Did James Franklin Take a Shot at Penn State Fans? His Post-Loss Tweet Raises Eyebrows

Each week since 2016, Penn State Football head coach James Franklin’s X (formerly Twitter) account has posted the same message to the Penn State “students, faculty, lettermen, alumni & fans worldwide” to be “locked in on being 1-0” against the Nittany Lions‘ upcoming opponent.

The post has become a weekly ritual on social media to signal Penn State has moved on from the prior week’s game and is preparing for the next opponent.

However, Sunday night after Penn State and Franklin’s worst loss in his 12-year tenure in Happy Valley, Franklin’s account shortened the message to take out the plea to the “students, faculty, lettermen, alumni & fans.” Instead, this week’s message is simply “Game Week! Let’s do this TOGETHER & go 1-0, Nittany Nation. Northwestern, Northwestern, Northwestern!!! #WeAre”.

Game Week! Let’s do this TOGETHER & go 1-0, Nittany Nation. Northwestern, Northwestern, Northwestern!!! #WeAre

— James Franklin (@coachjfranklin) October 6, 2025

Did James Franklin Take Intentional Jab at Penn State Fans?

The question now is whether the shortened tweet is just an anomaly or whether it is a direct shot from Franklin to the students, faculty, lettermen, alumni and fans for the outpouring of negativity toward Franklin and the team after two losses already this season.

While most teams would relish returning home after a tough road loss, this 2025 Penn State team is probably in for a rough environment toward the team on Saturday as Penn State takes on Northwestern. 247Sports Tyler Donahue commented that Saturday’s environment could be the most toxic crowd in Beaver Stadium history, as the frustration over the lack of success for this Penn State team boils over with many fans.

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Whether or not Franklin was taking a shot at Penn State students, faculty, lettermen, alumni and fans or whether the shortened message was simply a change to the weekly ritual, Franklin and the 2025 Penn State team will face mounting criticism unless the play on the field changes quickly for the Nittany Lions.

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Robert Shields

Penn State Football Reporter at NittanyCentral

Robert Shields covers Penn State Football for Nittany Central. As a Penn State graduate, Robert has covered Penn State football since 2019, but had been a fan of the Nittany Lions for well over a decade. During his undergraduate education, Robert was a manager in the athletic department of a division III school, working in various aspects of athletic management at football, soccer, baseball, basketball, and lacrosse games.

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