Penn State Football: Where does James Franklin go from here?

What changes are needed at Penn State?

It is easy to say after an inexcusable loss that Franklin needs to be fired. Look no further at the dumpster fire that was the Penn State Twitter after the game. But that is not realistic. AD Sandy Barbour has Franklin’s back 100 percent.

There of course have been rumblings this season of Franklin leaving for USC or LSU after this season. Possible, yes. But also probably not happening.

So what needs to change if Franklin stays? For one the offensive line. Every year we hear the offensive line has improved and it turns out to be mediocre at best. This year they have been a complete disaster in run blocking. Not a single Penn State running back has eclipsed 100 yards on the ground this season, extremely disappointing given the talent level in the backfield.

It is not like the offensive line is not talented. There are plenty of former four star recruits. But offensive line coach Phil Trautwein is not getting it done with the talent he has.

One could say maybe defensive coordinator Brent Pry needs to be shown the door after the defense gave up 357 yards on the ground to a completely one dimensional Illinois.

But the defense only gave up 10 points in regulation and forced three turnovers. When the offense cannot convert, how much more can you expect of the defense? They did their job and the offense did not.

Finally and I think most importantly, the Penn State fans need to reset their expectations of Franklin. In a game where making the College Football Playoff has become the most important aspect, it may be hard to do. The media is a big reason for this problem, particularly ESPN who markets it if you are not in the top 4, your season stinks.

Look at the teams that have made the playoff consistently. Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Notre Dame are the only schools to make the playoff more than once and of those only the first three have won at least one playoff game.

Penn State fans may need to be realistic and view Franklin’s ceiling is winning a Big Ten championship and making New Year’s Six Bowl games. He’s won one Big Ten title and gone to three of those games, winning two of them.

The Nittany Lions has not won a national championship in 35 years and have not really been in the discussion since the 1994 season. Why do we think they should be a contender for a national title annually? It’s not like Penn State was a contender in Joe Paterno’s last 20 years as head coach.

Coming off a 4-5 season that included a 0-5 start, the expectations were eight or nine wins for this year team. That record is still achievable. But the 5-0 state this season made our expectations run wild and made us ignore that Penn State was a deeply flawed team with no running game and not enough depth. The depth has been severely tested through the injuries.

We will see how the rest of the season plays out. But I really want Penn State fans to ask themselves who do they think could do better than what Franklin has done? I don’t think a Matt Rhule, a Luke Fickell or anyone else could bring them to the College Football Playoff.

Also if Franklin goes, so does what is looking like a top 10 recruiting class. Do we really want this program to go through another rebuild? I think we as fans have to live with the good and bad of Franklin. Fans of many other schools would give anything to have what Penn State has done in Franklin’s tenure. A lot of fandom is based on hope. So we just have to keep hoping eventually Franklin breaks through to the playoff.