Penn State has reached point of no return with James Franklin

When Penn State lost to Oregon three weeks ago it was simply a case of the program doing what it is expected to do at this point. Win the games they're supposed to win, and then lose to the top-tier teams to keep them just shy of college football's truly elite. 

You can no longer say that about the program in the James Franklin era, and now it might be time for the program to take the financial hit on his buyout and start looking for a new head coach. Perhaps as soon as possible. 

There are not many options at this point after another stunning loss on Saturday, this time dropping a 22-21 decision to Northwestern after opening the day as a three-touchdown favorite.

James Franklin doesn't have much leverage remaining to keep his job

As disappointing as the Oregon loss might have been for Penn State and its fans, and as frustrating as it might have been to not change the narrative around the program, there was at least still the hope that Penn State could do what it normally does the rest of the season. If they had beaten up on the rest of the Big Ten schedule with a presumed loss to Ohio State mixed in, there would have still been a potential path to a playoff spot with two losses to top-10 teams. 

It might not have matched the preseason expectations, but it would have been something that you could point to and say, "hey, this is still a playoff program."

It would still just need to figure out a way to get over the top teams. 

Status quo would have at least created a reasonable argument for Franklin to be secure in his job. 

The path for that still existed. Now that path is gone. Now Franklin and Penn State are no longer beating the teams they are supposed to beat. 

It started a week ago with a stunning loss to a UCLA team that entered the game looking like one of the worst Power Four teams in the country. It continued on Saturday with a loss at home to Northwestern. 

Penn State opened the season as the No. 2-ranked team in the country. It is now the middle of October, six games into the season, and the Nittany Lions still have not won a game against a Power Four team and are just 3-3 overall. Their playoff chances are pretty much gone. The situation still might be even worse than that. 

The short-term situation is not getting any better

Not only is Penn State now dealing with a third consecutive loss, but it is going to have to play the remainder of its schedule without starting quarterback Drew Allar, who will miss the rest of the season after suffering an injury late in Saturday's game.