'I believe in myself': James Franklin remains confident after brutal start in 12th year at Penn State

After a heartbreaking double-overtime loss to Oregon in the most highly anticipated White Out ever, Penn State did something it has rarely done in a recent run of success.

It allowed one loss to turn into another, an even uglier one at the hands of previously winless UCLA. Saturday’s debacle was easily the worst Penn State loss under James Franklin and one of the most improbable losses in college football history.

It has also started what is probably the darkest stretch in Penn State’s 12 years with Franklin as coach. One way or another, things need to change. And fast.

Franklin addressed Monday the potential for such changes, whether that be in-game schemes and player usage or off-the-field staff changes.

Still, he took accountability for the back-to-back failures. He said it starts with him, and he will evaluate everything moving forward.

“I hired the staff. We’ve recruited the players. I’m ultimately responsible for all of it,” Franklin said. “Offensively, defensively, special teams. I’m there to support those guys. I’m there to challenge. I’m there to hold everybody accountable. And that’s the nature of my job. I totally get that and totally take responsibility.”

Penn State has been incredibly consistent under Franklin, finishing with double-digit wins in six of his 12 seasons. He has led the Nittany Lions to the College Football Playoff once, two Big Ten Championship appearances with one win and four other New Year’s Six bowls. There has only been one losing season, a 4-5 disappointment in the pandemic-impacted 2020 season.

But Franklin’s bugaboos are well-documented. He holds a 4-21 record against top-10 opponents. He’s only beaten Ohio State, the gold standard for success in the Big Ten, once.

Now in the middle of such a dark stretch, does Franklin believe the ceiling is as high as it once was in Happy Valley?

“I believe in Penn State. I believe in our players. I believe in the men and women in the Lasch Building. And I believe in myself,” he said. “After the last two games, we’re going to get these types of questions. I get it.”

Franklin, as he has many times, reiterated that he won’t allow “two extremely disappointing games” to outshine the growth of the Penn State program over his 12 years.

“I need to make sure that everybody within the Lasch Building keeps everything in perspective,” Franklin said. “We get this fixed, we move forward and find a way to beat Northwestern. And, as you can imagine, we’re as motivated as we’ve ever been to do that.”

Penn State entered 2025 as one of the most popular picks to win the Big Ten and the national championship. That was because of a large pool of returning talent from last year’s semifinal team and an influx of transfer talent.

Now, any chance of a College Football Playoff berth is on life support.

When asked about potentially losing the locker room, Franklin said he doesn’t “have those concerns right now.”

He said this is a resilient Penn State team that he felt “battled” in the past two games, playing hard but not always playing “smart.”

“Is there hurt in the locker room? Yes, no doubt about it. There should be,” Franklin said. “But we’ve got a strong group. We’ve got a resilient group. We’ve got a bunch of leaders who have been through adversity in their past.”

Penn State’s next chance to turn around an already flummoxing season comes Saturday against another bad team in Northwestern at Beaver Stadium, where Franklin and his team are sure to receive an unpleasant welcome. Fans already started chanting for his firing at the White Out.

“Tuning all that outside noise out that does not help us go out and beat Northwestern, that’s critical. That can be challenging at times,” Franklin said. “We need to make sure that, within the Lasch Building, everybody’s focused on controlling the things that we can control, playing really well against Northwestern and not only winning the game but playing better and getting excited about what we can do this season.”