(Photo credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images)

Penn State coach James Franklin was fired on Sunday, one day after a 22-21 loss to Northwestern, athletic director Pat Kraft announced.

The Nittany Lions were ranked No. 2 in the preseason ball and forecasted to be national title contenders but are just 3-3 after three consecutive setbacks.

'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,' Kraft said.

Franklin went 104-45 in 11-plus seasons at Penn State and is tied for second most victories in school history with Rip Engle (1950-65). Last season, the Nittany Lions reached the College Football Playoff semifinals before losing 27-24 to Notre Dame.

Franklin, 53, reportedly is owed more than $48 million by Penn State.

Associate head coach Terry Smith was named interim head coach. Smith has been on the Nittany Lions' staff since Franklin was hired in 2014.

Smith also was a receiver at Penn State from 1987-91 and caught 108 passes for 1,825 yards and 15 touchdowns.

While saying Penn State standards weren't being met, Kraft saluted Franklin for his accomplishments in Happy Valley.

'Penn State owes an enormous amount of gratitude to Coach Franklin, who rebuilt our football program into a national power,' Kraft said. 'He won a Big Ten championship, led us to seven New Year's Six bowl games and a College Football Playoff appearance last season.

'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 Nittany Lions opened the current season with three straight blowout victories over Nevada, Florida International and Villanova.

Penn State then lost a huge Big Ten showdown at home against then-No. 6 Oregon, falling 30-24 in overtime in front of the annual 'White Out' crowd.

On Oct. 4, the Nittany Lions were stunningly upset 42-37 at winless UCLA in the Rose Bowl. Then came Saturday's sluggish loss to Northwestern when 'Fire Franklin' chants broke out from the home fans.

'I take full responsibility for all of it,' Franklin said after the loss. 'I hired all the staff, I recruited all the players. I believe in all of them. But we're not getting it done right now.'

The Nittany Lions fell out of the national rankings on Sunday.

Also, Penn State also lost star quarterback Drew Allar due to a season-ending leg injury against Northwestern.

Franklin's teams routinely struggled against highly ranked clubs throughout his tenure and he was often criticized for it. According to ESPN, Franklin was 4-21 at Penn State against teams ranked in the AP top-10, including 1-18 against top-10 teams from the Big Ten.

Franklin compiled a 24-15 record at Vanderbilt from 2011-13 before landing the Penn State gig.

--Field Level Media