Penn State vs. Akron by Ben Stanfield is licensed under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-sa/2.0/ CC BY 2.0 DEED.

Penn State players watch as the game unfolds vs Akron Fans in the stands are hoping to see a big play.

It is halfway through the college football session. Various teams clash weekly hoping to improve their chance of qualifying for the 12 team playoff. Among those top teams are Texas, Oregon and Penn State.

Many spectators are skeptical of Penn State’s success. Having a winning record against low-quality opponents has become a trademark for Penn State head coach James Franklin.

James Franklin has been the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions for the past 10 years. According to Sports-Reference.com, he has totaled what seems to be a strong record of 94-39 at Penn State. However, if fans dig deeper you might discover that they are not as successful as they seem.

Despite having 94 wins over 10 years, Franklin has an atrocious record of 3-17 against top 10 teams and has totaled just 13 ranked wins in 10 years. When viewed from this perspective the cracks in the program are noticeable.

How is it possible that a team ranked so high fails against other top opponents? Maybe it’s because they should have never been ranked that high in the first place. Over 10 years, Penn State has been ranked as high as number two in the nation, and even then they did not qualify for the college football playoff.

The Nittany Lions pride themselves on their performance in rivalry games, which is pathetic because they have a 4-16 record against Ohio State and Michigan. Their last wins against the pair were in 2020 and 2016.

Over the past few years, the “Big Ten” has been a relatively weak conference and is primarily made up of average teams like Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota. These average teams have made it easy for Penn State to stay on top.

However, this year Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA were added to the conference. Many of these teams will face Penn State near the end of 2024. This newfound competition is set to cause James Franklin major problems.

Despite their struggles against top-tier teams, their fans always seem to stay loyal. They claim that their team is good enough to beat anyone. No one can make me believe that a team with a 3-17 record against top ten opponents can compete at a high level.

The program spends over 2.9 million dollars a year on recruiting, via Sports Illustrated, and there is no lack of talent on Penn State’s roster. Instead of focusing on recruiting, they should focus on coaching the players they have.

The big question is how James Franklin still has a job. The program would receive backlash if anything changed as fans of the program view him as a campus role model and legend.

The only way to save Penn State football is to fire head coach James Franklin. He is mediocre and so is his program. Nothing will change until someone decides to get rid of college football’s most overrated coach.