Ten Takeaways: Week Seven

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Note: We're going with just five takeaways this week. I was in LA over the weekend for a wedding, and the only game I really watched in full was USC-Michigan because I was there. I'll have thoughts on that game, James Franklin's firing, plus quick-hitters on the other big games (Oregon-Indiana, Alabama-Mizzou, etc.) I watched highlights of. We're back to the normal 'Ten Takeaways' next week. Anyway, here's a picture of me double-fisting Stella Artois at the wedding with American Idol legend William Hung:

1. James Franklin Fallout

James Franklin's final steps on Beaver Stadium's field as Penn State's head coach are as surreal and prophetic as any in college football history. Immediately after finishing his customary postgame handshakes/hugs with players, Franklin stood alone as the PA system blared Imagine Dragons' "It's Time." I'm for sure not an Imagine Dragons guy, but I gotta give them credit for lyrics that fit the scene:

This road never looked so lonely
This house doesn't burn down slowly
To ashes, to ashes

As Franklin approached a tunnel peppered with fans angry enough to scald, it's hard to comprehend how alone he must've felt. Maybe he spent those seconds contemplating a season that began with national championship expectations now doused in flames by mid-October. In reality, he was probably dying to just get to his family. The moment he reached them at the mouth of the tunnel, Franklin ceased being a football coach and became a man protecting them from a reaction they had no part in producing. Franklin gathered them, then sent them to walk through before him. The vitriol was his alone to bear:

If you gave James Franklin truth serum, I think he'd tell you he knew it was over in this moment. The same can obviously be said for the people who cut his checks - given they fired him a day later. Here's the thing, though: Penn State didn't axe James Franklin just because of three-straight losses, two of which are among the most embarrassing in program history:

I don't believe it was a rash decision, or one the people involved in made based off anger alone. This feels like a mutual parting to me as much as it does an outright firing. Based off those videos alone, what other choice did Penn State have? A season that at the bare minimum should've ended with another playoff appearance is now gasping for bowl eligibility.

Penn State could've won out with Franklin coaching and it wouldn't change anything. The temperature in Happy Valley wasn't getting any cooler as long as he was there. Why would the administration want that? More importantly, why would Franklin want to put his family through that? Penn State fired James Franklin because neither side could afford to live like this for even two more months. So instead of letting that resentment and anger grow to the point of no return, they ripped the band-aid off.

It's easy to point out Franklin's failures at Penn State. I've done it plenty! His big-game record was terrible, and his final team will go down as one of the biggest flops in college football history. It's also indisputable that he did great things there, too. People in Happy Valley talk highly about him as a coach and as a person. He led the program out of the post-Paterno mess and into consistent top-10 contention, while producing handfuls of high-level NFL talent. As crazy as it sounds today, firing him now saved the long-term relationship between him and Penn State from solely being remembered for the former instead of the latter. But make no mistake: Franklin gave them no other choice.

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2. The craziest coaching carousel ever?

In addition to Franklin, we also had two other firings with Trent Dilfer at UAB and Trent Bray at Oregon State. That leaves eight open jobs as of now:

• UAB
• Oregon State
• UCLA
• Virginia Tech
• Stanford
• Oklahoma State
• Arkansas
• Penn State

Here are some other power conference jobs that are either on the verge (or realistically) could open due to firings:

• Florida
• Florida State
• Auburn
• North Carolina
• Kentucky
• Wisconsin
• Michigan State

We're looking at potentially 15 open jobs, without even accounting for the coaches who leave their spots to take those. It was already going to be a crazy cycle, but Franklin's firing took it to a new level. That move will inevitably lead to a trickle down effect of open jobs you wouldn't have thought about before the season. For instance, Penn State alum Matt Rhule is already answering questions about his interest:

Buckle up. The next three months are shaping up as potentially the most insane we've ever experienced on the coach movement front.

3. Thoughts from watching USC wax Michigan in-person