James Franklin confronts questions about his Penn State future after Northwestern loss: 'It's 100% on me'

Following a second straight upset as a heavy favorite -- and a third consecutive loss overall -- Penn State is reeling and coach James Franklin is facing questions about his future. He was asked directly about what lies ahead for him in State College after his team's 22-21 home loss to Northwestern on Saturday.

One week after giving UCLA its first win of the season, Penn State laid an egg at home against Northwestern. The Nittany Lions are now just the fifth team since 1950 to start 3-3 after being ranked in the top two of the preseason poll.

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Due to his massive $56 million buyout, Franklin has some degree of security, but this can only continue for so long before Penn State makes a move. In his postgame press conference, Franklin deflected attention to his players when asked about his future with the Nittany Lions.

"For me, it's always been about our players, and those guys are hurting right now," Franklin said. "The fans are frustrated, and I totally get it. We have great fans here. We get unbelievable support. I understand their frustration. Trust me. We're as frustrated as anybody, the guys in the locker room.

"But to me, ultimately, it's about the guys. It's about the guys in the locker room, and they're hurting in there. And I'd do anything I could to take that hurt away from them. But like I told them, we've got to stick together. We've got to tune out all the noise, and we've got to get to work. That's the only answer, is get to work. We've had some adversity in the past, not like this, and we're going to get to work."

Franklin expressed his commitment to the players, saying they have been his focus throughout his entire coaching career.

"I love those kids," Franklin said. "I am committed to those players in that locker room, and I've been that way for 12 years. I've been that way for 15 years of my head coaching career, and I've been that way for 30 years. That won't change. It's always been about the players for me; that won't ever change. That's what it's all about for me. So my commitment is to the guys in that locker room and all the guys that have been in that locker room in the past. That's where my commitment is."

James Franklin: 'We shouldn't lose that game'

As things have spiraled out of control in Happy Valley, Franklin and his coaching staff have tried to insulate the players from the outside criticism. As the volume on that noise cranks up, Franklin acknowledged that it's probably had some impact on the team.

"We have worked really hard to keep the building as positive as we possibly can and close out all that noise," Franklin said. "But for me to say that it doesn't impact them would not be honest."

If things keep going this way, the Nittany Lions may have to scratch and claw just to reach bowl eligibility. Franklin made it clear whatever issues are plaguing Penn State right now must get corrected, and said he will be the one to fix them.

"We shouldn't lose that game," Franklin said. "It's 100% on me, and we have to get it fixed, and I will get it fixed."

Things won't get any easier for Franklin and Penn State in the coming weeks. The next three games include road trips to Iowa and Ohio State, as well as a home game against Indiana.

To top it all off, the Nittany Lions will have to face that gauntlet without starting quarterback Drew Allar, who was lost for the season with a leg injury in the fourth quarter.