Oregon Penn St Football Penn State head coach James Franklin reacts after losing to Oregon in the second overtime of their NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger) (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) (Barry Reeger/AP)
Oregon Penn St Football Penn State quarterback Drew Allar (15) and Penn State head coach James Franklin react after losing to Oregon in the second overtime of their NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger) (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) (Barry Reeger/AP)
Northwestern Penn St Football Penn State's head coach James Franklin reacts following an NCAA college football game against Northwestern, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Sam Balkansky) (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) (Sam Balkansky/AP)
Oregon Penn St Football Penn State head coach James Franklin reacts against Oregon during the fourth quarter of their NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger) (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) (Barry Reeger/AP)
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — James Franklin is out at Penn State.
The school fired the longtime head coach on Sunday, less than 24 hours after a 22-21 home loss to Northwestern all but ended whatever remote chance the preseason No. 2 team had of reaching the College Football Playoff.
Terry Smith will serve as the interim head coach for the rest of the season for the Nittany Lions (3-3, 0-3 Big Ten), who began the year with hopes of winning the national title only to have those hopes evaporate by early October amid a string of losses, each one more stinging than the last.
Penn State, which reached the CFP semifinals 10 months ago, fell at home to Oregon in overtime in late September. A road loss at previously winless UCLA followed. The final straw came on Saturday at Beaver Stadium, where the Nittany Lions let Northwestern escape with a victory and lost quarterback Drew Allar to injury for the rest of the season.
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