Pat Freiermuth thinks this is finally the year for Penn State and James Franklin to break through and win it all.
In some respects, 2024 was James Franklin’s breakthrough at Penn State. The Nittany Lions returned to the Big Ten title game, made the College Football Playoff for the first time, and were a drive away from the National Championship game. Still, in other ways, it was deeply unsatisfying.
Despite all of that success, Penn State’s two CFP wins came against SMU and Boise State, hardly the standard-bearers of the sport, and Franklin once again came up short against the best teams he found himself matched up against: Ohio State, Oregon, and Notre Dame.