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Franklin s Legacy

F

Fed83

Junior
Oct 31, 2021
115
264
63
According to Kraft he is going to win a NC.
according to Franklin, he is going to go somewhere else to win a NC.
if only doing it was as easy as saying it.
 
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U

uh-Clem

Freshman
Jul 31, 2022
65
97
18
Franklin was able to beat the teams he was expected to beat until he couldn't. He lost this team and that was as clear to Kraft as it was to the majority of fans.,
 
johnmpsu

johnmpsu

Senior
Nov 29, 2001
282
478
63
I'm hoping that a new coach can end the coordinator carousel. Continuity matters. Changing coordinators practically every year is not a formula for success.
 
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A

Anon1759755408

Redshirt
Oct 6, 2025
7
14
3
WSTLion87 said:
Giving CJF a letter grade for overall performance in thirteen seasons I am giving him a B-

The 2016 and 2024 seasons were A-'s
The 2025 season was an F
Click to expand...
12 years is a long time. I think you have to grade the different segments of his era on different curves.

2014-16: A-. Upward trajectory, culminating with a Top 5 win over Ohio State and a Big Ten Championship. I’ve said this before, the exact pinnacle of the CJF era was Saquon‘s long touchdown vs USC in the Rose Bowl. Blowing that game is Ground Zero for ‘Big Game James’ and the black cloud that hung over him the entirety of his career.

2017-19: B. A new standard has been established. If I’m not mistaken, this was the first 3 year stretch since the 90s that Penn State was ranked every single week in the AP. But the teams figured out a way to blow all of the biggest games. “We’re tired of being great. Our goal is to be elite.”

2020-21: D. We were promised elite. You can almost extend a little grace considering the oddities of the COVID year, but notice it didn’t seem to effect the actual elite teams of that era like Ohio State, Alabama, Clemson, and even Notre Dame the way Penn State imploded.

2022-24: B-. Redux of 17-19. Credit is due for keeping Penn State in conference title contention and winning the Rose Bowl but enough time has passed that it painfully obvious if it hasn’t happened by now, it’s not going to.

2025: F-. I’m trying to think of an analogy. Something to do with the program going ‘all in’ on Franklin only for him to reveal his hand is a 3, 9 off suit once the chips were pushed in. There is no modern example in CFB or any sport I’m aware of for a team that was so seemingly stacked with talent and natty expectations to lay a turd this fat and this stinking. For decades to come, 2025 Penn State will be the benchmark used whenever a preseason championship or bust team flakes out.
 
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B

Blair10

All-Conference
Dec 30, 2002
1,732
3,557
113
Anon1759755408 said:
12 years is a long time. I think you have to grade the different segments of his era on different curves.

2014-16: A-. Upward trajectory, culminating with a Top 5 win over Ohio State and a Big Ten Championship. I’ve said this before, the exact pinnacle of the CJF era was Saquon‘s long touchdown vs USC in the Rose Bowl. Blowing that game is Ground Zero for ‘Big Game James’ and the black cloud that hung over him the entirety of his career.

2017-19: B. A new standard has been established. If I’m not mistaken, this was the first 3 year stretch since the 90s that Penn State was ranked every single week in the AP. But the teams figured out a way to blow all of the biggest games. “We’re tired of being great. Our goal is to be elite.”

2020-21: D. We were promised elite. You can almost extend a little grace considering the oddities of the COVID year, but notice it didn’t seem to effect the actual elite teams of that era like Ohio State, Alabama, Clemson, and even Notre Dame the way Penn State imploded.

2022-24: B-. Redux of 17-19. Credit is due for keeping Penn State in conference title contention and winning the Rose Bowl but enough time has passed that it painfully obvious if it hasn’t happened by now, it’s not going to.

2025: F-. I’m trying to think of an analogy. Something to do with the program going ‘all in’ on Franklin only for him to reveal his hand is a 3, 9 off suit once the chips were pushed in. There is no modern example in CFB or any sport I’m aware of for a team that was so seemingly stacked with talent and natty expectations to lay a turd this fat and this stinking. For decades to come, 2025 Penn State will be the benchmark used whenever a preseason championship or bust team flakes out.
Click to expand...

2014-2015 were some of the worst years of Penn State offense in history. Those were the Donovan years and he was promptly fired immediately after that miserable Michigan State loss. Overall grade = D.

2016-2017: Upward trajectory occurred only after Moorhead’s arrival. Grade = A-

2018-2019: The slide begins offensively due to OC Rahne being over his head. Rahne is thankfully encouraged to look for another opportunity outside Penn State. Grade = C.

2020-2021: Agree with your grade of D.

2022-2024: Agree with your grade of B-. Note: This rise started after the arrival of DC Manny Diaz who turned out to be arguably the greatest defense coordinator in Penn State history.

2025: Agree with your grade of F-. Epic fail where Franklin leaves the football team in worse shape than when he arrived during the sanctions era.
 
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C

Chumboshifko1

Senior
Oct 15, 2025
817
594
93
Thank goodness my room mate and a buddy of mine went to their reward before witnessing this abject display of nonsense .
 
P

PSUFTG

All-Conference
Nov 1, 2021
2,079
3,285
113
Blair10 said:
2014-2015 were some of the worst years of Penn State offense in history. Those were the Donovan years and he was promptly fired immediately after that miserable Michigan State loss. Overall grade = D.

2016-2017: Upward trajectory occurred only after Moorhead’s arrival. Grade = A-

2018-2019: The slide begins offensively due to OC Rahne being over his head. Rahne is thankfully encouraged to look for another opportunity outside Penn State. Grade = C.

2020-2021: Agree with your grade of D.

2022-2024: Agree with your grade of B-. Note: This rise started after the arrival of DC Manny Diaz who turned out to be arguably the greatest defense coordinator in Penn State history.

2025: Agree with your grade of F-. Epic fail where Franklin leaves the football team in worse shape than when he arrived during the sanctions era.
Click to expand...
Diaz 2022 was the tried-and-true Diaz defense that other program's - where he was the DC - learned to hate in a hurry:
Overwhelm bad programs with all the constant pressure (and outside of OSU and Michigan, PSU did not face a single Big Ten offense as good as "average")
Then face a quality team and the hairy-*** high school stuff gets lit up (kind of like the Kotelnicki version on defense)
Against the 2 quality opponents that year, Michigan and OSU - Diaz's defense was lit up for 40+ points in both games, over 1.000 yards, and had a TOTAL of 3 stops in two games - which is kind of amazing (3 punts. 0 turnovers)

That said, 2023:
Diaz 2023 broke the script a bit - where they not only overwhelmed the lousy opponents, but also held OSU and Michigan more or less to solid numbers: 44 points TOTAL, around 600 yards total, only 1 total turnover - but 11 punts.
The bowl game against Ole Miss was a *** show, but there wasn't hardly anyone on that team that was even interested in being there - so can't really fault Diaz.
 
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