James Franklin a fraudster? Social media is crushing coach over Penn State’s battle against USC

James Franklin has heard it all before. And yet here we are again with Penn State’s head coach putting together a solid start to the season but underperforming in an important game.

To be fair, “big game” may not quite describe the Week 7 affair. After all, the Nittany Lions are ranked in the top-5 in the country against an unranked USC program, but Lincoln Riley can do it like few others on offense, and Penn State had to travel across the country for this week’s game.

In fact, crossing the country has been an Achilles heel for Big Ten teams so far this season. It’s also something Franklin specifically pointed out during his weekly press conference.

Due to a smaller local airport, Penn State had to take a bus ride from College Station to a larger airport outside the city before boarding a cross-country flight to Los Angeles. Penn State isn’t the first team to struggle after the trip, but it’s magnified by some of Franklin’s past losses and the high ranking of its Nittany Lions.

Throughout the first half, Penn State was outplayed by USC on both sides of the ball. The Trojans stormed Tom Allen’s entire defense and also came up with a takeaway on a Drew Allar interception.

Considering Penn State has a “Playoff or bust” mentality with 12 available spots this season, a loss to USC – with other big games coming up – would be disastrous. But if Penn State doesn’t turn things around, it will be another failure in Franklin’s portfolio.

Here’s how social media torched Franklin for the Nittany Lions’ latest efforts:

This is about James Franklin, because he complained about the bus ride. Loser mentality

— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) October 12, 2024

Brilliant move by James Franklin to drop the runway a bit earlier this week. That’s a man who knows how to make a pre-loss excuse

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) October 12, 2024

Wait, Penn State got a top five ranking and then immediately started melting down? That’s so different from James Franklin. I hope everything is okay

– a dozen bats on a keyboard (@PanasonicDX4500) October 12, 2024

James Franklin is one such loser. Mfer can never get his team ready to play in big games.

— Dean Black (@dblack665) October 12, 2024

James Franklin once again shows how poor he is as a coach at PSU this opening quarter

— Tim Panaccio (@tpanotchRET) October 12, 2024

If FSU moves on from Norvell in two years, they better not hire James Franklin. I don’t think I can handle a coach with a high floor and a low ceiling.

— Evan Johnson (@evenflow58) October 12, 2024

James Franklin only deserves bad things.

— Jawn Iver (@DickeyB14) October 12, 2024

The magic of James Franklin in full screen again! Why do we still expect something different from @PennStateFball ‍♂️

— Rimothy Timmer (@RimothyTim) October 12, 2024

James Franklin is such a fraud, lmao

— corn ranger (@themaizeranger) October 12, 2024

This is classic James Franklin lololol

— Benjamin Ham (@benjaminham12) October 12, 2024

I’m never going to trust a team coached by James Franklin, I’m just not going to.

— Zach Mullis (@zmullis) October 12, 2024