Penn State’s No. 2 ranking in the AP poll signals one thing: the Nittany Lions are being viewed as legitimate national championship contenders.
But for James Franklin, entering his 11th season in State College, there's still a lot to prove.
Franklin owns just one Big Ten championship during his tenure and, until the playoff expanded last year, had never guided Penn State into the College Football Playoff.
This season, he’s leaning on a blueprint that has worked for the Nittany Lions’ biggest rivals. Michigan and Ohio State both built veteran rosters, added top-end transfer portal talent, and hired top coordinators on their way to winning back-to-back national titles for the conference.
Penn State added only eight transfers, but each filled a major need. Wide receivers Trebor Pena and Devonte Ross and linebacker Amare Campbell — all rated four-star transfers by 247Sports — headline the group.
Franklin also made a major staff changes, luring defensive coordinator Jim Knowles away from Ohio State. Andy Kotelnicki returns for Year 2 as offensive coordinator after arriving from Kansas.
Still, as CBS Sports’ Damien Harris noted, none of this matters if Franklin can’t deliver Penn State’s first national title since 1986.
“At what point do we get tired of just coming up short?” Harris said. “Every single year it’s the same story with James Franklin. You beat the teams you’re supposed to, but once you face Ohio State, once you get to the playoffs, once you finally get that test … every time they come up short.”
Franklin is 1-9 against Ohio State, with his only win coming in 2016. Last year, Penn State reached the CFP but fell short of the national championship, losing 27-24 to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl semifinal.
Harris even compared the Nittany Lions to the Dallas Cowboys — a program constantly hyped, but rarely matching results with expectations.
“It’s the name, it’s the brand — you get right there and then you just don’t have the results to show for it,” Harris said. “James Franklin, if you don’t get it done this year, then I am going to start the fire James Franklin train immediately.”
Despite the criticism, Franklin remains highly respected. He’s 101-42 at Penn State and is widely considered one of the better coaches in college football. If the Nittany Lions ever did move on, another program likely wouldn’t hesitate to hire him.