The Penn State Nittany Lions (3-4, 0-4 in Big Ten) are sitting at the bottom of the Big Ten after losing their fourth straight game against Michigan. With new head coach Matt Campbell coming from Iowa State and bringing the bulk of their roster, along with their easy schedule, the Nittany Lions were a trendy, hipster pick to make the College Football Playoff, and they proved fans right with a 3-0 record in non-conference play. Unfortunately, they stalled out.
You know what's worse than falling to the bottom of your conference? Watching your long-time former coach, who led you to prolonged success, achieve that with another program. Former Penn State head coach James Franklin has led the Virginia Tech Hokies to a 6-2 record, including a 3-2 record in the ACC. If it weren't for a missed field goal against Pitt and letting Cal get a game-winning drive against them, the Hokies would be 8-0.
Franklin was fired last season by Penn State after a disappointing 3-3 record. The Nittany Lions were expected to compete for a championship and started 3-0, but since they started conference play, they lost to then No. 6 Oregon, UCLA with an interim coach, and Northwestern. The Northwestern loss was the final nail in the coffin, and Franklin ended his tenure with a 104-45 record.
The problem was that a lot of Penn State's players transferred to Virginia Tech with Franklin. In terms of transfers, former Penn State starter Ethan Grunkemeyer has 2,140 yards, 17 touchdowns, and just two interceptions with VT, which dwarfs Rocco Becht's 1,664 yards, 12 touchdowns, and five interceptions. Virginia Tech also got Luke Reynolds, who looks like a future high NFL draft pick, linebacker Keon Wylie, and defensive lineman Mylachi Williams.
That was also the case with the recruits. Virginia Tech's recruiting class is ranked No. 15 this season and No. 29 last season. Meanwhile, Penn State has the No. 20 recruiting class this season and the No. 64 recruiting class last season. Top 2027 running back recruit Kemon Spell flipped from Penn State to Georgia, and there was a wave of recruits from 2026 who flipped to Virginia Tech, such as four-star quarterback Troy Huhn, running back Messiah Mickens, and linebacker Terry Wiggins.
The Nittany Lions exacerbated this problem by taking too long to find a replacement. They tried to go after BYU head coach Kalani Sitake, but the BYU administration pulled through in extending him. That resulted in them waiting until December 5, 2025 to hire Matt Campbell.
Time will tell if Campbell becomes successful at Penn State, but it will be hard to follow in the footsteps of a coach like James Franklin. He turned the Nittany Lions into a consistently ranked team, and even if he didn’t usher them out of the Joe Paterno scandal, he helped Nittany Lions fans forget about it. Now, he’s continuing his legacy at Virginia Tech, and the decision looks worse.
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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Opinion: Penn State is losing James Franklin divorce