STATE COLLEGE – Pat Kraft went to bed Saturday night trying to come to grips with Saturday’s 22-21 loss to Northwestern and knowing he faced the biggest decision of his career.

He planned to take another day “to sleep on it Sunday,” but the more he thought, the more he concluded it ­– and he — couldn’t wait.

“This is probably the time,” Kraft said.

So he got in his car around 1 p.m., drove to the Lasch Building and informed James Franklin — someone he considers “a good friend” — that his services were being terminated.

Twenty minutes later, Terry Smith was named Penn State’s interim head coach, and at 1:45 p.m., the Nittany Lions convened.

Franklin was permitted to address the team, amid sadness, shock and emotion, and now the focus shifts to Kraft.

Though the AD said he and Penn State are “forever grateful” that Franklin led the program for nearly 12 seasons “with absolute class,” he made it clear someone else is needed to take the Lions to a level that Franklin did not.

“My job is to evaluate everything and make hard decisions for what’s in the best interest of our athletes, our program and our department,” Kraft said. “Ultimately, I believe a new leader can help us win a national championship, and now is the right time for this change.”

Kraft refused to disclose details of the $49 million buyout Franklin is owed but said that money would come entirely from the athletic department and “is not the institution’s (financial) issue.”

Though the buyout is reportedly the second biggest in college football behind the $76 million Texas A&M ponied up to have Jimbo Fisher go away, Kraft sounded like Penn State could not afford to stay the course.

“Football is our backbone,” he said. “We have invested at the highest level. With that comes high expectations.”

The Nittany Lions’ three-game losing streak was certainly a factor in the decision, but Kraft said it was brewing.

“This is not three-game thing,” he said. “This is really diving into where we were as a program, the trajectory of the program.”

That’s telling, considering the Lions were ranked No. 2 just three weeks ago and are nine months removed from falling one win short of the national championship game.

That apparently did not buy Franklin enough goodwill to last him even into next week’s open date, much less the end of the season.

“Anything this significant just doesn’t come on a whim,” Kraft said. “You have to have scenarios, and we do. How is this going to go? What if this happened? But looking at where the program was and where it is and where we want to be, I just felt there was no other course.”

There’s no question Franklin wore out the fan base, which booed him mercilessly, loudly chanted “Fire Franklin” during the last two home games and created a toxic environment that had to be addressed.

The Northwestern game was also attended by a large number of people disguised as empty seats.

Recruits started to waver or bail, before and after the Franklin announcement.

During Kraft’s remarks, some buzz words jumped out — things he perhaps feels have been lacking.

“This person has to fit Penn State,” he said. “They need to represent the toughness, the blue-collar work ethic and the class that define this institution.”

His national search will also seek “integrity, accountability, humility and an elite motivator. We want someone who will attract elite talent, retain players in the NIL era and make Penn State a destination.”

Despite his big-moment failures, Franklin was a consistent 10-game winner and kept the Lions competitive in just about every game.

While many understand and can’t disagree with the change — myself included — Kraft has climbed out on a limb that had better hold him.

It’s impossible to believe he would engineer this midseason dismissal of a successful coach without having assurance from a credible candidate who could re-energize the fan base and build on the solid foundation Franklin leaves.

Plenty of intriguing names are being tossed around, none more persistently than Matt Rhule, who is close with Kraft, having worked together at Temple.

Rhule checks most boxes. He is a Penn State graduate and State College native who turned around the Owls and Baylor, has NFL experience and is now in his third season at Nebraska.

He’s currently 5-1, just cracked the Top 25 but, like Franklin, has struggled vs. the Top 10, going 0-11.

There will be positives and negatives on any potential candidate out there.

For the next two months or however long it takes, the pressure is on Kraft, but he is not deterred.

“We’re a historical program, and we are going weather the storm,” he said. “We have weathered far worse than this.”

That, dear Penn State fan, is indisputable.

Neil Rudel covers Penn State football and can be reached at nrudel@altoonamirror.com.