The Coach Who Keeps Coming Up Short

Penn State's James Franklin is aiming to shed his reputation for big-game letdowns

- BY JARED DIAMOND

Penn State football fans have a nickname for head coach James Franklin. They call him "Big Game James." It's not a compliment.

Since Franklin was hired in 2014, he has taken charge of 15 games against opponents with a top-five ranking-and has lost 14 of them. That unfathomably poor showing against elite competition has left Penn State as a program that still counts among the best in the country, but stubbornly remains stuck outside the highest echelon of college football.

It's also why this week is so critical. The Nittany Lions are one victory away from advancing to the national championship game for the first time since 1986. The only thing standing in their way is a semifinal contest Thursday against Notre Dame, the ultimate opportunity for Franklin to finally shed a reputation for big-game letdowns that he just can't seem to shake.

"That's the job," said Matt McGloin, Penn State's starting quarterback from 2010 through 2012. "Nobody is satisfied with coming close."