LAS VEGAS — Penn State isn’t afraid of high expectations, and embracing the talk of winning a national title is nothing new.
The Nittany Lions are one of college football’s more consistent programs over the last decade, ranking 10th nationally in wins, but it wasn’t until last season coach James Frankliin reached the College Football Playoff, advancing to the semifinals before losing to national runner-up Notre Dame. In reflection, the longest season in Penn State history, with a 13-3 record, is something that should be celebrated. Yet, there comes a point in every race when falling short begins to irritate even the most diehard supporters.
“Last year is a perfect example of that,” Franklin said Wednesday as he faced reporters at Big Ten Media Days. “We finished essentially a drive away from the national championship game, and people were pissed. It didn’t necessarily feel like the type of season that we had, and that comes with being the head football coach at Penn State or being the quarterback at Penn State. You knew that when you took the job.”
What makes Penn State one of the sport’s most interesting case studies is that its success and failure are easy to categorize. The Nittany Lions have won 101 games in Franklin’s 11 years, the 10th-most wins in the FBS since 2014.
The problem? Franklin is also 1-15 against top-five opponents, the teams you must beat to win a national title. He was 0-3 against top-five teams and 13-0 last season. He’s also 1-18 overall in a career that began at Vanderbilt, marking the third-worst record ever against top-five teams in the FBS.
“We’ve had a program that 99% of the programs in the country would die to have and love to have,” said Franklin, “but there’s obviously room for growth.”
Career-defining year for James Franklin: Why Penn State coach is set up to change narrative in 2025 season
Tom Fornelli
Franklin’s legacy may have hit an inflection point. All the pieces are in place this fall for a career-defining season. A slew of seniors turned down the NFL to return and chase a title. The coach expects 10 to 12 players to be drafted next spring, which would tie or break the school’s record. Penn State also hired Ohio State’s defensive coordinator, Jim Knowles, fresh off winning a national title for the Buckeyes. They lured him with the richest contract for an assistant coach in the country, and he’ll lead a defense that has ranked in the top 10 for four straight seasons.
“It’s the best combination of personnel that we’ve had since I’ve been there, in terms of staff and players,” Franklin said.
For all those reasons and more, Penn State should be ranked in the top five of the preseason polls in August for the first time since 1999.
The Nittany Lions boast one of the nation’s most experienced rosters, with plenty of production, including a 3,000-yard passer in potential first-round draft pick Drew Allar and 1,000-yard rushers Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. Not since 2009 (Oklahoma) has an FBS program returned that much production at running back and quarterback.
“There’s a lot of unfinished business,” said Allar, “and that’s part of the reason I came back.”
Statistically, Allar plays like a first-round prospect. His numbers have improved year to year as a backup and starter. He was at his best last season, completing 66.5% of his passes. He’s won 23 games as a starter the last two years, tying for the second-most wins in the country.
Buried deep in Allar’s impressive numbers, however, is the reason why the Nittany Lions have fallen short of winning conference and national titles. It might be an oversimplification, but in critical moments, Allar misfires and makes mistakes. Last season, he ended the Big Ten Championship Game against Oregon with an interception. He also threw another pick to set up Notre Dame’s game-winning field goal in the Orange Bowl semifinal.
In the postseason, Allar completed only 53.2% of his throws after finishing the regular season hitting at an incredible rate of 71.6%. He didn’t complete a pass to a receiver in the Orange Bowl loss to the Irish and recorded a season-worst passer rating (92.8) — and his only passing touchdowns in the three-game playoff run were thrown against Boise State in the quarterfinals.
Does Allar struggle under pressure? Perhaps. He threw only eight interceptions last season but seven were when Penn State tied or trailed opponents.
“It’s really just about finding those areas to make one or two more plays throughout these games,” Allar said. “When you’re going against great opponents that have equal talent and also equal coaching, it comes down to maybe four or five plays throughout the game. Finding a way to maybe get into a better play or make one more throw I didn’t make, it’s all the difference.”
Allar admits he struggled to recover emotionally in January and required an additional two weeks that month to put the 2024 season behind him.
“I’m very reflective on about how I go about my process,” he said.
Allar sought guidance from Knowles, the incoming defensive play caller, and the veteran assistant provided Franklin Ohio State’s defensive game plan against Allar for the quarterback to study. Meanwhile, Allar shed weight and added muscle — he now weighs a lean 235 pounds. The transformation was visible when Penn State’s social media team shared video of a shirtless Allar at offseason workouts.
“I’ve never seen Drew with his shirt off,” Franklin said. “He’s feeling good about himself out there.”
Upon reflection, Allar didn’t opt to make wholesale changes.
“If something happens and you change up everything you’ve been doing, that’s a cause for concern because it reveals an insecurity in your play and in you as a person,” senior center Nick Dawkins said. “He’s been cool as a cucumber, business as usual, doing what he does, following the process, because that same process got us where we’re at.
“Couple plays go different ways, we’re having a different conversation.”
Meanwhile, Penn State — currently with the fourth-best odds to win the national championship (+750), per DraftKings Sportsbook — has built perhaps its most talented roster of the last 15 years between an incredible retention model with the help of NIL money and revenue sharing and a small dash of eight new players from the transfer portal. The Nittany Lions mostly required help at receiver, a spot that hasn’t produced a 1,000-yard performance since Jahan Dotson in 2021. They added three productive upperclassmen, including Syracuse’s Trebor Pena, who caught 84 passes for 941 yards last season, and Troy’s Devonte Ross, who eclipsed 1,000 yards.
“You better take proven production at the college level,” Franklin said. “… We got three guys that have done that, two of which were captains at their previous school, which I also think speaks volumes.”
In the weight room, Allar worked alongside the quarterback of the defense: safety Zakee Wheatley. They stood in the same rack throughout winter, spring and summer as weight-lifting partners. They shared stories and compared notes on the progression of younger players and devised leadership tools to help teammates navigate heightened expectations. Allar called it “setting the tone.”
“There’s a difference in the energy right now,” Wheatley said. “We got a taste of high-level success. We understand what we need to do this offseason to reach that.”
Franklin isn’t one to question Allar publicly. He paints a picture of a perfect teammate, a player he says has improved year to year since his arrival at Penn State. “I’m a big Drew fan,” Franklin told reporters at Big Ten Media Days. “You’ll feel the same way. He’s really what it’s all about. ”
Allar was a fast-rising star in high school, emerging as a three-star prospect who propelled himself to become the No. 1 quarterback in 247Sports’ recruiting rankings for the 2022 cycle.
“Ever year I’ve played, I’ve gotten better and more consistent,” Allar said. “It’s about sticking to that process. It’s always about putting my head down and working, no matter if people see it, don’t see it. I’m always in the facility trying to find a little edge, whether it’s keeping my body right with maintenance or watching more film.”
Win or lose, Allar’s process ends this fall, his final season in State College. Will he be the quarterback who leads Penn State to its first national title since 1986?
If so, he’ll snap a lot of bad trends for both himself and his head coach.
“We’re in total control. If we want the narrative to change, we’ve got an opportunity to change it,” Franklin said. “We want people to shut up? We can shut them up real, real easy. We embrace it all.”
Read the full article here
