Penn State has announced that they are firing head coach James Franklin following a 3-game skid that saw them go from the #2 team in the country to out of the rankings entirely, including a shocking defeat at the hands of previously winless UCLA. Franklin was the coach for over 10 years, being hired from Vanderbilt in 2014. Franklin had two mediocre seasons to start his tenure, and it looked like a third one was in store in 2016 before a signature victory over #2 Ohio State. They finished that year 10-2, and won the Big 10. They went 10-2 in 2017, capped off with a Fiesta Bowl win over Washington. In 2018 they went 9-3, losing to Kentucky in the Citrus Bowl. In 2019 they went 10-2, winning the Cotton Bowl over Memphis. In 2020 they had a losing record, going 4-5 in the bizarre COVID-shortened season. In 2021 they had a very lackluster 7-6 year, losing to Arkansas in the Outback Bowl. In 2022 they returned to their winning ways, going 10-2 and beating Utah in the Rose Bowl. In 2023 they went 10-2 again, but lost to Mississippi in the Peach Bowl. And last year they went 11-1, losing the Big 10 Championship to Oregon. They made the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff (the CFP had existed since 2014 but only included 4 teams) and beat SMU in the first round on campus. They beat Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, but lost a heartbreaking Orange Bowl to Notre Dame.
As a Penn State fan, I am happy about this. I am very surprised that it happened today. I thought they'd at least wait until the end of the year. I'm not mad about it at all. Franklin was a good coach, but he couldn't beat good teams. His only win against Ohio State came in 2016. His record against ranked teams was 17-37, and his record against top 10 teams was 4-21. 4-21! That's awful! I was turning a corner on him. He did a damn good job last year, even though they couldn't go all the way. Now? He might be the most overrated coach in the game. We saw the same damn things year after year, and he never evolved. I used to love him, but he shouldn't have lasted this long. I do wish him good luck, though.
Terry Smith will be filling in for Franklin the rest of the way. Penn State will find a permanent replacement in the offseason. Smith will be taking over a 3-3 team. We'll see if he can right the ship, although it'll be difficult without Drew Allar the rest of the way.
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