James Franklin
By Robert O'Neill on

Penn State Nittany Lions fans weren’t happy Saturday after the team lost 24-15 to the Michigan Wolverines in Happy Valley.

Fans chanted “Fire Franklin” after the game, referring to Penn State head coach James Franklin.

In the ten seasons Franklin has been at Penn State, he has lost at least two conference games in nine of them, including this current season. He is 1-7 in his last eight games against Michigan and Ohio State.

To make matters worse, offensive lineman Vega Ioane got into a shouting match with some of the fans who were chanting and had to be restrained and led to the locker room by his coaches.

https://twitter.com/joesmeltzer775/status/1723456110667993362

Fans on social media had a lot to say about the incident.

One fan said, “I totally get the frustration. For the fans and for the O lineman. Winnable game. Play calling was atrocious. Allar is……its hard to even describe.”

Another suggested Franklin’s days as coach may be numbered, saying, “Yikes. Once you lose the fan base. You lose the funds. The question now becomes why should we donate to what this guy is doing when he continues to fail the program.”

One fan understood where the fans were coming from, saying, “Shout out to these fans, they deserve better. Just trying to turn their program around.”

Another, however, defended Franklin, saying, “Self awareness as a fan is hard to have, but necessary. Don’t run off a good coach cause you think your good program is supposed to be elite. Penn State is not Michigan or Ohio State. 10-2 is y’all ceiling. The grass will not be greener.”

[Joe Smeltzer]

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