There have been a plethora of moments in the 2025 season of college football that have defined careers. But James Franklin’s 37- 42 loss to a winless UCLA team will top the list. This loss could very well be the final nail in the coffin for his career at Penn State. The Lions entered the Rose Bowl as a 24.5 favourite against a Bruins team that had fired its head coach and was starting with a first-time playcaller in Jerry Neuheisel.

What happened next was unbelievable. Penn State imploded spectacularly. This wasn’t UCLA outplaying the Lions as much as it was Penn State beating themselves in every conceivable way. The Nittany Lions entered the game with one of the nation’s elite defenses and surrendered 446 yards and 42 points to an offense that averaged 14.3 points per game through four l

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