The question was coming, for sure, and James Franklin was ready for it. The USC job speculation was the third question he was asked during his weekly press conference Tuesday, coming from The Athletic's Audrey Snyder, formerly of DK Pittsburgh Sports.
The open-ended question was: "Obviously USC came open, your name has been mentioned among candidates. ... Just wanted to ask if you any thoughts on that?"
Franklin, as Penn State fans know, doesn't like to look forward and is always singularly focused on the upcoming game. But he at least gave an answer about the USC speculation, albeit one without much detail.