PSU

Questions abound on Lions’ new path

Rise and Stine

Yes, that really happened last weekend. I'm sure I'm not alone in still not quite believing what I saw.

It really is that bad. In just a quick glance through the standings in the Power-4 conferences, UCLA may really be the worst team in any of them.

But what happened is in the past. The question now is where does Penn State go from here after the unthinkable actually happened?

The Nittany Lions sit at 3-2 with Northwestern coming into State College on Saturday with the same record. On paper, Penn State is a better team by a mile. That doesn't really seem to matter much right now.

There's a viral video on social media going around where PSU quarterback Drew Allar was asked if the Nittany Lions are still in the hunt for the College Football Playoffs.

He asked what the reporter thought, who said he didn't know.

"Yes," Allar replied.

Maybe the answer is a yes, but it's a yes with a lot of shades of gray.

If PSU would run the table for the final seven games and finish the season 10-2, the Lions would have a case to make the playoffs.

Heck, if enough chaos would happen in the conference, it might even be possible for them to make the Big Ten championship game and have a chance to get an automatic playoff bid.

But do you really expect Penn State to get victories on the road, not just at Ohio State but also in Iowa? And a home game against

Indiana?

They will be lucky to win one of those games.

The next question is, with a buyout of $56 million, what exactly do you do with James Franklin?

That large number goes down to $48 million at the turn of the new year, but that is still an enormous amount of money for a program that also has to pay for a major stadium renovation.

More eyebrows were raised on Monday after Franklin was asked why he didn't provide a scouting report for Northwestern in his opening statement.

He has never missed the opportunity to talk about his upcoming opponent before.

It may be nothing, but it also may be a sign that he isn't exactly "locked in" like he preaches.

Everyone knows losing to UCLA is exactly the kind of loss that gets you fired, and there's no excuse for the Lions to look as unprepared as they did last weekend. But is it possible we are in the final days of Franklin's 12-year tenure at Penn State?

I don't envy athletic director Pat Kraft for the decisions he will have to make in the coming weeks and months.

Andy Stine can be reached at astine@altoonamirror.com.