10/13/25
The Iowa Hawkeyes will be facing a Penn State team Saturday night led by a new head coach.
That’s after the Nittany Lions fired longtime head coach James Franklin Sunday. The action came less than 24 hours after a home loss to Northwestern that all but ended whatever remote chance the preseason number 2 team had of making the college football playoff.
Penn State is now 3-3 overall, but winless in three Big Ten matchups.
Terry Smith will serve as the interim head coach for the rest of the season.
The Associated Press reports Franklin went 104-45 during his 11-plus seasons at Penn State. Yet the Nittany Lions often stumbled against top-tier opponents, going 4-21 against teams ranked in the top 10 during his tenure.
Former athletic director Sandy Barbour signed Franklin to a 10-year contract extension worth up to $85 million in 2021. According to terms of the deal, Penn State will have to pay Franklin’s base salary of $500,000, supplemental pay of $6.5 million and insurance loan of $1 million until 2031. That comes to just about $50 million.
Penn State travels to Iowa City to take on the Hawkeyes Saturday night at 6. The game will be streamed on Peacock.