James Franklin has been fired as the head football coach after nearly 12 seasons at the helm of the Penn State football program. The Nittany Lions football program was 104-45 overall during that time. Here is a look at the Penn State Nittany Lions football program since 2008 (the first year that in which I have data for the model) and partially covers Joe Paterno (2008-2011), Bill O'Brien (2012-2013) and James Franklin (2014-2025*). After the figure below is a more detailed look at the Penn State Nittany Lions football program during head coach Franklin's tenure based on the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model using data provided by www.cfbstats.com. (The vertical school color bars represent seasons where head coaches changed).
James Franklin [2014-2025*]
2014
The Nittany Lions finished
the regular season at 6-6 making them bowl eligible, where they defeated #53 ranked Boston College by a score of (31-30) to finish at 7-6 overall. The Nittany Lions played
against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS), meaning that Penn State's SOS was plus or minus one standard deviation of the "league" SOS. Penn State's
best regular season win
was against #49 ranked UCF by a
score of (26-24) and their worst regular season loss was to #93 ranked Illinois by a
score of (14-16). Penn State was the #61 ranked team overall, with the #109 ranked
offense and the #2 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2015
The Nittany Lions finished
the regular season at 7-5 making them bowl eligible, where they were defeated by #13 ranked Georgia by a score of (17-24) to again finish at 7-6 overall. The Nittany Lions played
against a “tougher” strength
of schedule (SOS), meaning that Penn State's SOS was between one and two standard deviations lower than the "league" average SOS. Penn State's
best regular season win
was against #4 ranked San Diego State by a
score of (37-21) and their worst regular season loss was to #64 ranked Northwestern by a
score of (21-23). Penn State was the #61 ranked team overall, with the #88 ranked
offense and the #31 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2016 BIG 10 Champions
The Nittany Lions were 10-2 at the end of the regular season, where they defeated #18 ranked Wisconsin in the BIG 10 conference title game. Penn State lost the Rose Bowl Game against #28 ranked Southern California by a score of (49-52) to finish 11-3 overall. The Nittany Lions played
against a “tougher” strength
of schedule (SOS). Penn State's
best regular season win was against #3 ranked Ohio State and their worst regular
season loss was to #61 ranked Pittsburgh by a
score of (39-42). Penn State was the #12 ranked team overall, with the #10 ranked
offense and the #50 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2017
The Nittany Lions finished
the regular season at 10-2 making them bowl eligible, where they defeated #4 Washington by a score of (35-28) to finish at 11-2 overall. The Nittany Lions played
against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS). Penn State's
best regular season win
was against #32 ranked Northwestern by a
score of (31-7) and their worst regular season loss was to #50 ranked Michigan State by a
score of (24-27). Penn State was the #3 ranked team overall, with the #9 ranked
offense and the #8 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2018
The Nittany Lions finished
the regular season at 9-3 making them bowl eligible, where they were defeated by #32 ranked Kentucky by a score of (24-27) to finish the season overall at 9-4. The Nittany Lions played
against a “tougher” strength
of schedule (SOS). Penn State's
best regular season win
was against #6 ranked Appalachian State by a
score of (45-38) and their worst regular season loss was to #60 ranked Michigan State by a
score of (17-21). Penn State was the #22 ranked team overall, with the #26 ranked
offense and the #29 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2019
The Nittany Lions finished the regular season at 10-2, making them bowl eligible, where they defeated #27 Memphis by a score of (53-39) to finish 11-2 overall. The Nittany Lions played
against a “tougher” strength
of schedule (SOS). Penn State's
best regular season win was against #15 ranked Buffalo by a score of (45-13) and their worst regular
season loss was to #20 ranked Minnesota by a
score of (26-31). Penn State was the #13 ranked team overall, with the #19 ranked
offense and the #13 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2020
The Nittany Lions finished
the COVID-19 shortened regular season at 4-5. The Nittany Lions played
against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS). Penn State's
best regular season win
was against #87 ranked Michigan by a
score of (27-17) and their worst regular season loss was to #83 ranked Nebraska by a
score of (23-30). Penn State was the #57 ranked team overall, with the #58 ranked
offense and the #60 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2021
The Nittany Lions finished
the regular season at 7-5 making them bowl eligible, where they were defeated by #20 ranked Arkansas by a score of (10-24) to finish the season at 7-6 overall. The Nittany Lions played
against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS). Penn State's
best regular season win
was against #17 ranked Wisconsin by a
score of (16-10) and their worst regular season loss was to #83 ranked Illinois by a
score of (18-20). Penn State was the #55 ranked team overall, with the #73 ranked
offense and the #30 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2022
The Nittany Lions were 10-2 at the end of the regular season and bowl eligible. Penn State defeated #10 ranked Utah by a score of (35-21) to finish at 11-2 overall. The Nittany Lions played
against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS). Penn State's
best regular season win was against #7 ranked Minnesota by a score of (45-17) and their worst regular
season loss was to #3 Ohio State by a
score of (31-44). Penn State was the #5 ranked team overall, with the #16 ranked
offense and the #6 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2023
The Nittany Lions finished
the regular season at 10-2 making them bowl eligible, but were defeated by #24 ranked Mississippi by a score of (25-38) to finish at 10-3 overall. The Nittany Lions played
against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS). Penn State's
best regular season win
was against #46 ranked Maryland by a
score of (51-15) and their worst regular season loss was to #8 ranked Ohio State by a
score of (12-20). Penn State was the #6 ranked team overall, with the #32 ranked
offense and the #3 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2024 BIG 10 Conference Runner-Up
The Nittany Lions finished
the regular season at 11-1 and played in the BIG 10 conference title game where they were defeated by #10 Oregon by a score of (37-45). The Nittany Lions were selected to the expanded NCAA FBS playoff format where in the first game they defeated #13 ranked SMU (38-10); in the second game they defeated #9 ranked Boise State (31-14); but lost the third game to Notre Dame by a score of (24-27) to finish overall at 13-3. The Nittany Lions played
against a “tougher” strength
of schedule (SOS). Penn State's
best regular season win
was against #19 ranked Minnesota by a
score of (26-25) and their worst/only regular season loss was to #2 ranked Ohio State by a
score of (13-20). Penn State was the #3 ranked team overall, with the #1 ranked
offense and the #18 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2025*
The Nittany Lions were 3-3 at the time of Franklins's firing. The Nittany Lions played
against an “average” strength
of schedule (SOS) to this point in the season. At the time, Penn State's
best win was against currently ranked #118 Florida International and their worst regular
season loss was to currently ranked #110 UCLA by a
score of (37-42). At the time of Franklin's firing, Penn State was the #39 ranked team overall, with the #58 ranked
offense and the #24 ranked defense using the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model from the data provided from www.cfbstats.com.
2025 FBS Head Coach Changes