Giger: Is Franklin overrated? taken in University Park, Pa. (Penn State)

Mark Selders / Penn State

James Franklin leads the Penn State team out of the tunnel prior to Saturday's nine-overtime loss to Illinois.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- I realize most people reading this column from a Penn State writer in PA will, in fact, be Nittany Lions fans. So you come into reading this having already formed a certain viewpoint about James Franklin.

What I truly would hope is for some USC and LSU fans to happen upon this column via some message board link or social media and read it. Because I want to ask them this question:

Do you want James Franklin as your head coach?

Still?

Because today, following an unforgivable 20-18 homecoming loss to 24-point underdog Illinois in nine overtimes, I cannot fathom how fans at USC or LSU would be as interested in hiring Franklin and giving him $8-9 million a year thinking he's going to be the one to deliver you a national championship.

We've all just been led to believe in recent weeks that USC and/or LSU want Franklin as their No. 1 coaching choice. But after what happened Saturday -- one of the worst losses in Penn State history -- and what has happened going back to the start of last year, it seems odd that more people are not asking this question:

Is James Franklin overrated?

The answer isn't as easy as yes or no. Like with everything in life, there's a lot of gray area in the middle.

Penn State entered last season ranked No. 7 in the country, then proceeded to go 0-5, the worst start ever for a preseason top 10 team.

The Nittany Lions started this season 5-0 and rose to No. 4 in the rankings. They would have won at Iowa had Sean Clifford not gotten hurt, then would have moved up to No. 2 in the country.

But now that Penn State has lost to Illinois, the Lions are 5-2 and about to be 5-3 after they lose this week at Ohio State. There's a good chance the red-hot Buckeyes will clobber Penn State, especially if Clifford and others still aren't fully healthy. Ohio State opened as a 15-point favorite, and the line moved quickly up to as high as 17.5 Sunday.

So, after this week's expected loss, Franklin will be 9-8 in his last 17 games. Two of those losses have been against a 27-point underdog (Maryland last year) and now a 24-point underdog (Illinois).

Oh, and there's still Michigan and Michigan State on the schedule. If Penn State loses those games, this is a 7-5 season at best. And if Illinois, of all people, can beat the Lions, it's not unreasonable to think Maryland and Rutgers can, as well.

Why on earth would USC or LSU or anyone else be considering hiring a coach with the recent track record Franklin has had and giving him a truck full of money as one of the three or four highest-paid coaches in the country?

So obviously, Franklin is definitely overrated.

Hang on, though.

The answer isn't that simple. There are other things to consider.

No one can deny that Franklin did a remarkable job at Vanderbilt. He built that program into a winner, which was astounding.

No one can deny that Franklin did a remarkable job turning Penn State back into a national power after the scandal and sanctions. It was then and still is astonishing that the Lions won the Big Ten in 2016, well ahead of even the most optimistic of schedules coming out of the sanctions.

No one can deny that Franklin is a good recruiter. He has the personality, the salesmanship and the human touch that are attractive to recruits. Young men want to come play for him, they say good things about him and they enjoy a good bit of success during their careers.

If we're talking about the ability to turn a program around, then no, Franklin is not overrated.

That's really what USC and LSU want right now. Those programs need a charismatic coach to come in, recruit well and get the ship going back in the right direction.

Franklin has proven he can do those things.

But what's the end game at USC and LSU? What is the primary goal at those programs?

It's winning a national championship, right?

This is where the rubber meets the road when it comes to Franklin and the overrated discussion. Because while it is true he can turn a program around, he has not shown the ability to take the next step by turning the program into a playoff participant and legitimate national championship contender.

The truth of the matter is that Franklin may not be the coach who can take Penn State to the next level. He did get the Lions to this level, and that was a terrific achievement after the sanctions, but there's a good chance he's already reached his ceiling and can go no higher.

With the pathetic losses he's suffered to the likes of Maryland last year and Illinois on Saturday, Franklin has made himself an easy target for underachieving. I've always been a fan of his 1-0 approach and consistency in sticking with that message, and it generally has served him well. But Lord almighty, you cannot preach and preach and preach a 1-0 mentality and then look as completely unprepared as the Lions did on both sides of the ball in the loss to the Illini.

That loss could not have been worse or come at a worse time for Franklin, because it cost him something incredibly significant -- leverage.

We've heard talk of a bidding war between USC and LSU, and Penn State was going to have to be prepared to fight in that war by throwing more money at Franklin in order to keep him.

But again, why would these huge programs be willing to partake in such a bidding war with a coach who has gone 9-8 over the past two years with two absolutely horrendous losses?

The answer isn't this rough stretch since last season. The answer, obviously, is what Franklin did previously at Vanderbilt and at Penn State beginning in 2016.

USC and LSU are in need of rebuilds, and Franklin has proven he's good at that.

But if those schools want to win a national title, it's highly debatable if Franklin can take that additional step, either there or at Penn State.

Now, when it comes to finances, this part is important: Why would Penn State feel the need to enter a bidding war at this stage for a coach who has done a lot of good but who also has underachieved badly in many ways since the start of last season?

Franklin makes $6 million at Penn State. And yes he's a good coach and good recruiter. But holy cow, there are other good coaches in this country that Penn State could pay $6 million who could do better than 9-8 with two losses to massive underdogs over the past 12 months.

The notion that I've heard some fans and media members mention that Penn State had better do everything it can to keep Franklin is laughable to me. Like they think the world is going to end if -- gasp -- Franklin decides to leave.

Hell, the world pretty much ended Saturday afternoon for Penn State football. I mean, can it really get any worse than that crapshow we were forced to watch in the excruciatingly painful nine overtimes, in a loss to a terrible opponent?

If by some miracle Penn State bounces back to win at Ohio State this week, then we can re-evaluate Franklin and give him a ton of credit. That would be a sensational win that could erase a lot of the doubts in a hurry and be a springboard to a 10-2 season.

And certainly, if that happens, then USC and LSU would be justified in wanting Franklin so badly.

But if the Lions don't finish strong and those two schools balk at the idea of trying to lure Franklin, we will look back on the loss to Illinois as the day that his future -- which obviously directly affects the future of Penn State football -- would have dramatically changed.

QUICK HITTERS

* The overtime rule in college football is stupid beyond belief. Turning it into a 2-point conversion contest beginning with the third overtime is ludicrous and random. It's like ending a basketball game and having a free-throw shooting contest. If they don't want to keep starting teams at the 25 to speed things up, then move it up to the 10 starting in the third or fourth overtime.

* Sean Clifford wasn't fully healthy for Penn State, and it was obvious. He wasn't able to take off and run and didn't seem to have much firepower on longer throws (plus he rarely took any deep shots, which should have been an indication). I don't know if Clifford was at 75 percent or 50 percent or whatever. But it is an indictment on backup quarterback Ta'Quan Roberson that he is so far behind Clifford that the coaches didn't even want to make a change despite Clifford being so limited. If Clifford is still that limited against Ohio State, the Buckeyes might win by three touchdowns or more.

* Penn State's offensive and defensive lines were beaten by Illinois the entire game. That is so incredibly troubling for the Lions. The O-line's inability to open up running lanes will be the downfall of this season. It just puts too much pressure on the quarterback to have to do everything, and Clifford just isn't that quarterback to pull it off week in and week out in the Big Ten. As for the D-line, there already wasn't as much quality depth there as usual this season, and now that PJ Mustipher is out, you just have to wonder if the line will fall apart down the stretch facing several teams that do run the ball well.

* Jaquan Brisker is Penn State's best defensive player. But he made a costly mistake Saturday when he dropped an interception in the first overtime that would have won the game. The Lions had already kicked a field goal, and Illinois tried a trick play with a receiver pass to the quarterback. Brisker was there to make the interception, but he dropped the ball. No single play wins or loses a game. But just think about how differently people would feel today if Brisker catches that ball to end the game.

* Penn State plummeted 13 spots in the AP poll to No. 20, one spot behind where it started the season. The Lions dropped nine spots to No. 17 in the coaches poll.

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