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James Franklin a fraud? Social media crushes coach for Penn State’s struggles vs. USC

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

Published:

James Franklin has heard it all before. And yet, here we are again with Penn State’s head coach delivering a solid start to the season but underperforming in a big game.

To be fair, “big game” might not quite describe Week 7’s affair. After all, the Nittany Lions are top-5 in the country against an unranked USC program, but Lincoln Riley can dial up an offense like few others, and Penn State had to cross the country for this week’s game.

In fact, crossing the country has been an Achilles heel for Big Ten teams so far this season. It’s also something Franklin specifically pointed out at his weekly press conference.

Due to a smaller local airport, Penn State had to take a bus ride out of College Station to a larger airport out of town before boarding a cross country flight to Los Angeles. Penn State is not the first team to struggle after the travel, but it’s magnified by some of Franklin’s past losses and the high ranking of his Nittany Lions.

Throughout the first half, Penn State has been outplayed on both sides of the ball by USC. The Trojans have been running all over Tom Allen’s defense and also came up with a takeaway via a Drew Allar interception.

Considering it’s a “Playoff or bust” mindset for Penn State this season with 12 spots available, a loss to USC — with other big games still to come — would be disastrous. But if Penn State doesn’t turn things around, it’s going to be another dud on Franklin’s portfolio.

Here is how social media torched Franklin for the latest efforts of the Nittany Lions:

Paul Harvey

Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.

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