Is the Nittany Lions' Franklin on the hot seat?

… "Franklin has been a big disappointment" 

Okay, it is just Ron Cook, but many at Penn State agree with him about James Franklin's first two seasons. What made matters worse last year was a 27-10 loss to Temple, the first time that the Nittany Lions lost to the Owls since the days of Jim Thorpe with the Carlisle Indians -- well, not quite that long ago.

Cook is playing the antagonist in the lead-in to the Penn State-Pitt brouhaha on Sept. 10 by pointing out how well Pitt Coach Pat Narduzzi did his first year at Pitt, and how poorly Franklin's Nittany Lions have done in his first two seasons.

In fact, Cook is saying that Narduzzi reminds him of a young Johnny Majors. Talk about putting the whammy on a second-year head coach -- almost as harmful as Bob Prince's Green Weenie in the Danny Murtaugh days.

Sporting News poll

While this column compares and contrasts Pitt, West Virginia and Penn State, Cook reserves his most scathing comments for Franklin. A Sporting News poll from last month ranked all of the major Div. I football coaches. Narduzzi is 38, former Pitt coach Paul Chryst is 44 at Wisconsin, WVU's Dana Holgorsen is 49, and Franklin is 51. That allows Cook, who has yet to coach at even the Pop Warner level, to take some shots at the third-year PSU coach. "Franklin has been a big disappointment, actually. He hasn’t delivered any of the promises he made when he was hired from Vanderbilt after the 2013 season. His offense has been painful to watch. He ruined Christian Hackenberg, at least as a college quarterback …" Cook pontificates.

Truth be told, that is exactly what many of the PSU faithful have been saying about Franklin.

Is he right? Many Penn State fans will agree with Cook and say that in his third year, Franklin had better produce this year or he could be headed back to the PSAC (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, Div. II, where he played at East Stroudsburg).

Some on the board of trustees are advocating bringing back Jay Paterno to the staff ... okay, I am joking. No one is that crazy yet.

Taking it one step further, and Cook is right with this, if Franklin would lose to Pitt at Heinz Field in week 2 and Temple at Beaver Stadium in week 3, the die may be cast for the coach who has the eighth highest salary in the country ($4.2 million). "Penn State didn’t just lose to Temple last season for the first time since 1941, it was clobbered, 27-10," Cook says. "He really needs to beat Pitt and Temple in September."

Again, he is right. A loss to Pitt followed by a second consecutive loss to Temple and the boo birds will be out in force in Happy Valley.

Pitt fans energized?

Narduzzi has the better team returning, and he recorded a 6-2 record in the ACC last year. Yes, the ACC is not really the Big Ten other than Florida State and perhaps Clemson, but Narduzzi's success in his first year has Panther fans salivating for the matchup against the Nittany Lions at Heinz Field. "In just one year, Narduzzi has done an amazing job re-energizing Pitt’s fan base after more than 30 years of virtual irrelevance for the program," Cook, ever the student of hyperbole, writes.

Virtual irrelevance? He will excite some Pitt fans with those words.

The Panther faithful hope that he is right, and they are just itching to hammer Franklin over his "Dominate the State" boast when he was hired. Franklin has done well in the recruiting game thus far, having a Top 20 recruiting class this year, but they have not excelled on the turf.

Johnny Majors III?

The Narduzzi comparison to Majors is interesting. "He reminds me of a young John Majors with his enthusiasm. He has been so dynamic that many Pitt fans already are worried he will leave for a better job," Cook says.

Really, Ron? He had a nice start to his head coaching career at Pitt, but he is still number 38. The Panthers did not make it to a major bowl last year and you're saying that he will be Saban's replacement when he retires at Alabama?

Not really, but he is right about Franklin, whose offensive lines have been horrible in pass protection. While he has brought in an outstanding young running back in Saquon Barkley, who was second team all-Big Ten last year (1,007 yds, 100.7 per game) as a freshman, leaving many PSU fans thinking of Curt Warner II, he needs some W's to placate the faithful.

Nevertheless, even with a new offensive coordinator, that offensive line may still be a major issue again this year.

Can Pitt fill Heinz Field?

The challenge for the Pitt fans is that they have to fill Heinz Field for the renewal of the PSU-Pitt rivalry. If Pitt followers have already given up their tickets on eBay to Blue and White fans, then perhaps the Panther faithful are not as optimistic about Narduzzi as Cook is.

Cook column

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/ron-cook/2016/07/10/Why-Pitt-is-it-in-football/stories/201607100077?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=most-viewed-opinion&utm_campaign=Headlines-Newsletter