Beginning the season as the second-ranked team, it was College Football Playoff or bust for James Franklin and Penn State. Through the first six weeks of the season, it looks like it is going to be a major bust.
One week after dropping a double-overtime Big Ten game at home to Oregon, the Nittany Lions reached rock bottom under Franklin on Saturday. Penn State went to UCLA and lost to the winless Bruins, 42-37.
UCLA entered the game with an interim offensive coordinator who was put in the position just four days before the game. Jerry Neuheisel had just two practices to work on the game plan with his unit. They put up 42 points on Penn State’s defense.
One day after another disappointing Nittany Lions loss, Paul Finebaum of ESPN put Franklin squarely on the hot seat.
Another Disappointing Penn State Loss Has James Franklin’s Seat Hot
Finebaum, who is considering a run for the U.S. Senate, placed Franklin on the hot seat again. Normally, when he goes down this road, it’s after a loss to a Top 10 team. This time, Finebaum took a subtle shot at Franklin about losing to UCLA.
“The good news for James Franklin is that it doesn’t affect his record against top-10 teams, so he caught a break on that front,” Finebaum said on the Matt Barrie Show. “The bad news is that while it’s not statistically the worst loss of all time, I think Pete Carroll and USC losing to Jim Harbaugh and Stanford 15 or 20 years ago goes down, but it feels like the worst loss I have ever seen.’’
After losing to Oregon, Penn State could have survived another loss, to Ohio State or Indiana, and still been a serious candidate for the 12-team CFP field. Now they are going to have to run the table, including winning in Columbus, to be considered.
“I think, for James Franklin,’’ said Finebaum. “It is going to haunt him because what does he have to do now – run the straight of Indiana and Ohio State? What reason would any person have to think he could beat Ohio State in Columbus now?”
Paul Finebaum Calls for James Franklin’s Job Despite Major Obstacle
It has been noted since losing to UCLA the buyout that Penn State faces with Franklin. Right now it’s at $56 million, and on January 1, it goes down to $48 million. Athletic director Pat Kraft has some big decisions.
“The bigger issue for James Franklin keeping his job,” Finebaum said. “I know what his buyout is and what his record is, but at some point you have to determine ‘Can we do better?’ And I’m telling you right now, Penn State can do better than James Franklin.
“It feels like the gas is leaking all over the runway. That game (Saturday) changed the narrative from ‘He can’t win the big one’ to ‘Now he can’t win the little one either’.”
Penn State would be an attractive job for a lot of coaching candidates. The buyout is a major obstacle right now for the school. Penn State will end up in a bowl game somewhere, but Franklin’s future depends on what happens between Saturday’s home game against Northwestern and the end of the regular season. Then, after the bowl game, there will be a lot of decisions for Kraft to make.
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