By Jack Stewart
With Penn State’s recent loss to winless UCLA, it’s abundantly clear that changes need to be made in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions are one of the most iconic brands in college sports, with one of the largest NIL budgets, home to some of the nation’s best recruits, and backed by the best atmosphere in college football, but they can never seem to get the job done. With all of the recent controversy surrounding the program and the year-in-year-out disappointment, a shake-up is necessary, and that shake-up is firing James Franklin.
Franklin’s reputation precedes him, and that reputation is failure. Ever since taking over the head coach position in 2014, Franklin has gone 16-36 against ranked teams and 4-21 against top 10 teams. For a program as big as Penn State, numbers like this are unacceptable, and it’s clear that Franklin will not be able to take the Nittany Lions to the next level. Franklin losing every big game seems inevitable, and it’s obvious that Penn State will not win a national championship under him. Simply put, Franklin is not good enough, and a string of recent losses has pushed many to the breaking point.
As of now, Penn State is sitting at 3-2, including losses to Oregon and UCLA. The loss to the Ducks was a big blow, as it came during the notorious “whiteout game,” in which the entirety of Beaver Stadium dressed up in white. It’s arguably the best atmosphere in college football, and that intimidating environment should’ve given Penn State a boost, but Franklin still couldn’t deliver. The offense looked flat for the first half, and the Nittany Lions failed to close out when they had the chance. While the Oregon loss was somewhat excusable, the recent collapse to winless UCLA should be the straw that finally breaks the camel’s back. UCLA frankly looked horrible through the first four games of the season and was arguably the worst power-conference team in the country. This should’ve been an easy win to help Penn State get back on their feet, but it quickly turned into a disaster and became the first instance of an 0-4 team beating a ranked opponent since 1985. It might be the worst collapse in recent college football history and testifies to everything wrong with the Franklin era of Penn State.
Penn State’s modern identity has been built on choking when it matters most, and it’s looking like the only way to lose that reputation is by firing James Franklin. During his tenure as head coach, Penn State has been good, yet never quite good enough. If the Nittany Lions are fine with beating up on bad teams and losing time and time again to good opponents, then Franklin is their guy; but if they ever want to get over the hump and even think about contending for a National Championship, then James Franklin needs to be fired immediately