It’s all unraveled for Penn State over the past three weeks.
Just 15 days ago, Penn State was hosting Oregon in a matchup of top-five teams and the Ducks needed two overtimes to take down the Nittany Lions. Now, Penn State is 3-3 after losing 22-21 to Northwestern on that same Beaver Stadium field, and the promise of a national title season is further away than the possibility of a complete program overhaul after James Franklin’s firing on Sunday.
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By now, it’s trite to mention Penn State’s struggles against top-10 teams under Franklin. But as Penn State couldn’t take down the top-ranked teams on a consistent basis, it always did what it needed to do against lesser competition.
That’s no longer happening either. Last week’s loss was the biggest upset of the season. UCLA was a 24.5-point underdog to the Nittany Lions. Saturday’s loss? It’s now the second-biggest upset of the season. Northwestern was a 21-point underdog.
Through the first half of the 2025 season, no other college football team has lost to an underdog of more than 18 points.
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Following a run to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff in January, Penn State was the favorite to win the Big Ten as defending national champion Ohio State seemingly rebuilt after its title run.
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The logic made sense. QB Drew Allar was back along with RBs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. And the mastermind of that Ohio State defense, Jim Knowles, came to State College to be the highest-paid defensive assistant in college football for the Nittany Lions.
Now, Allar is out for the season after suffering a right leg injury late in the loss to Northwestern. And after giving up 17 points to Nevada, Florida International and Villanova, Penn State has allowed 94 points over three Big Ten games.
At 0-3 in the Big Ten, the season was well past the crossroads. That’s even more clear after Franklin’s firing.
Franklin’s buyout is around $50 million and one of the highest in college football. The Big Ten’s potential private equity deal could help soften that blow. But now, as the struggles mount, a fresh start looks like the best idea for everyone involved.
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There are more than a few programs that could use Franklin’s revival skills. He made Vanderbilt relevant in football again and took over a Penn State team in 2014 that hadn’t won 10 games since 2009. In Franklin’s 12 seasons with the school, Penn State has won at least 10 games on six different occasions.
Franklin is still a good coach. No one can be defined by a three-game losing streak, no matter how bad it looks. And sometimes good coaches need new scenery. Sports fans in Pennsylvania know that very well.
After a 4-12 season in 2012 with the Philadelphia Eagles, it was clear that both Andy Reid and the franchise needed a change. It’s worked out well for both. Reid’s won three Super Bowl titles with the Chiefs as KC broke a 50-year title drought. And since Reid left, the Eagles have won their first two Super Bowl titles.
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Can that be a parallel for Franklin and Penn State? We wouldn’t guarantee it. But we also wouldn’t rule it out, either.
Here are the rest of this week’s winners and losers.
UCLA: Get on the UCLA train before it runs away. The Bruins followed a shocking win over Penn State with a 38-13 road win over Michigan State on Saturday. The UCLA run game decimated the Spartans as the Bruins rushed 43 times for 238 yards and two scores while QB Nico Iamaleava was 16-of-24 passing for 180 yards and three touchdowns. The rejuvenation of the UCLA football team after DeShaun Foster’s firing is one of the biggest surprises — and most fun — parts of the college football season. Can the Bruins keep it going in Week 8 against Maryland?
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Kent State: The Golden Flashes have hit the over on their preseason win total. Kent State opened the season with a win total of 1.5 at BetMGM. It was the lowest in college football. If you took the over, you’re very happy. Kent State dominated UMass on Saturday for a 42-6 win and its second win of the season. Dru DeShields threw four TD passes as he was just 10-of-18 passing for 148 yards and Da’Realyst Clark got the game started with a 91-yard kickoff return for a TD.
UNLV: Dan Mullen’s Rebels are 6-0 after a 51-48 win over Air Force. The two teams combined for 1,200 yards of offense as Air Force rushed for 428 yards on 66 attempts. That’s impressive. But UNLV had 220 yards on just 27 attempts and Anthony Colandrea was 20-of-32 passing for 361 yards and a score while also rushing seven times for 62 yards and two touchdowns. The Rebels face Boise State in Week 8 in a rematch of last season’s Mountain West title game. Will it be a precursor to this year’s title game too?
Kennesaw State: The Owls are 4-2 after a 35-7 win over Louisiana Tech on Thursday night. Dexter Williams was 27-of-36 passing for 290 yards and four touchdowns as the KSU defense forced two turnovers. Kennesaw State was just 2-10 in 2024 in its first year at the top level of college football and moved on from coach Brian Bohannon with three games left in the season. Now, Jerry Mack’s squad is two wins away from a bowl game and a half-game out of first place in Conference USA.
Losers
No. 25 Florida State: The Seminoles have come back down to earth. Florida State lost 34-31 at home to Pitt on Saturday to drop to 3-3 and 0-3 in the ACC. Pitt had 476 yards of total offense as Mason Heintschel continues to be stellar as a starter. He threw two interceptions, but was 21-of-29 passion for 321 yards and also rushed 16 times for 64 yards.
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FSU Tommy Castellanos did produce one of the wildest plays you’ll see all season, however.
The Seminoles now head to Stanford in Week 8 as they search for their first ACC win of the season. Maybe that will break their ACC losing streak? Saturday’s defeat was FSU’s eighth straight conference loss dating back to last season.
North Texas: The biggest home game in modern North Texas history went south quite quickly. The Mean Green capitalized on USF turnovers to take a first-half lead over the Bulls before committing a bunch of turnovers of their own.
No. 24 South Florida scored four TDs in the span of 3:30 to flip a game that was tied 21-21 at halftime into a 63-36 rout. North Texas turned the ball over twice in that span as USF opened the third quarter with three quick TD drives and a fumble returned for a TD.
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The Mean Green are now 5-1 overall and 1-1 in the American Conference. A great season is still within reach. But a win on Friday night could have put the Mean Green in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 1959.
Iowa State: Did the Cyclones’ Big 12 hopes disappear in Boulder on Saturday? Colorado scored 17 points in the second half on the way to a 24-17 win over ISU to drop the Cyclones to 2-2 in the Big 12.
Iowa State rushed for 236 yards on Colorado’s defense but was just 2-of-12 on third downs as Rocco Becht averaged fewer yards per throw (6.2) than the Cyclones did per carry. Colorado QB Kaidon Salter, meanwhile, threw for 255 yards on just 25 pass attempts and the Buffs forced an interception, a turnover on downs and a punt on Iowa State’s three fourth-quarter drives.
Oregon State: We’re not sure things can get much worse in Corvallis. The Beavers fell to 0-7 with a 39-14 home loss to Wake Forest. Wake QB Deshawn Purdie made his first career start and was 14-of-27 passing for 270 yards and four touchdowns as the Demon Deacons led 25-0 at halftime and 32-0 after three quarters. At least the Beavers play FCS-level Lafayette in Week 8. That should be a win … right?
