As far as Penn State fans are concerned, some are finished with their head coach.
After the Nittany Lions fell to Ohio State on Saturday afternoon, 20-13, in a huge Big Ten matchup, James Franklin was booed off the field.
Chants of “Fire Franklin” could also be heard booming at Beaver Stadium as he ran to the locker room.
Franklin, who is in his 11th season at Penn State, is now 1-10 overall against the Buckeyes, and the loss looked similar to the others — lacking in game-changing plays mixed in with the inability to break through the bully defense of Ohio State.
The latest happened on their home field, ending a 7-0 start to the year.
Ohio State kept Penn State out of the end zone on offense, including late in the first half when Buckeyes defensive back Davison Igbinosun wrestled the ball away from Penn State wideout Harrison Wallace III in the end zone.
It was a tough finish to the Nittany Lions’ final drive of the first half, as they trailed 14-10.
The only touchdown Penn State scored came from the defense in the first quarter after Ohio State quarterback Will Howard’s pass was intercepted by Zion Tracy, who returned the ball for 31 yards to give Penn State an early 10-0 lead.
In their final chance to tie the game and force overtime, trailing by seven, Penn State turned the ball over on downs at the Ohio State 3-yard line with 5:20 left in the final quarter.
Three running plays up the middle from Kaytron Allen came up with nothing.
Then, quarterback Drew Allar threw an incompletion on fourth-and-goal, giving the Buckeyes the ball back and all the time to run the clock out across 11 plays.
Allar threw for just 146 yards under first-year offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, as Ohio State’s defense got the best of him.
Howard, on the other side, threw for 182 yards for two touchdowns.
After Saturday’s game, both teams are tied at an overall record of 7-1, sitting behind unbeaten Indiana and Oregon.
Penn State is set to host Washington (4-4) next Saturday.
