It’s time to move on.
After losing for the third week in a row, Penn State is now 3-3 with no Big Ten wins and fully out of the hunt for the playoff.
What was supposed to be the big year for the Nittany Lions has turned out to be one of the biggest embarrassments in program history. From national championship favorites to fighting for a bowl game.
James Franklin has always struggled to win the big games, but with 34 wins against unranked teams in a row, the former Vanderbilt coach was defended by many. After all, he recruited well, built a winning culture in Happy Valley, and brought the program back from its lowest point.
Well…that’s over. Franklin’s 1-0 mantra means nothing if the team is 0-3 in Big Ten play. The culture means squat if you don’t win any Big Ten games. The recruiting means nothing if you don’t do anything with the talent.
The 2022 class was supposed to be THE class. It was one of Penn State’s highest-ranked classes in history, and with five stars all over the place, they should have been the players to bring Happy Valley its first national championship since 1986. Instead, they will be fighting for a bowl game in their senior season.
Why? Well, for a lot of reasons. For a team that is supposed to have the best culture in the country, the players seemingly do not feel it.
“Still got multiple games, still got to win, and it’s pride at this point,” Dani Dennis-Sutton said. “Got to go out there every week with something to prove for the team, but for yourself, mostly.”
Ah, yes, the best culture team in the country plays for themselves, mostly.
2025 was supposed to be the year. With so much talent coming back, most of which has had meaningful playing time in past seasons, the spring and summer could be used fully to perfect schemes.
Instead, for the first time since Franklin took over, it feels like there is a genuine disconnect between the head coach and the players. While multiple players said they were playing for Franklin during mid-week availability, there was an air of confusion after the Northwestern game.
Franklin announced quarterback Drew Allar would be out for the season, something he does not typically do, especially before knowing all the facts and the player taking the proper scans.
Dennis-Sutton was asked about such after the game and said Franklin had not announced the injury to the team yet, also something out of the ordinary.
Everything about the week was different, in fact. From the Franklin tweets during the week, to less time for the media to ask questions. While fans have asked for Franklin to be fired before, this time it feels like the head coach is really feeling the pressure.
“Yeah, for me, it’s always been about our players, and those guys are hurting right now, and the fans are frustrated,” Franklin said. “I get it, I totally get it. I totally get it. We have great fans here. We get unbelievable support, and I understand their frustration. Trust we’re as frustrated as anybody.”
Believe it or not, that was the answer Franklin gave when asked if he should still be the head coach of Penn State football. Another week, another 30 minutes of not answering questions directly.
For a Penn State team littered with former four and five-star stars, losing to a team like Northwestern is not because of talent. In college sports, teams can’t want to win; they have to feel they need to win. No one can walk into a game and roll over an inferior opponent, especially in the Big Ten.
If players are not playing for their coach, or don’t believe in their coach, it’s obvious, even if they say the opposite.
“I got 100% faith in Coach Franklin,” Devonte Ross said after the loss. “I love him as a person, as a coach, and we talked about him as a leader earlier, like he’s a great leader, a staple of our team, and the anchor of our team.”
It makes sense, though, regardless of how good a human Franklin is, how do you get behind the first coach to lose consecutive games as a 20-point favorite in 30 years?
Then there’s the recruitment. Fans are smart to worry about the future recruiting classes when talking about firing a coach. The 2027 class has the chance to be an all-timer if everything works out. The program had momentum after making the national semifinal in 2024. Who would want to miss out on that talent?
Well, the Nittany Lions are already losing those players, too. This week, four-star receiver Kahlil Talor decommitted from the Nittany Lions. Taylor was supposed to be one of the cornerstones of the 2027 class for Penn State.
While he is the only decommitment so far, others are likely to follow. Why would a highly talented high schooler want to play for a team that loses to UCLA and Northwestern and consistently fails to win the big game?
Regardless of whether Franklin is a good head coach, which he has proven he can be, the relationship between him and the Penn State community is over.
In the age of NIL and big donations making the difference in college sports, having a supportive and energized fan base is more important than ever. Franklin just isn’t doing it for the Nittany Lions anymore, and it’s time to move on.
If Penn State has $750 million to put into the stadium, it has to have $56 million to get its fan base back. Start a GoFundMe if you have to.
Franklin is a good person, a good recruiter, and can be a good coach. That should never be in question. Happy Valley is just not the spot for him anymore.
Source link
