TOP 25 TAKEAWAYS

FRANKLIN AND USC?

For several years speculation has persisted that if Southern California ever moved on from Clay Helton, Penn State’s James Franklin would be a logical candidate. Franklin’s charisma, big-picture thinking and track record of success checks all the boxes for USC, even if maybe he has maxed out at Penn State. Patience at USC is in short supply. The Trojans are 2-0, but their play continues to be uninspiring and sloppy. Meanwhile, Penn State is probably the most disappointing team in the country, 0-4after starting the season ranked No. 7. The timing could be right for Franklin and USC to make the rumors a reality. It will be interesting to see if Penn State can still salvage something from this mess. Adding to the stress for Franklin, he has lived away for his family throughout the pandemic to protect his young daughter, who has sickle cell. Franklin is 56-27at Penn State since taking over a program wracked by sanctions. As for USC, for all the investments made in assistant coaches and support staff for Helton, the Trojans still don’t play up to their talent. For the second straight week, USC needed a late-scoring drive to win. This week they pulled one out against an Arizona team picked to finish last in the Pac-12.

STAYING TOO LONG

If Franklin wants to see an example of a coach who stayed in a job too long, he can take a look at what’s going on at Stanford with David Shaw. Shaw followed Jim Harbaugh with the Cardinal and had five double-digit win seasons and three Pac-12titles in his first six seasons. The Cardinal have been back sliding ever since. First a little at a time. Then they plummeted to 4-8last year and now are 0-2after losing to Colorado on Saturday.

AROUND THE COUNTRY

Kentucky paid tribute to offensive line coach John Schlarman, who died this week after a long battle with cancer, by lining up on the first play against Vanderbilt without a left guard ... Much was made about Notre Dame transfer Phil Jurkovec facing his old team as Boston College’s starter. But the matchup turned out to be a chance for Ian Book to show Notre Dame kept the right QB. ... No. 10 Indiana shut out Michigan State and will go to No. 3Ohio State next week for what will most likely be the first top-10matchup in the history of the program. ... North Carolina’s Sam Howell set a school-record with 550yards passing in a wild come-from-behind victory against Wake Forest. Howell is the most overlooked great QB in the country.