James Franklin gets another shot at the problem that haunted his Penn State tenure - USA Today
James Franklin has enjoyed considerable success over his 16 seasons as a head coach.
He has lost just 62 games during that span, was one of the most successful coaches in Penn State history, and has already doubled Virginia Tech's win total from a season ago in the first year of his rebuild in Blacksburg, Virginia.
However, the Achilles' heel of Franklin's career has long been his team's performance against ranked opponents. That shortcoming played a significant role in his firing at Penn State this time last year, a decision Franklin said caught him in "shock." It came on the heels of a three-game losing streak that also included back-to-back defeats to unranked opponents, after Penn State entered the season as the No. 3 team in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll.
In Week 10 of the 2026 season, Franklin will have an opportunity to put the narrative that he can't beat ranked opponents on the back burner when the Hokies travel to take on No. 24 SMU. The Mustangs are ranked in the US LBM Coaches Poll, but dropped out of the AP Top 25 following a Week 9 loss to Syracuse.
In his 16 seasons as a head coach, including a three-year stint at Vanderbilt from 2011-13, Franklin has compiled a 16-37 record against ranked opponents. His lone ranked victory with the Commodores came in his final season, when Vanderbilt knocked off No. 13 Georgia.
During his 12 seasons at Penn State, Franklin compiled a 15-29 record against ranked opponents, a mark that contributed to his dismissal in State College, one year after leading the Nittany Lions to the College Football Playoff semifinals. His record against top-10 opponents was even worse: 4-21, including a 30-24 double-overtime loss to Oregon in 2025.
Those records fell well short of the expectations that come with leading a program of Penn State's stature, where national relevance and championship contention are annual benchmarks. His overall tenure was still successful by many measures, as he guided the Nittany Lions to a 104-45 overall record.
"We hold our athletics programs to the highest of standards, and we believe this is the right moment for new leadership at the helm of our football program to advance us toward Big Ten and national championships," Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft said in a statement when Franklin was fired.
Franklin led Penn State to its first CFP appearance in 2024 after the field expanded from four to 12 teams. The Nittany Lions earned ranked victories over SMU and Boise State before their postseason run ended with a loss to Notre Dame in the semifinals. Penn State held a 24-17 lead with 7:55 remaining in the fourth quarter but surrendered 10 points to lose out on a chance to play in the national championship.
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