James Franklin has been relieved of his duties, as the Nittany Lions stumbled to a third straight loss on Saturday. The beginning of the end came in the white-out home game against #6 Oregon. The Ducks came into Beaver Stadium and handed the Lions their first loss of the season. Albeit embarrassing to lose in the white-out, it was not a shocking loss to one of the other top teams in the country.
The real gut punch came the following week as Penn State faced a 0-4 UCLA team that had become a laughing-stock in college football. The Bruins had fired their own head coach the previous week, but an inspired performance led by rookie Offensive Coordinator Jerry Neuheisel saw the underdogs drop 42 points and take down the Lions in a thriller.
Now clearly on the hot-seat, Franklin welcomed Big Ten rivals Northwestern at home. With Penn State favoured by 20 points, a third loss would be unthinkable. To the fans’ dismay, the unthinkable happened and Penn State fell yet again. Franklin left the field for what would be the final time amid a chorus of boos. His long and illustrious tenure had ended in shame, and the following day he was fired.
Franklin finished with a respectable 104-45 record in 11.5 seasons with the team. However, a closer look shows he managed a mere 4-21 record against top 10 teams.
To be the best, you have to beat the best and Franklin never seemed capable of taking the team to a National Championship level. A strong 13-3 campaign last season ended with another disappointing playoff exit against Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl. The star-studded roster that included Tyler Warren and Abdul Carter should have been the ticket to the finals Franklin needed.
With quarterback Drew Allar now out for the season, the firing of James Franklin only adds insult to injury for Penn State. However, fans may finally feel relief at the prospect of a clean slate.
Image c/o Voices of Winchester
