James Franklin to appear on College GameDay during Week 8 broadcast
By Mark Kern
Published:
James Franklin was let go by Penn State after the Nittany Lions lost to Northwestern for their third consecutive defeat on the season. He has stayed out of the media light since then, but he will break his silence on Saturday.
ESPN announced on Thursday that the former Penn State and Vanderbilt head coach will make an appearance on ESPN’s College GameDay this Saturday for an exclusive, on-site interview in Athens.
Franklin was the coach at Penn State for 11 seasons and parts of a 12th. He finished with a record of 104-45. The Nittany Lions entered this season expected to contend for a national championship after making it to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff last season.
Just three weeks ago, the Nittany Lions were in double overtime against Oregon in a game featuring two top-10 teams. Since the Nittany Lions lost that game, they’ve lost to UCLA and Northwestern in games where they were favored by at least 20 points.
The biggest issue for Franklin during his time at Penn State was the inability to win the big games. Penn State was 4-21 in games against the AP top 10 during the Franklin era, and just couldn’t get over the hump against teams like Michigan and Ohio State.
The appearance on Gameday figures to shed light on what is next for the longtime coach.
