Penn State head coach James Franklin’s seat must be getting quite hot, and he might well know it.
The Nittany Lions suffered a stunning loss to Northwestern at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Penn. on Saturday, 22-21. Penn State entered the game as 20.5-point favorites, but tallied just 274 total yards of offense in defeat.
By the end of the game, Beaver Stadium had completely turned on Franklin. The coach waited for all his players to leave the field before doing so himself, but he looked genuinely lost as he stood at midfield.
The cameraman made sure he got a good pic of James Franklin after the loss 😭 pic.twitter.com/WigbzXgAw3
— Underdog (@Underdog) October 11, 2025
Franklin got a brutal reception as he headed into the tunnel to the locker room. Penn State players received a muted reception that consisted of some boos mixed with polite applause. When Franklin came through the tunnel, however, he was absolutely showered with boos and hostility.
The tunnel was vocal.
— Andrew Kalista (@KalistaAndrew) October 11, 2025
The handshakes have a very different feel between James and the players. #PennState #NittanyLions #jamesfranklin pic.twitter.com/kHBOTLAK6I
This was Penn State’s third consecutive loss. An overtime defeat against Oregon was understandable, but last week’s ugly performance at UCLA was a stunner. A home loss to a 3-2 Northwestern team, however, might prove to be the last straw for a fanbase that was already fed up with Franklin.
Franklin has been Penn State’s head coach since 2014, but has been frequently criticized for his inability to win the biggest games. Now he is losing games that nobody would have expected his team to lose. He signed a 10-year, $85 million contract extension in 2021, however, so he might simply be too costly for the Nittany Lions to move on from.
