Final straw: Should Penn State fire James Franklin?

Penn State's collapse from Associated Press preseason No. 2 to unranked and losers of three consecutive by Week 7 will be studied for generations to come.

The Nittany Lions fell 22-21 at home to Northwestern on Saturday and the Happy Valley boo birds were in full force as time expired. Head coach James Franklin was visibly stunned on the sideline, potentially contemplating whether he would still hold his title in another week's time.

Franklin made history over the last three weeks (not the good kind). He became the first head coach in the last three decades to lose consecutive games as 20-point or more favorite, per Action Network's Evan Abrams.

The writing seems to be painfully obvious on the walls of Beaver Stadium. James Franklin needs to go.

How much is James Franklin's buyout at Penn State?

In November 2021, Franklin signed a 10-year extension with Penn State that has him tied to State College through the 2031 season. If the school were to decide to part ways with him immediately, then it would currently owe Franklin $48.6 million. That number goes down by $8 million each season Franklin completes.

The 53-year-old currently makes $7.5 million in base salary and would owe the school $2 million if he decided to leave for a different opportunity after the season ends.

To make matters worse for coach, star quarterback Drew Allar suffered a season-ending injury in the loss to Northwestern. There's now an even greater possibility of Penn State missing out on a bowl game entirely with it's College Football Playoff hopes evaporating after consecutive losses to Oregon and UCLA prior.

If the school were to stick with him through the end of the campaign and a postseason-less result is what transpires, it's very hard to see Franklin returning for year five of his 10-year deal. He already struggles in the biggest games of any given season (4-21 against Top 10 teams), now he's struggling to win the games he's heavily favored in.

If he can't turn things around soon, there's going to a lot more fans like this one greeting him at Beaver Stadium on Saturdays.