PASADENA, Calif. — The headline says it all. Nothing tops about Penn State’s stunning and historic 42-37 loss to UCLA on Saturday in the Rose Bowl. It was real and it was spectacular — if you are a Bruins fan.
For formerly seventh-ranked Penn State, the bitter disappointment is real. Penn State began the season ranked No. 2 in the polls, with all sights on a national championship.
That’s still possible. But, TBH, not very probable. A desultory 3-2 start and a to-date signature victory against Villanova (see No. 3) does not engender a lot of optimism.
With that, let’s dive into this week’s Bottom 10, constructed overnight in L.A., before flying back to State College on Sunday mourning.
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1. Responsibility. “Lots went wrong,” Franklin said after his team’s first road game of the season. “Then everything else. Everything else. The travel. Everything else. We did not come out with the right energy to start the game, and before you know it, they get a touchdown drive and onside kick. Now you’re fighting. They gain confidence, and we’re fighting for the next three quarters.
1a. The bottom line, which he then acknowledged: “That’s my responsibility, and I didn’t get it done.”
2. Penn State, now 3-2 in 2025, is 9-5 in its last 14 games. As a Penn State football fan, if it feels like your heart has been ripped repeatedly…well, that’s because it has. The losses: Ohio State/2024 by 7. Oregon/Big Ten title game by 8. Notre Dame/CFP semifinal by 3. Oregon/White Out by 6. UCLA by 5. The wins: Washington, @ Purdue, @ Minnesota, Maryland, SMU/CFP, Boise State/CFP, Nevada, Florida International, Villanova.
3. Penn State’s signature win in 2025, as we head into Week 7 of the season is…Villanova. Scheduling has a big part to play in it. Entering Saturday, the Wildcats were ranked No. 19 in the FCS — formerly known as Division I-AA. They are 3-2, with losses to Penn State and Monmouth, and wins over Colgate, William & Mary and New Hampshire. Meanwhile, Florida International is 2-3 and lost 51-10 to UConn on Saturday. Nevada is 1-4. Not gonna impress the CFP committee.
4. Time + Adversity = lack of success. Under Franklin, Penn State is 6-6 after its first loss.
4a. Penn State is 4-8 in the Big Ten after bye weeks. The Nittany Lions play Ohio State (5-0) on Nov. 1 after a bye week. Unfortunately for PSU, the Buckeyes also have a bye week before the Nittany Lions come to The Horseshoe. Iowa (3-2) had this Saturday off, then is at Wisconsin this Saturday before hosting Penn State on Oct. 18 in the often-brutal Kinnick Stadium, where Franklin’s teams have won by 2 and 5 points, and lost by 3. Under Franklin, Penn State is 5-2 vs. the Hawkeyes, and on their last visit to Kinnick in 2021, lost 23-20. (No. 4 PSU was ahead of No. 3 Iowa 17-3, then QB Sean Clifford was injured.)
5. Stuck at 104. With the two consecutive losses, Franklin (104-44, .7207) and the late Rip Engle (104-48-4, .6795) remain tied at No. 2 for most career victories as a Penn State football head coach. Joe Paterno, of course, is No. 1 (409-136-3, .7491).
6. Dollars and sense. Pat Kraft is not going to fire Franklin. Be real. Penn State was within one drive of making the CFP championship game last year and from 2022-24 was 34-8.
6a. But, there is Franklin Fatigue. From James himself, I think. Only seven head coaches among the 136 major college programs have been at their school longer than CJF. Rebuilding Penn State from the ground up, keeping all that Alignment going on. That wears on a man who has given his all to the job. And, TBH, the past eight days have made Nittany Nation beyond not happy. Living in the State College Bubble isn’t easy, even when you’re winning. And, the 2026 season isn’t looking too bright, with the departure of a whole host of veteran Nittany Lions.
6b. On Jan. 1, 2026, Penn State must pay Franklin $48 million if it wants to terminate his contract. Ain’t gonna happen. But, maybe Franklin’s agent, Jimmy Sexton, and Kraft could work something out. If Franklin leaves on New Year’s Day (figuring no CFP or big bowl game for the Nittany Lions), he owes Penn State a whole million dollars.
6c. To date, according to my estimates and his publicly available contract (sans new and bigger bonuses, approved but never revealed last year), Franklin has made nearly $80 million since becoming Penn State’s head coach on Jan. 11, 2014.
6d. If paid, Franklin’s full buyout on Jan. 1 would fund five full years of WPSU.
7. Money and Expectations. With NIL and the pay-for-play era of the House v. NCAA settlement, Penn State players are making six- and seven-figure annual salaries. So, the expectations are higher. And they should be. That means on and the field, with game performance and in post-game interviews. Luke 12:48 states, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”
8. Same goes for Jim Knowles, Penn State’s new defensive coordinator. He is paid the most of any college assistant in any sport — in the history of intercollegiate athletics: $3.1 million per year over three years. In the Rose Bowl on Saturday, he got outcoached, thanks to the legs and spark of UCLA QB Nico Iamaleava (128 yards run, 166 pass, 5 total TDs) and the guile of first-time play-caller 27-year Jerry Neuheisel, who didn’t even know how to use his headset. Yes, Knowles lost linebacker Tony Rojas. But, he also lost the game, with his defense yielding 27 points in the first half and allowing UCLA to score on all five of its first-half possessions — on mostly-lengthy drives of 75, 75, 68, 40 and 17 yards. Hardly flukes.
9. Feed Fat. Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki has to start calling running back Kaytron Allen’s number a lot more. (Hint: He wears No. 13). For whatever reason, this is not Nick Singleton’s year. Allen HAD TO BE on the field on that final, fateful fourth-and-2 call.
ALLEN through 5 games
2024 – 80 carries, 367 yds., 2 TDs, 4.6-yd. average
2025 – 54-377-6, 7.0
SINGLETON (5 games in 2025, missed Game No. 5 in 2024)
2024 (4) – 53-408-3, 7.7
2025 (5) – 63-239-5, 3.8
10. Meet the press. Franklin’s weekly press conference, held at noon on Mondays in the media room of Beaver Stadium, should be interesting. Afterwards, you can watch it here.
