This is from Joe Hermitt of Pennlive, the hometown newspaper:
Penn State’s defense looked like it had quit at times...
Let's start there. Maybe end there. The defense looked like it QUIT. There is no more damning indictment of the coach-team dynamic.
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...until their backs were against the wall, they looked as sluggish and disjointed as it had against Nevada, FIU, Villanova and Oregon. As for Franklin, his clock management at the end of the first half was bafflingly bad.
Something has to happen after that.
[They're going there, and it's not just Hermitt. See below, there's a plan.]
In all likelihood, Franklin won’t be fired. His approximate $56 million buyout (https://www.pennlive.com/pennstatefootball/2025/10/how-much-would-it-cost-penn-state-to-fire-james-franklin-after-loss-to-ucla.html) would be the second-largest in the sport’s history. That’s pretty prohibitive.
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...starting anew would be best for all parties. The fallout from this loss makes the situation in Happy Valley far too toxic, especially considering the expectations around this season.
Athletic director Pat Kraft said in February that Penn State was committed to winning a national championship in football. At Big Ten media days in July, Franklin said this iteration of Penn State, between the players and coaches, was “the best combined personnel that we’ve had.”
Penn State shelled out major resources to retain Drew Allar, Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen and Dani Dennis-Sutton, among other NFL prospects. It shelled out major resources to land defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and keep Kotelnicki. Penn State went “all-in.”
So if it wasn’t going to happen this year, when would it happen?
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Franklin said last week he wouldn’t let the loss to Oregon “define” Penn State’s season. Turns out, the Lions’ season-defining loss came against the worst team in the country.
This is the other article referred above. From SI:
James Franklin and Penn State Reach Breaking Point After UCLA DisasterIt may be time for Penn State and head coach James Franklin to ponder parting ways on a mutual basis...
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This cannot continue under any circumstances.
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...Penn State’s side, the school cannot likely come close to simply cutting ties with Franklin’s buyout exceeding $50 million—which would be the second biggest in history after Texas A&M paid Jimbo Fisher $77 million to go away. But the administration could straight up tell Franklin that all the program’s revenue sharing and NIL money are likely to be rerouted into sports where the Nittany Lions can actually win something.
Perhaps Franklin will dig in, promise more changes and refuse to leave. He shouldn’t, not with a $2 million exit built into his contract that could see him take any number of openings this coaching cycle.
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It simply can't continue like this.
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Finally, this is Bob Flounders from Pennlive, who I have watched many times before, but never like this. He tells his audience he's "beat." It's not physical fatigue. He's demoralized, beaten down.