James Franklin’s feelings about the non-conference schedule are well known. When the team had to travel earlier in the season for games at Auburn (2022) and at Morgantown last Saturday, Franklin made it clear in each case afterward that he was not a fan of those opponents.
Even though his team won resounding victories at both locations.
“I’ve seen it every year across the country.” He said that after the Nittany Lions beat West Virginia, 34-12. “It’s tough to play an opponent like this in your opening game. It’s challenging. It’s a (scheduling) philosophy. The AD plays a big role in this. And the head coach, too. What type of games are we going to schedule for non-conference games and what’s best for everybody.”
Sandy Barbour scheduled home-and-away games with Auburn that left Franklin gnashing his teeth, and the two-game arrangement with West Virginia was actually engineered in 2013 by Dave Joyner and Bill O’Brien, who also had a four-year relationship with Pittsburgh (2016-2019).
Franklin would have preferred to get a root canal without Novocaine rather than play against Pittsburgh. A loss at Pittsburgh in 2016 kept the Lions out of the College Football Playoff, but a 49-10 blowout loss at Michigan put them out of the running.
Pat Kraft, the athletic director, “Lined up.” However, don’t expect Penn State to take on a matchup like the Texas-Michigan game we saw today or the Alabama-Wisconsin game in late September.
Franklin almost certainly won’t be on the bench again for a non-conference road opener like the one he just finished, and he also complained about Coach O’Brien leaving him behind in the Irish’s first game against UCF.
“We started off with a tough loss and are still sorting out some of the issues, so we haven’t been playing as cleanly as we would have liked.” He said that on Saturday. “Obviously, if we win it’s a big plus. But if we don’t it’s a wrong start to the season and we have to get over it. Hopefully it’s a big win, but the question is, does it really mean anything?”
For Franklin, it’s a firm no. He wants to play Bowling Green like he did today (noon, BTN).
“Pat and I have been talking a lot.” Franklin said. “And he has strong opinions about it.”
Following the previously announced two-game series against Virginia Tech, the Lions will now play the following non-conference games over the next four years:
2025 – Nevada, Florida International, Villanova
2026 – Marshall, Temple University, Buffalo
2027 – Syracuse, Delaware, Temple
2028 – Ball State University, Syracuse University, TBA
Kraft Franklin’s approach is therefore clear.
There’s no question that the expansion of the Big Ten has made the regular season more difficult, with the main goal being to make the 12-team playoff.
At the same time, upcoming non-league games will neither generate excitement for fans nor prepare teams for big matches during the season.
And at some point, seeding could be tied to strength of schedule, which could ultimately determine which 10-2 teams host or travel to playoff games.
In that respect, despite Franklin’s claims, a win at WVU could be beneficial for the Nittany Lions if they make the playoffs.
Attention to detail
• So far, the Big Ten Conference has two teams that look even better than they’ve been advertised: Penn State and USC, which makes the matchup in Los Angeles on Oct. 12 very intriguing, especially if the Trojans can pull off a win at Michigan next week.
• Bill O’Brien’s Boston College debut couldn’t have been more impressive, as the Eagles stunned Florida State. The Seminoles are clearly in decline, with starting quarterback Jordan Travis still not recovered from an injury suffered last year, but the Boston College win lent instant credibility to O’Brien’s hiring.
• It was a tough start for Altoona native and former Penn State DC Brent Pry. Promise was high coming into his third season at Virginia Tech, but the team was dominated by two touchdowns in a pretty brutal overtime loss to Vanderbilt in the season opener.
• Penn State leads Bowling Green 2-0 in the series. Ironically, those two wins were milestone victories for Joe Paterno, who recorded his 200th win in 1987 and his 300th in 1998. When asked after his 200th win if it would be his final 100th win, Paterno replied: “I may live to be 100, but I’m not going to win 100 more games.” In the end, it turned out he lived for another 209 years.
Neil Rudel can be reached at nrudel@altoonamirror.com Gameday will be available to answer quick questions and comments.
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