Penn State coach reacts to ‘Fire Franklin’ chants during Oregon loss: ‘I take responsibility’

UNIVERSITY PARK — With just over 12 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of the White Out on Saturday, Oregon punched in an easy 8-yard rushing touchdown to take a 17-3 lead.

Penn State’s defense was exhausted and overmatched on the drive, thanks to an inept offense through three quarters of play. A rowdy Beaver Stadium, filled with 111,015 fans, suddenly became lifeless.

At least, it was lifeless for a moment. Then the student section rallied together.

“Fi-re Fran-klin… Fi-re Fran-klin… Fi-re Fran-klin”

The chant rang through the second-largest crowd in stadium history and was another chilling reminder of the rinse-and-repeat failure Penn State has experienced in crucial moments under Franklin’s leadership.

No. 3 Penn State gave those same students something to cheer for shortly afterward, making a frantic fourth-quarter comeback to force overtime. But it wasn’t long before Beaver Stadium came crashing down again on the back of a game-sealing Drew Allar interception and a 30-24, double-overtime loss to No. 6 Oregon.

Boos filled the air as the Nittany Lions gathered to sing the alma mater in front of the student section, and it followed them through the tunnel and into the postgame locker room.

“They’re passionate. When we win, there’s nothing better. When we lose, there’s nothing worse. So I get it,” James Franklin said after the loss. “I get the frustration that comes with a fan base that is invested and cares. I get it.”

In losing Saturday, Franklin fell to 4-21 against top-10 opponents in his 12 years as the Penn State head coach. His only wins have come against No. 8 Boise State in the 2024 College Football Playoff, No. 7 Utah in the 2022 season Rose Bowl, No. 6 Wisconsin in the 2016 Big Ten Championship and No. 2 Ohio State in the 2016 White Out.

The Penn State faithful loudly reminded Franklin of as much — not that he needed the reminder — as he marched through the home tunnel in Beaver Stadium.

They called out to “Big Game James” and heckled him relentlessly.

“I get that narrative. It’s really not a narrative. It’s factual. It’s the facts. I get it,” he said. “I’m trying to look at the entire picture and what we’ve been able to do here. But at the end of the day, we’ve gotta find a way to win those games.

“I totally get it, and I take ownership and I take responsibility. At the end of the day, I wanted that for those kids in that locker room, how hard they work, how much they sacrifice. And we had our opportunities. I take responsibility.”

Veteran players came to Franklin’s defense when asked postgame about the “Fire Franklin” chants and general negativity fired in his direction.

Sixth-year senior center Nick Dawkins, a two-time captain, compared fan reactions to an average person having critics watching and saying, “You suck” as they go about their 9-5 job.

“Love the fans and how they attack games, how they support us. And they have a right to their own opinion,” Dawkins said. “If I listened to what fans said, I probably would not be here, and I’d probably be curled up in a ball crying, honestly.

“You can act like it doesn’t get to you, but sometimes it does, especially when it piles up. My fix to it is just to become numb to it. Don’t even listen to it. Why would I give power to someone who hasn’t been in my shoes or doesn’t live my life? It’s not healthy. But I understand that you have a right to your opinion, to support your team and your alma mater. I’m not saying you can’t do what you need to do. But I also have the right to not listen to what you have to say.”

Dawkins long has been one of the most mature and well-spoken representatives on the Penn State roster. Teammates and coaches often have deemed him the “Mayor of State College” for his charisma and outreach to the community over six years in Happy Valley.

But Dawkins’ journey to becoming a two-year starter and captain was circuitous. He battled injuries, waited his turn behind NFL linemen and made the most of a chance when he got it.

Dawkins has been through a lot with Franklin and emphasized the human side of a marquee loss like Saturday’s.

“Everyone has a figure in their life that has invested in you, correct? You have someone who’s invested in you to get somewhere, maybe somewhere you didn’t even think you’d get to,” Dawkins said. “So when you have someone who’s invested in you, and you see them taking shots and taking flak for things that you don’t really deem as their responsibility, you feel guilty.

“So I feel guilty. And for him, he takes it as well (as possible). He gets up and talks to (the media), makes jokes sometimes, gets crucified and can’t walk places and stuff. I couldn’t imagine being in his shoes, him and Drew (Allar). I have the utmost respect for them because they handle this stuff way better than how I would. I’m just fortunate to be in his presence and see how he overcomes adversity and shows resilience.”

Penn State overcame an incredibly sluggish offensive start to tie the score in the fourth quarter, but much of the damage was already done. The early skew in time of possession wore on Penn State’s defense, and Oregon carried that momentum to score easily in double overtime.

The Nittany Lions were abysmal running the ball, averaging 1.8 yards per carry through the first half.

Franklin attributed much of the struggles to poor first-down execution, putting Penn State off schedule. The Lions faced an average of 6.9 yards to gain on third down and converted just 40% of those chances.

“It’s a team game. It comes down to how we execute the game plan. The game plans have been fine-tuned, direct and clean. We just didn’t execute,” Dawkins said. “And I feel bad because (Franklin) has to take the blame for all this stuff. I feel personally responsible. I wish I would have played better, and maybe that wouldn’t happen. Maybe we’d win and rewrite that narrative.”

After briefly consoling Allar in wake of the game-ending interception, Franklin stood motionless in the middle of Beaver Stadium’s field.

He scanned the stands, digested the scoreboard and perhaps even contemplated the unpleasant role of Bill Murray’s character in “Groundhog Day” that he’s fallen into.

Penn State still has its 2025 goals in front of it, with a clear path to the College Football Playoff and even another chance to win “The Big One” at No. 1 Ohio State on Nov. 1.

But as has been the case so many times before, the onus is now on the Lions to not allow one loss to snowball.

“We’ve gotta learn from this. We’ve gotta have a great week next week,” Franklin said. “We’ve gotta tune out all the noise. And we’ve gotta get better from this and get on a roll for the rest of the season.”