. And if you don't get that, it's really not my problem. So [it was a] W, 1-0. I'm good with it. Anybody that's not, that's their problem."

Penn State (11-1) will play Oregon in the Big Ten Championship Game on Dec. 7 in Indianapolis. Maryland closed its season at 4-8.

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Penn State on SI is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.