The college football coaching carousel continues to turn as the season reaches the middle of November. Several high-profile jobs are available including LSU, Penn State, Arkansas, and Virginia Tech. Fans of each program with a head coaching vacancy are eager to see what direction their school decides to go.
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One name that has been dominating headlines in recent weeks is James Franklin. Franklin was fired from Penn State on October 12 in his 12th season in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions entered the season ranked as the No. 2 team in the country, but found themselves with a 3-3 record and unranked after three consecutive losses to Oregon, UCLA, and Northwestern.
His firing alone caused plenty of fireworks in the college football world, but now Franklin's name is linked to several coaching vacancies. Most notably, Franklin is rumored to be an option for the Arkansas opening. LSU fans won't mind seeing that hire become a reality, as Franklin's big game woes ultimately aided in his downfall at Penn State.
James Franklin's big game woes wouldn't strike fear in LSU fans
According to ESPN's Jake Trotter, Franklin's struggles against the top teams in the country played a role in the decision to fire him. Franklin finished his career at Penn State with a 4-21 record against top-10 opponents. According to ESPN Research, Franklin's lowly .160 winning percentage against AP top-10 teams is tied for the third-worst record by a coach (minimum 25 games) at a single school since 1936.
Struggling against top teams was also a problem for Brian Kelly during his tenure at LSU. Kelly finished his LSU career with a less-than-ideal 5-11 record against ranked opponents. That is unacceptable, and like Franklin, Kelly's woes against ranked teams played a role in his firing as well.
If Franklin were to take the Arkansas job, he would likely be facing top-10 teams multiple times every season. From top-to-bottom the SEC is a deeper conference than the Big Ten, and Franklin's big game woes would be worrisome for whatever school decides to hire him. Franklin is a solid head coach who has the potential to do great things at Arkansas (or whatever school hires him), but his constant big game woes wouldn't exactly strike fear in LSU fans.