“After back-to-back “Last Dance” style approaches working for Big Ten programs, could Penn State be the third in a row to win it all?” For once, let’s just keep that 4-19 record away and think what the Lions were before James Franklin set foot in Beaver Stadium: Stumbling between 0.556 with Joe Bedenk to a high of 0.625 under Bill O’Brien and 0.749 under Joe Paterno – Penn State was no slouch and did have quite an impact on B1G football. However, when James Franklin comes into the scene, you instantly get teleported back to the glory days of Paterno’s coaching with the Lions now dancing between 0.660 to a high of 0.711. To say that Franklin has not done a terrific job with the Lions would be a lie, and despite that Top 10 record saying otherwise, we still cannot underestimate the impact Big Game James has had.
“You look at what coach Franklin has done at Penn State… The coaching job he has done in the last decade of college football is one of the best we’ve seen,” Adam Breneman points out. Now, some people might call this delusion, but the competitiveness Penn State has shown year after year proves that Franklin knows what he is doing. But, at the same time, we cannot just chalk out the Ohio State or the ND games as “mistakes”. Franklin had shots at winning those, and the clear lack of depth from the receiver room and the downfield plays cost them their CFP’s final spot.
Regardless, to go toe-to-toe with a somewhat dominant Broncos team and completely shut down Ashton Jeanty to just 104 yards? That is praiseworthy. Easy way to the natty or not, Franklin still took the school to its first ever championship run since 1986.
“Yes, we want to win every single game – that’s the expectation for every program, but to see what he has done and that consistency is what’s remarkable to me,” Penn State athletic director Patrick Kraft adds. Now, as someone who has binged through every single Nittany Lions game, we understand the fan’s frustration…
Big Game James keeps on losing out on the most monumental games. However, look at it from a positive angle: With the changes Franklin has made to the staff and with all the recent additions – don’t you think Lions have a much better shot at running down their schedule and getting their well-deserved CFP final spot?
James Franklin’s ‘Last Dance’
“You got Drew Allar for one year man, one year. What happened last season was just I don’t know how you can sleep with yourself at night.” We often like to revisit the Ohio State vs Lions game: call it a guilty pleasure or just sadism; that game shows the exact spots where Franklin’s squad falls flat.
Drew Allar went for only 12 of 23 passes that game. What was even more ineffective was the receiver room: just 3 big catches. Now, with Tyler Warren in the draft, the question is, who does Allar connect with now? Trey Wallace and Omari Evans are both in the portal, so all eyes will be on Liam Clifford, Kaden Saunders, and Malik McClain.
But there is hope. Albeit the receiver core looking mad empty, Franklin still managed to grab Kyron Hudson and Devonte Ross. A 1000+ yard junior from Troy and 400+ yard junior from USC. Both Ross and Hudson have promise and what makes the offensive line more dangerous is Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen returning.
2 amazing players who racked the programs’ first 1000 yards rushing (duo). Now for the defense, well, you already know who we are going to name: Jim Knowles. That $3.1 million, arguably, has to be one of the best investments Penn State has decided to make.
You already have a top-rated defense, but adding Knowles to the staff is like mixing Superman’s powers with Batman’s intelligence. Now, will all of this push Franklin for a successful 2025 conquest? Only time will tell.
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