In 12 seasons with the Nittany Lions, James Franklin is 104-42. Very impressive at any level of coaching, especially on the biggest stage in the Big Ten. Franklin’s issue, however, has always been the big game.

After losing to No. 6 Oregon in double overtime in the 2025 edition of the White Out, Franklin is now 16-37 against ranked opponents, including his time with Vanderbilt. He’s 4-21 against teams in the top 10.

For most of Saturday’s game against the Ducks, Penn State looked way in over its head. The offense had just three points through the first three quarters of the game, and when Oregon scored to make it 17-3, the game felt all but over.

That was, until a fourth-quarter surge and some help from the fans resulted in a tie game with 30 seconds left. The Nittany Lions lost the coin toss but scored on the opening drive of overtime, forcing a response.

Oregon would eventually win the game on a walk-off interception from Drew Allar.

All of that, and of course, the attention is brought right onto Franklin. The former East Stroudsburg quarterback was visibly upset with his daughter after the game as he failed to win yet another big game with all the help of the White Out atmosphere behind him.

The fans also serenaded the coach with “Fire Franklin” chants during the third quarter, something that has become a tradition at home games when the Nittany Lions are down against top-ranked teams. The team was constantly fighting boos from the crowd over play calls.

At the end of the day, Penn State lost because of another game-losing interception from Allar. And what does Franklin say after the game? Well….

“Drew’s been as good as any quarterback in the country when it comes to touchdown-interception ratio over his time.”

Franklin has shared this same sentiment after every misstep the Medina, Ohio, native makes and has already used the line before the FIU game and after Villanova.

Still, for the most part, Franklin has been great for Penn State. He is a program builder, a great recruiter, able to change with the times, and doesn’t lose the games he shouldn’t. But, at the end of the day, he lacks the emotion and fire that the Penn State fans want to see.

Just look at what Oregon head coach Dan Lanning said post-game.

“Never lost composure one second. Highs and lows of this game. That’s a great football team. Threw some punches, and we punched more. Right, and hit a haymaker at the end,” Lanning said.

It’s not just what he said, it’s also how he said it. Lanning ran right to his team and got on the microphone full of emotion, with the flame of energy from the game still burning. Regardless of the outcome of the game, Lanning would have shown the fire as he always does.

“I think that’s the best game I’ve ever been a part of. Regardless of if we won that game, just an unbelievable back-and-forth. Penn State is a damn good football team. They figured out some stuff against us there at the end,” Lanning said.

Franklin, on the other hand, has the same robotic answers to questions in every situation. This is not to question his love for football or for Penn State. Franklin is always great with the media and gives ample amounts of time for questions every week.

You just have to wonder the effects it has on a player to not be held accountable during a press conference, and when you get praise, it’s the same praise you get when you play badly.

Franklin takes responsibility for every little mistake the team makes, as if the players aren’t mature enough to handle the truth or the media are too dumb to know what actually happened.

“I totally get, and I take ownership and I take responsibility at the end of the day,” Franklin said about dropping another big game.

This attitude has also started to rub off on Allar, who is just as emotionless during press conferences. There is no hiding that the signal caller is at his best when he’s playing with fire or talking trash.

Just look at the last two West Virginia games. Allar was caught up in trash-talking from the jump and played two of the best games of his career. Combined, he threw for 541 yards, six touchdowns, and no interceptions.

That Allar should be the Allar at all times. There is no reason to put on a cute face for the media. Show some emotion. You throw another game-losing interception, you have more than a right to be angry or upset, and to show that.

The effect of a Tim Tebow-esque interview from a starting quarterback is undeniable. Instead, more practiced answers.

“We had opportunities. I think that’s kind of, unfortunately, the bright side of it is we had opportunities,” Allar said. “Obviously, at the end, to come back and win the game if we go down to score and make the two-point conversion.”

Yes, you would have won the game if you scored and got the two-point conversion. But… you didn’t, and the team has consistently not been able to do the final bit in the last few years. It’s time to get the fire back and start winning games convincingly.

The Nittany Lions play UCLA and Northwestern; they need some monstrous wins if they want enough confidence to handle Iowa at Kinnick Stadium and Ohio State in Columbus at the end of October.