After going 11-2 last season with a Rose Bowl win and losses against Michigan football and Ohio State, Penn State football had high expectations and lofty goals this year. James Franklin knew that he had a talented team on his hands, and he knew that he needed to find a way to beat at least one of those Big Ten East foes to get back to the conference championship game. Penn State started things off with a game against Ohio State on the road, and they lost that one, but their hopes were still alive if they beat Michigan at home. Franklin and the Nittany Lions needed to get that win.

Michigan came into the game without Jim Harbaugh as he is suspended because of the ongoing sign-stealing investigation, so Penn State football came in with a bit of an advantage. The Nittany Lions played the Wolverines close, and the defense played a good game, but Michigan was too much to handle, and it looks like it will be another 10-2 year for Penn State.

The offensive struggles were so apparent against Michigan that offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich was fired after the game. A lot of people place the blame elsewhere, but there's no question that Penn State needed to make some type of change.

“For us to win, at the very highest level every single unit needs to be producing and working at the highest level year-round, 365 days a year,” James Franklin said, according to an article from Basic Blues Nation. “And there’s been a lot of hurdles and battles to overcome to get there. Since we arrived on campus, to be honest with you. And the reality is we cannot afford not to be thriving in every single one of those areas to be able to beat the people we want to beat on a consistent basis.”

It's going to take all hands on deck for Penn State to get to where they want to be, and Franklin wants a good crew with him to do the job. At the end of the day, he didn't think that Mike Yurcich was getting it done.

“So, for us, the most important thing we can do outside of all of the things we talked about is get the right people into the building,” Franklin continued. “There is staff and that is players. Then, be able to give them all of the support that they need to be successful on a consistent basis. But the most important thing you do is, we are the people business, we have to get the right people at State, that believe in Penn State and what we can do, and where we can go. And then, give them all of the support and all of the resources they need to produce at the very very highest level.”

Penn State closes the season with games against Rutgers and Michigan State. The Nittany Lions will likely finish the regular season at 10-2 again, but that isn't good enough for the fan base anymore.