James Franklin has heard all the banter surrounding his Penn State program. He’s likely aware that some view his team as over-ranked at No. 4 in the College Football Playoff poll. And he’s certainly aware that there are others who believe the playoff committee has been biased toward the Big Ten and impartial to the almighty SEC.
Having coached in both conferences, Franklin offers a unique perspective among the other coaches and talking heads who have publicly expressed their dissatisfaction surrounding the rankings leading up to the debut of the 12-team playoff. Franklin wants to put the drama to the side. There is, of course, football still to play before selection day.
“I don’t think we need to take shots, in the Big Ten, at the SEC, because that’s been proven over time, and I don’t think the SEC should be taking shots at the Big Ten,” Franklin said on Wednesday. “… The reality is, whether people’s feelings are hurt or not, these two conferences need to have the biggest number and the biggest presence in the playoffs because we’ve earned it throughout the season.”
The Nittany Lions’ resume speaks for itself. They’ve lost just one game, which came against No. 2 Ohio State, and currently possess the No. 35 most difficult strength of schedule, according to ESPN’s College Football Power Index. But that hasn’t swayed critics from debating whether Penn State deserves to be ranked ahead of undefeated No. 5 Indiana or various two-loss SEC teams.
There’s no team that likely benefits more from playoff expansion than Penn State, which finished ranked within the top-12 in six of the previous eight seasons. And despite the change in the model, what hasn’t changed is what Franklin called the “college football narrative,” where the teams on the outside looking in based on the committee’s jurisdiction will always be disappointed.
“It was four and everybody argued, ‘We gotta go to 12.’ We get to 12 and what’s happening? Everybody’s arguing that 14, 15, 16 are getting screwed,” Franklin said.
It’s a constant cycle of debate and disappointment surrounding which teams are included and where they’re seeded, no different than the 68-team NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. All the Nittany Lions can control is winning, regardless of how valuable the public views each of their victories.
“I don’t care about what anybody else says about us, because the reality is, we’re the only ones that know what we go through, and we can’t control what anybody else says,” quarterback Drew Allar said. “… I think the Big Ten is a top conference across America. And I think the quality of teams that we go in and play each week speaks for itself.”
One thing is almost certain. Penn State will not make the playoff if it doesn’t win each of its remaining two regular season games, and an upcoming road trip to Minnesota shouldn’t be overlooked. Sticking true to Franklin’s 1-0 mentality, Allar said the current ranking “doesn’t really matter until it matters.”
And others feel the same way. Although, some, like offensive lineman Sal Wormley have taken a different approach to the intensifying criticism. Wormley reads everything, and even looks up his name online.
“I mean, I saw one thing that said the o-line can’t pass block,” Wormley said. “And in my head, I’m thinking, ‘Damn, Drew had all day back there. Nothing happened to him.’ It’s just extra blisters coming; we can’t stop that. It’s just things like that. But I personally like reading it. It gives me fuel, and it’s entertaining because it’s trolls on the internet.”
Others, like cornerback Jalen Kimber, are so locked in to the task at hand that they haven’t even realized the opportunities that could present themselves in the future. Like the fact that Penn State is currently projected to host Kimber’s former team, Georgia, in the first round of the playoffs.
Kimber had no idea until a reporter asked him if he’d seen the projections. His answer was no.
“I’d be excited for that. I’m ready for that,” Kimber said. “I played Georgia two times while I was at Florida. So, it would be exciting to see some of my old brothers that I used to be with. We’d be ready for that.”
Kimber may not be tapped into the discourse, but Franklin is, and he understands the debate. It comes with the territory. But he appears to want to put aside the “battle” between two conferences that, without question, have defined themselves as the most dominant in college football. Franklin, comfortable at No. 4, has become the peacemaker between two competing powers.
“Obviously I’m concerned about Penn State and obviously I’m concerned about the Big Ten, but I’m one of the few guys that has been a head coach in both conferences,” Franklin said. “And to me, the right thing to be talking about is the two best conferences in all of college football are the Big 10 and the SEC, and we should have the most teams in. I don’t think there’s any question to that.”
