TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Multiple Penn State defenders take the field during the team’s White Out matchup against Oregon on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Beaver Stadium in State College. The Nittany Lions fell, 30-24, in overtime. They’re looking to bounce back vs. UCLA this Saturday, with road game set for 3:30 p.m.

James Franklin urges his players not to immerse themselves on social media in order to stay on an even keel and keep a 1-0 mentality.

He would do well to practice the same because it’s not pretty out there.

After last week’s disheartening double-overtime loss to Oregon, Franklin’s record vs. the Top 10 sunk to 4-21 and 1-15 vs. the Top 5.

The Nittany Lions, ranked No. 2 to enter the season, have become a national story more for what haven’t accomplished the last few years – especially this one, so far – than what they have.

Several giant voices in the sport, like Fox’s Joel Klatt, have urged Franklin to change his offense, which has been largely inept in the biggest games and prone to the decisive mistake.

But wait: He already did that.

Franklin practically spits out offensive coordinators – having fired John Donovan, Kirk Ciarrocca and Mike Yurcich previously, and his latest answer, Andy Kotelnicki, has satisfied no one.

How many OCs can you fire before people realize the problem is you?

And Franklin’s transactions have often been cold – Ciarrocca was whacked after one Covid season and Yurcich with two games left in 2023.

Big-game losses (read: Ohio State, Notre Dame, Oregon now twice) translate into big-picture criticism, but knowing he’s the face of the program and can’t drag his chin into press conferences, Franklin has dealt with the disappointment professionally.

We’ve seen high-profile coaches (Brian Kelly, Dabo Swinney, Mike Gundy before he was shown the door) go off on the media. That’s not Franklin.

And while he’s spared us an “elite” speech that backfired in 2018, he did provide a window into this week’s mindset.

Amid questions about his big-game record, Drew Allar’s regression, an offensive line that was wildly overrated – Kotelnicki himself predicted it could be the best in the country – a composed Franklin said: “I will also say that I’m not going to allow one loss to define our season. I’m not going to allow a few losses to define my career and what we have done here at Penn State. I get it. Nobody wants to hear this right now. (But) There is a ton of positives.”

That’s true, but when somebody starts referencing his career after a brutal midseason loss, you begin to wonder if he envisions a fresh start somewhere else.

For now, though, Franklin is trying to focus on the present, which fortunately for him and the Lions includes a date this afternoon at 0-4 UCLA, a program is disarray.

The Bruins fired their second-year head coach, DeShaun Foster, three weeks ago and then dismissed their offensive coordinator, Tino Sunseri, Tuesday.

Jerry Neuheisel, Rick’s son and up to now the tight ends coach, will call the plays today.

Penn State will probably have more fans at the Rose Bowl (UCLA’s home field) than the Bruins.

Given the opponent, almost nothing the Lions accomplish will be overly positive, and only will a less-than-dominant performance be overly notable.

Expect Penn State to re-emphasize the run game that Kotelnicki once again got away from in the key moment last week (ie: throwing a game-ending interception on first down) and begin re-developing a game plan that will be most conducive to competing in Columbus on Nov. 1.

The loss to Oregon suddenly means the Lions may not be able to afford another setback if they have plans on making the College Football Playoff field.

So not only is Ohio State a big game, but Iowa and Indiana are, too.

If there was an upside from last week, Penn State under Franklin again showed that it can compete against the best of the best until the bitter end.

And maybe one of these days, though we’re all running out of patience, the end won’t be so bitter.

Neil Rudel can be reached at nrudel@altoonamirror.com.