Spring game incident shows James Franklin already in blundering midseason form

James Franklin repeated his history of arguing with fans in the stands during Penn State’s spring game.
You know what you’re going to get with James Franklin at Penn State. He’ll win most of his games but lose the biggest ones.
Penn State’s talent, schedule set up Nittany Lions to pursue national championship. But, can James Franklin find some poise?

A video recording from the team’s spring game showed Franklin arguing with a heckling fan, complete with finger pointing from Penn State’s thin-skinned coach.

Franklin has a history of this behavior, although I didn’t figure he was due for another yell-at-the-fans meltdown for a few more months – after, say, a loss to Oregon or Ohio State.

Penn State enters this season with big aspirations and national championship possibilities. That’s the good news. The counterargument? Big-game James tends to crack when the spotlight brightens.

Which is a shame for Franklin and his Nittany Lions, because he’s figured out so much else about how to operate a program at a high level.

Penn State’s trajectory is pointing up after the best season in Franklin’s tenure. The Nittany Lions reached the College Football Playoff semifinals. They’re talented enough to return to that round or more. Advancing further would require a level of poise that’s mostly eluded Franklin and his teams in clutch moments.

For Franklin, this season offers a potential narrative-changing opportunity. His sturdy, veteran-laden roster includes a quarterback who generates buzz with NFL evaluators. The schedule is favorable.

Penn State will host Oregon and play at Ohio State. It should be favored in its other 10 games, complete with three non-conference cupcakes. It’s an ideal team and schedule combination for another playoff bid.

If Franklin finally breaks through and wins an elusive national championship, can’t you just see the narrative shifting to label him as a quirky and fiery program builder who coaches hard-nosed teams?

If Franklin wilts, that cements the idea that, as impressive as his win percentage is, he’s a hot-headed oddball who flops in big games while consistently beating up on the Big Ten’s soft underbelly.

So, what’s it going to be? More meltdowns, or, finally, will Franklin show some resolve, steeliness and poise under pressure? No sign of that yet. Just more arguments with fans.

BEST OF BEST: Our ranking of college football’s top 25 coaches

Penn State among national championship front-runners

The Nittany Lions are on oddsmakers’ shortlist of national championship frontrunners. They rank No. 2 nationally in the latest USA TODAY “too-early” top-25 rankings.

Penn State survived the spring free agency window without enduring significant loss, and it added Syracuse’s leading receiver, Trebor Pena, to give quarterback Drew Allar another weapon.

Pena addresses a need. Penn State’s wide receiver insufficiency became exposed in the playoff semifinals. Not a single Nittany Lions wide receiver caught a pass in the loss to Notre Dame. Pena joins Devonte Ross from Troy and Kyron Hudson of Southern California as impact wide receiver additions. Those three transfers combined for 198 receptions last season.

No need to worry about Penn State’s running backs. Stars Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen returned.

I delayed mention of perhaps the biggest offseason development: Penn State plundered defensive coordinator Jim Knowles off Ryan Day’s Ohio State staff. The Nittany Lions got the deal done by making Knowles the first $3 million in college football history.

If you can’t beat ‘em, raid ‘em.

Can James Franklin finally topple Ryan Day?

Even after all that, can Franklin beat Ohio State? It would defy history.

He’s 1-10 in his career against Ohio State, including an 0-6 mark against Day.

True to form, Franklin argued with a fan after losing to Ohio State in 2024. Call it playing the hits. He previously argued with a fan after a loss to Ohio State in 2018.

Add in Penn State’s Big Ten championship loss to Oregon last season and Franklin’s bleak record against Michigan, and you get the portrait of a coach who rarely misfires against the Big Ten’s middle and lower tiers but can’t land the punch against the heavyweights.

If this is all there is for Franklin, it’s certainly not nothing. He made Vanderbilt a Top 25 program, a true feat, and he’s achieved more regular Big Ten success than Joe Paterno, who more consistently thrived when the program operated as an independent.  

But, when you combine this roster with this manageable schedule, why can’t Penn State be more than it’s been previously?

When I consider that question, I see Franklin losing his composure and arguing with a fan on a spring afternoon, and it’s just tough to picture that guy dethroning Ohio State, when Franklin has already found his midseason stride.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.