James Franklin is trending nationally on Twitter, but for the wrong reasons.
The Penn State Nittany Lions looked to have a great opportunity to notch their first win of the season this Saturday, as they’re facing the also-winless Nebraska Cornhuskers. Unfortunately for Franklin and Penn State, that hasn’t come to fruition. A brutal start by Sean Clifford and a lack of adjustments by Franklin put Penn State in a hole, and they’re staring down the barrel at and 0-4 start.
The Nittany Lions were ranked to start the year, but Micah Parsons deciding to opt-out and Journey Brown’s career-ending heart ailment have hit Penn State where it hurts, and they have yet to recover. Clifford hasn’t taken the necessary steps forward to put Penn State on his shoulders.
There is no “Tanking for Trevor” in Happy Valley. Instead, a disappointing season will only bring with it further questions about their head coach.
Franklin and Penn State are rightfully getting dragged for their performance
I hope James Franklin will do the merciful thing and sit Sean Clifford. This has become very hard to watch.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) November 14, 2020
Unless you're a Nebraska fan of course.
If Penn State loses to Nebraska, James Franklin should be fired immediately.
— Wokerine Corner (@WolverineCorner) November 14, 2020
But oh wait I forgot, that one win over Ohio State and that fluke Big Ten title will keep him around for as long as he wants lol
Yeah Jim Harbaugh sucks but look at James Franklin pic.twitter.com/2zunGgdfX4
— Kobe Bufkin Connoisseur (@UMvsEveryone) November 14, 2020
https://twitter.com/CyrusD4L/status/1327675263132577793
No one ever specified *which* USC job James Franklin was going to end up at
— Matt (@MattBerry05) November 14, 2020
.@YahooSports wrote this week that James Franklin was a candidate for NFL head coach gigs.
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) November 14, 2020
LOL
Hats off to James Franklin. He’s 3-0 in his game predictions so far! pic.twitter.com/MMrdstfJcd
— Buckeye Videos+ (@BuckeyeVideos) November 8, 2020
It would cost $223 on greyhound for James Franklin to take bus back to State College from Lincoln #PennState pic.twitter.com/ebe1sokkEH
— BIG ED (@NYCKING) November 14, 2020
Franklin, previously the head coach of Vanderbilt, was hired in 2014 to aid Penn State’s return to prominence. After two 7-6 seasons to start his tenure, Franklin’s taken Penn State to the Rose Bowl (2016), Fiesta Bowl (2017) and Cotton Bowl (2019). Some of that success can be pinned on the players Franklin inherited, but three 11-win seasons during his tenure speaks volumes about his capability as a head coach when everything is clicking.
Perhaps what’s most frustrating for the Nittany Lions is the inconsistency, and inability to get over that last hurdle to truly contend with Ohio State. In 2020, they’ve taken a major step back, and Franklin must step things up in recruiting to add the necessary talent to get the Nittany Lions back on the right track.
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