Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1540433
6 N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M T hree weeks was all it took. Well, 15 days, actually. Penn State was the epicenter of the college football world on Sept. 27 when "ESPN College GameDay" descended on Happy Valley ahead of the Nittany Lions' night game clash with Oregon. James Franklin, cool blue suit and all, was right there leading the charge. He spoke confidently about the 2025 edition of the Nittany Lions and boasted that Beaver Stadium would play host to the greatest atmosphere in college football later that day. He was right, about the atmosphere at least. Later that night, Penn State stepped in it against the Ducks, deliv- ering a flat performance in front of a split national audience that was some- what salvaged by ending a play or two away from finishing the job in double overtime. But coming up short proved to be a repeat formula that Nittany Li- ons fans have gotten used to. Despite the finish, it wasn't the worst thing in the world. Penn State continued being what it was on the national scene — a play- off contender that could, but likely wouldn't, make a run for a national championship. Even with the pomp and circumstance of winning an off- season just a few months ago, sliding back to the natural order of things wasn't the be-all, end-all. That would come the following week against UCLA. And then, somehow, it got even worse. Penn State slogged through a third consecutive loss against North- western on Oct. 11. And after 104 wins over nearly 12 seasons, that was it for Franklin. It was incredible, and almost unfathomable, to see it play out in real time. It was an accelerated timeline that the coach's biggest detractors couldn't see coming a few weeks ago. It was the reality of modern college football. Had expectations been lower for the Nittany Lions in the preseason, maybe it's a nonissue. But Franklin and his team unequivocally fell short of their championship goals and also went off the rails in the process. Many fans went into the season with a cham- pionship-or-bust attitude, and while that's not realistic in modern college football, it was still a surprise to see one of the most consistent teams in the country bust out so quickly. Penn State won double-digit games in the previous three years and went to the College Football Playoff semifinals in this calendar year. For all the good- will that Franklin was able to build as a regular in the Top 25 and eventually the postseason (in a wild trivia note, Penn State has played in the Fiesta, Orange, Peach and Rose bowls the past three seasons), that ran out when he abruptly started losing the games he wasn't supposed to. Shortly after the 22-21 loss to North- western, athletics director Patrick Kraft made up his mind. It was tense in State College even before Homecom- ing, with Franklin roundly booed when announced in the pregame. Coming off the field postgame, the noise was unavoidable and the vitriol even worse. An ugly tunnel scene even saw Franklin send his family to the staging area away from him, knowing what was waiting as he paraded by fans calling for his head. The monetary details of a staggering buyout somewhere in the neighbor- hood of $50 million will be softened by offset language in Franklin's last contract, which was approved in No- vember 2021. If and when he gets a new job — and he should be in demand right away despite wearing out his welcome with many in Happy Valley — Penn State will only pay the difference be- tween his new salary and his old one. Now, Kraft has a legacy-defining decision ahead of him. With a $700 million price tag on his pet project, renovating West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium, the next hire will largely shape where the entire athletics program can go from here. There are success stories out there. Kirby Smart took over for a Georgia program that was similarly consistent under Mark Richt. But it's far from a sure thing. Auburn went into a tailspin under Bryan Harsin after canning Gus Mal- zahn. Florida is a .500 program after tiring of Dan Mullen and bringing in Billy Napier. The Gators may be a part of the carousel this offseason, too. Heck, Nebraska is still trying to chase the ghost of Tom Osborne, and Ten- nessee is just now returning to form after getting rid of Phillip Fulmer … in 2008. James Franklin's tenure at Penn State came up short of the program's na- tional title aspirations. Most coaches and programs can say the same. Only time will tell if Kraft's power move will end up being the right one. ■ James Franklin was dismissed just 10 months after tak- ing the Nittany Lions to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL Penn State Makes A Risky Power Move JUDGMENT CALL O P I N I O N SEAN FITZ SEAN.FITZ@ON3.COM