Penn State closed its historic 2024 season with a bitter stumble in the Orange Bowl against Notre Dame. The defeat exposed strategic flaws and a glaring leadership void. Here's a breakdown of what went wrong and the implications for head coach James Franklin's future.

Penn State head coach James Franklin has a chance to lead his team to the College Football Playoff national championship game on Thursday night, but first the Nittany Lions must defeat Marcus Freeman’s Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Here’s a look back at Franklin’s complete history in bowl games through the years.

James Franklin coached the Penn State Nittany Lions to a loss in a big game. Franklin cleared one hurdle this year when Penn State finally made the College Football Playoff semifinal after defeating SMU in the first round and Boise State in the second round.

James Franklin seemed destined to break the skid. His skid, to be more specific: 12 consecutive losses to top-five opponents, a miserable eight-year drought. But the 11th-year Penn State coach was on the way to snapping that streak.

The Penn State Nittany Lions were eliminated from the College Football Payoff last night in the Orange Bowl, losing a ferocious battle that came down to the wire. Penn State HC James Franklin is taking a lot of criticism for his play calling which resulted in a game-changing interception.