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Penn State University have fired head coach James Franklin, according to reports.
The decision comes amid a horrific start to the college football season for the Nittany Lions, who have lost three out of their six games in 2025.
Their most recent defeat saw them fall to a 22-21 defeat against Northwestern on Saturday evening, where fans voiced their frustrations with coach Franklin.
That disappointing result came off the back of consecutive defeats in the weeks prior, having also lost to UCLA and Oregon - despite being overwhelming favorites.
According to ESPN analysts, Franklin became the first coach in 30 years to lose consecutive games despite being a 20-point favorite pregame.
Meanwhile, it's also reported that Franklin has a $57 million buyout in his contract, which Penn State would have had to fork out in order to part ways with the coach.
Penn State University have fired head coach James Franklin, according to reports
The Nittany Lions have struggled during the 2025 season and have a 3-3 record thus far
Franklin had been in Happy Valley since 2014 but only delivered one Big Ten title since then. He had a 104-45 record at Penn State.
According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, who broke the news of Franklin's firing, also revealed that Terry Smith will take over on an interim basis.
Smith had been a long serving assistant manager for the Nittany Lions and had been by Franklin's side throughout his tenure at Penn State.
It's proved to be a nightmare season for the Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after suffering an injury on Saturday.
The QB took a big hit, after being sandwiched between two tacklers, before receiving medical treatment and then later being carted to the locker room.
After the game, Penn State head coach Franklin confirmed that the injury was serious and that Allar would not feature for the team again this season.
With that, it means that Allar's college football career will come to an immediate end, given that he is a senior and out of eligibility beyond the current season.
With that in mind, it serves as a major setback for Allar ahead of the NFL Draft that is set to take place in roughly six months time.
More to follow...
