From preseason top-two to no longer top anything.
From undefeated to loser of two-straight conference games.
Penn State is in a mess, and so is head coach James Franklin.
In addition to hearing about how he cannot win the big game (his Penn State teams are now 1-18 against top-10 Big Ten Conference teams and don’t have such a win since Oct. 22, 2016, a span of 3,271 days), Franklin is now left picking up the pieces following what almost unquestionably is any of his teams’ most inexplicable loss in his 15-year head coaching career.
That loss, being of course, Penn State’s 42-37 defeat last Saturday at UCLA.
First-time offensive play-caller without a working knowledge of using headset-to-helmet communication UCLA.
So Monday, in his weekly press conference and fielding questions about potential staff changes, Franklin didn’t make any travel excuses but also didn’t quash any notion that staff changes are not under consideration.
“Again, I understand all the questions,” Franklin told reporters. “Ultimately, it starts with me. And then like I just mentioned, there is shared responsibility between myself, the coordinators and the assistant coaches. I have a ton of confidence in those men or I would not have brought them in the building.
“We’re a results-oriented business, and we need to produce, so my job is to hold everybody accountable and create an environment where the players and the coaches can be successful. That’s what we’re going to do moving forward starting with Northwestern.”
So … clear? No? Yeah, didn’t think so. Franklin’s above answer is 90 words. He expresses “a ton of confidence” in his coaches but also stresses holding everyone accountable. Franklin does not say staff changes or terminations are not a consideration.
It’s a stark contrast to the middle of last month when Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman was asked pointedly about taking over defensive play-calling duties from first-year Irish defensive coordinator Chris Ash, especially as Freeman is a former defensive coordinator of distinction.
But Freeman immediately shot down such a notion.
“If I thought it was a call, if I thought we weren’t calling the game the right way, trust me I know the definition of insanity and if that was the case, you’ve got to do what’s best for your program,” Freeman said. “But that’s not, to me, the issue when I’m evaluating our defensive play. It’s not what we’re calling at this time or why we’re calling it. …
“Me saying I’m going to call the defense, it’s a call. If I’m going to call the defense, it’s based on the call. We’re not calling the right calls. I don’t believe that’s true, or I would say, ‘Hey Chris Ash, call this.'”
Now, Franklin also couldn’t resist trying to deflect onto other programs about Penn State’s struggles.
“So, yeah, I get it [frustration after this was supposed to be his best team to date in 12 seasons at Penn State). You know, we’re not the only team that’s in a similar situation like this,” said Franklin, but, indeed, no other team has lost to a team that hadn’t held a lead at any point in the season’s opening five weeks as a 27-point favorite to fall totally out of the national rankings. “Like I mentioned before, there is examples as recent as last season, teams that have had tough losses and have been able to overcome it.”
The Nittany Lions get Northwestern at home this week in an attempt to secure both their first win against a Big Ten Conference foe and also their first win this season against a Power Conference opponent. In fact, Penn State hasn’t beaten a P-4 team since last December when it hammered SMU in the opening round of the 12-team College Football Playoffs.
After Northwestern, Penn State has consecutive road games at Iowa and at No. 1 Ohio State — where Franklin has never won and no Penn State coach has won since 2011, when the Buckeyes were coached by interim skipper Luke Fickell.
