Urban Meyer evaluates criticism of James Franklin, whether it's time for change: 'Absolutely not'

A little less than a year after he won two College Football Playoff games, James Franklin is once again under scrutiny for losing a big game. The Penn State Nittany Lions simply couldn’t pull out the win against the Oregon Ducks over the weekend.

Where does that leave Franklin? That was a topic for discussion on Thursday’s episode of The Herd with Colin Cowherd. Former coach Urban Meyer joined the show.

Cowherd noted to Meyer that he thinks this is the first time ever that James Franklin deserves some criticism. He wondered out loud whether Meyer agreed.

“It certainly is fair whenever you’re at a blueblood place, and Penn State is,” Meyer said. “But I brought this up on Big Noon, Colin, I might have said this to you last week. I’ve been in Columbus when you lose a game and walking out that stadium and life ends as you know it. I mean, the world goes dark.”

That’s a common trope at most major programs. Interestingly enough, Meyer isn’t quite sure Penn State fits that bill.

“In Ann Arbor, you lose a game and I mean the nasty, etc., etc. that you see there,” Meyer said. “Penn State, the pageantry, the White Out is second to none. However, I’ve been at Penn State when we’ve won some close games and I walk off the field and, you know, it’s, ‘Hey coach, see you in a couple years,’ and the nicest people. And I’m thinking, I wonder if deep down, I’m not saying it’s good enough, it’s just not life or death.”

Does that give James Franklin a little extra leeway? Perhaps.

At the very least, Meyer thinks it’s far too early to turn the page on the Franklin era in Happy Valley. He did not equivocate on that point.

“I think he’s doing a great job,” Meyer said of James Franklin. “I think you talk, Ryan Day‘s got a Wolverine problem and Penn State’s got a couple problems; Oregon. Everyone’s just got their little flaws they’ve got to work out. So is criticism right, to answer your question? Yes. Is it time to make a change or even talk about that? Absolutely not.”