Paul Finebaum eviscerates James Franklin after UCLA loss: 'Penn State can do better'

Bad turned to worse for Penn State on Saturday when it fell 42-37 to UCLA. During an appearance on The Matt Barrie Show on Sunday, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum revealed what he believes the loss means for Penn State head coach James Franklin.

“It’s not statistically the worst loss of all time,” Finebaum said. “… But it feels like the worst loss I’ve ever seen. And, I think for James Franklin, it is going to haunt him because what does he have to do now? He has to run the strait of Indiana and Ohio State. And what reason would any person have to think he can beat Ohio State in Columbus now?

“The bigger issue for James Franklin is keeping his job. And I know what the buyout is, and I know what his record is, but, at some point, you have to determine, can we do better? And, I’m telling you right now, Penn State can do better than James Franklin. It just feels like the gas is leaking all over the runway. That game yesterday, it changed the narrative from he can’t win the big one to, now he can’t win the little one either.”

Penn State was coming off a nail-biting 30-24 loss to Oregon in Week 5. The game on Saturday was supposed to be a bounce-back opportunity for the Nittany Lions.

After all, UCLA entered the game 0-4, with losses against UNLV and New Mexico this season. The Bruins fired head coach DeShaun Foster after starting the season 0-3. They fell 17-14 to Northwestern in Week 5.

According to all metrics, Penn State was expected to stroll to a blowout victory. Instead, the Nittany Lions allowed 446 yards of offense and lost in a half-empty Rose Bowl. Paul Finebaum isn’t sure there’s a way for James Franklin to recover from the loss.

“Part of being a good football coach or a great football coach, is dealing with adversity. And, James Franklin didn’t do that. It happens, but it shouldn’t,” Finebaum said. “It wasn’t like they were in a hostile environment either. I mean, I’ve gone past parks on Saturday afternoons that had more crowd noise than what you had yesterday. So, there’s just no excuse for that.

“Until Saturday, UCLA had been beyond embarrassing. They’d already fired their coach. They were 0-2 in the Mountain [West]. There’s just no way you could have ever seen that one coming… His credibility has been shattered.”