Penn State began the season as the second-ranked team in college football, but after three consecutive losses, they have fired head coach James Franklin. 

The team made it official on Sunday afternoon, announcing that they have let Franklin go, and associate head coach Terry Smith will serve as interim head coach. 

"Penn State owes an enormous amount of gratitude to Coach Franklin, who rebuilt our football program into a national power," said Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Patrick Kraft. "He won a Big Ten Championship, led us to seven New Year's Six bowl games and a College Football Playoff appearance last year. However, we hold our athletics programs to the highest of standards, and we believe this is the right moment for new leadership at the helm of our football program to advance us toward Big Ten and national championships."   

The news comes after dropping their homecoming matchup on Saturday at Happy Valley to Northwestern 21-22, their third straight loss. 

In the past three weeks, Penn State dropped games to Oregon, UCLA, and Northwestern. 

Against UCLA and Northwestern, Penn State was more than 20-point favorites, and became the first FBS team in more than 30 years to lose two games as 20 or more point favorites. 

In 11 seasons at Penn State, Franklin had a record of 104-45, making him the second-winningest coach in school history. 

Penn State said in a statement that it will hold a national search for the next coach. 

Penn State will owe Franklin more than $50 million

According to reporting from CBS Sports, the dismissal of James Franklin will cost $56 million. 

Franklin's contract, which was slated to run through the 2031 season, paid him $8 million per year. T

he contract also includes a $500,000 retention bonus that is to be paid on December 31 each year. 

The buyout does not include the retention bonus.