A blade of grass is at the root of the latest Penn State football drama.

Had the Big Ten replay official upheld the blade of grass fumble vs. Oregon, the Lions would not have been demoralized, they would have rolled over UCLA and Northwestern, and James Franklin would still be at Lasch.

As it turned out, fan fervor generated amidst the White Out spectacle could not survive a crushing loss.

Franklin’s fatal error was courting and hiring “rock star” coordinators.

OC Andy Kotelnicki, who sits alone without a consigliere in the press box, I guess because he thinks he doesn’t need a second pair of eyes, called the worst half of offensive football in the first half of the Oregon game that I’ve ever seen at Beaver Stadium — but I only go back to Rip Engle and 1962.

The last two minutes of the first half against UCLA were played under water (JF in on this, too) and the final fourth-and-2 read option sweep — whatever he called it — was, well, stupid.

Ohio State yoda Jim Knowles is a bigger problem.

In case anyone ever asks, PSU’s best defensive coordinator of all time was Manny Diaz. When Tom Allen inherited Diaz’s formidable D, he was astute enough to not screw it up by installing a new system.

Not genius Knowles — let’s play only two linebackers (at Penn State!), spread the defensive tackles and allow teams to run up the middle with ease.

In addition, no answers during the game and definitely no noticeable halftime adjustments. He was good with Ohio State’s players. His ego drove him to install his plan here instead of just driving a detailed car.

Knowles is one of the biggest reasons for Franklin’s firing, but James is too classy to tell us that.

Dust off Fran Ganter and Tom Bradley. They’ll come in cold and do a better job than these two phonies — maybe for nothing.

The big-game performance stats do not favor Franklin, but it’s not like he hasn’t been close. Lots of people lose to Top-10 teams mainly because … they’re Top-10 teams. A better pass to Singleton in the Notre Dame game, and Franklin is playing for the national championship.

In fairness to the detractors, Franklin’s teams lacked discipline. Down 27-7 to UCLA, King Mack made a play and started to dance. That’s losing 27-7. Khalil Dinkins scores a TD to make it 27-13 and he fires the ball into a crowd of paramedics or some other group. Gets 15 yards. The new coach must curb celebrations and subsequent penalties.

The most disturbing facet of this nauseous adventure is/are Penn State fans.

The “Fire Franklin” chant with 200 recruits on the field and the world watching, the profane, vicious and racist attacks as he exited the stadiums with his daughter, the level of hatred that I thought only appeared at Eagles or Jets games was embarrassing.

No one worked harder, comported himself better or represented the team and university better than James Franklin. If it were time for him to go, it could have been done with dignity and honor, and not hostile, drunken, contemptible behavior.

So right now, the recruiting class of 2027 has gone from No. 1 to zero, and wait until the portal opens. Fans are discussing vile, arrogant, sellout candidates like Curt Cignetti as replacements. The haters are loving it, and others are laughing.

Along with thanking Coach Franklin and his family, my choice for replacement is Manny Diaz and my second choice is no one. Whoever comes in should retain coaches Smith, Barnes, Connor and maybe one or two others.

“May no act of our bring shame…..”

Hostility, lost recruits, portal losses, hurtful/harmful behavior, embarrassment …and a blade of grass.

For no glory,

Bob Biscontini

Hanover Township

Franklin delivered share of success

James Franklin’s tenure at Penn State football will ultimately be viewed as quite successful.

He rescued a troubled program under NCAA sanctions and rapidly restored it to national prominence with a conference title and multiple major bowl victories.

His downfall, however, was the lofty expectations — fueled both by a fan base hungry for a championship after a 40-year drought and by Franklin’s own rhetoric about becoming “elite” — that ultimately went unmet.

If his successor wins a national championship, he will have leveraged Franklin’s modernization efforts in facilities, NIL, recruiting and the transfer portal.

While his firing was justified in this new college football landscape, Penn State fans owe a significant debt to a good man and coach who delivered us many more successes than failures.

Christian Andros

Pittsburgh

Fault lies with past administration

It may be best for James Franklin and the athletic administration to find a soft landing and move forward.

While it’s Pat Kraft’s problem to solve, the fault lies with the Board of Trustees and Sandy Barbour.

Jimbo Fisher also had a ridiculous buyout in his contract, which paid him $75 million.

Maybe there is a way to draft these contracts with two separate buy-out clauses — one if the coach decides to leave for another job at a higher rate and one if the school decides to buy him out which is fair, reasonable and not overly exorbitant.

Marty Mehring

Port Matilda