Fortuna Files: What now, Penn State?
A shocking upset at the Rose Bowl highlights a wild first weekend of October.
Fourteen thoughts from a Saturday that has us questioning everything we thought we knew about this season:
1. Is it time to have a James Franklin conversation? A serious one? Most of the postgame coverage from the plugged-in Penn State experts after the Nittany Lions’ inexplicable 42-37 loss at UCLA centered on that topic, a topic that is always a lot more nuanced than it is given credit for. There is the money (a $56 million buyout), a lack of appreciation for what Franklin built (seriously, that program was in rough shape back in 2013) and the very real question of who would do better (Matt Rhule is the obvious replacement candidate).
2. Not to be dismissive, but I often laughed at the “Fire Franklin” crowd. Yes, the big-game record is bad. But you don’t fire great coaches for failing to be elite once or twice a year. Just three active head coaches have won national titles, after all, and one of them (Dabo Swinney) isn’t exactly popular with his fan base at the moment. But the one thing you could count on with Franklin was PSU never overlooking an opponent, and that trust went out the window this weekend with a loss to a UCLA team that did not even have a lead this season before its 27-7 start Saturday against the Nits.