James Franklin calls for unity after PSU’s stunning loss to UCLA
Following Penn State’s 42–37 loss to previously winless UCLA, head coach James Franklin emphasized that the team must stay united.
Penn State football and James Franklin hit a major roadblock on their path back to the College Football Playoff in Week 6 by getting upset 42-37 by an unranked UCLA team that has an interim coach, an interim offensive coordinator and was winless at the time?
So, is it time for the Nittany Lions to move from their 12-year coach, who is tied for the second-most all-time wins in program history? In an appearance on ESPN’s “Get Up” on Tuesday, Oct. 7, ESPN college football pundit Paul Finebaum believes it feels like it is getting close to that point.
“I think it is really in peril, Greeny. I’m not suggesting that he will be fired with a $50 million buyout, but it just feels like his time is up,” Finebaum said on “Get Up” to host Mike Greenberg in a panel with Heather Dinich and Jordan Rodgers.
Finebaum didn’t stop there on Franklin and where he can go from here.
“He can do no better than he has done. And he’s done remarkably well but not good enough for Penn State’s standards. So when he gives yet another lame apology, excuse, however you want to characterize it, it doesn’t resonate with his fanbase, who has just experienced one of the worst losses in Penn State history or any college football team’s history. It was that bad.”
As reported by USA TODAY, Franklin’s buyout if he was fired without cause was just under $50 million on Oct. 4, according to a 2022 financial term sheet obtained by the USA TODAY Network.
The Nittany Lions’ loss to the Bruins dropped them down to No. 23 in the US LBM Coaches Poll and took them completely out of the AP Top 25 poll. It also marked the first back-to-back losses for Penn State since the 2021 season.
Franklin entered last week’s game vs. UCLA with a lot of scrutiny already surrounding him, as Penn State was coming off yet another loss to a top-10-ranked opponent under Franklin to No. 5 Oregon on Saturday, Sept. 27. The Nittany Lions’ double-overtime loss to the Ducks, a game in which they once trailed 17-3 in, dropped Franklin’s record against top-10 ranked opponents to 4-21 and his record against ranked opponents to 15-29 during his time in Happy Valley.
“It’s not really a narrative; it’s a fact. I get it,” Franklin said after Penn State’s loss to Oregon when asked about his success against a top-10 opponent. “I kind of look at the greater picture and what we have been able to do here. But at the end of the day, we have to find a way to win those games.”
Penn State will now look to avoid its third straight loss on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 3:30 p.m. ET when it welcomes Northwestern to Beaver Stadium for its Homecoming Game in State College.
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