STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — From the day he was hired more than a decade ago, James Franklin stressed the importance of creating a family atmosphere at Penn State.

Over the course of 11-plus seasons in Happy Valley, that approach helped the Nittany Lions churn out pros and double-digit victory seasons with regularity.

Yet it also never translated into Penn State beating the programs it considers its peers with regularity, either. And while the stakes kept getting higher, the results took on a certain sameness.

Until the last three weeks, anyway, when one tough loss turned into another improbable loss turned into one unforgivable loss that ended up costing Franklin his job.

Penn State fired Franklin on Sunday, less than 24 hours after a 22-21 home upset at the hands of Northwestern all bu

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