Big Ten football: 3 teams with breakout potential in 2022

1. Penn State

While it may not seem like it, there is a good chance that Penn State football could be on the rise. After inheriting an NCAA-sanctioned program in 2014, James Franklin led the Nittany Lions back to prominence in only three seasons. Still hindered by and recovering from the sanctions set in 2011, Franklin’s first two seasons at the helm ended with 7-6 records.

In 2016, however, Penn State finished the regular season with a 10-2 record before downing the Wisconsin Badgers in its first-ever Big Ten title game. Though the Nittany Lions fell just short in the 2017 Rose Bowl to USC, Penn State football returned after a short drought.

In 2017 Penn State’s success continued, winning 11 games for the second time and taking home a NY6 win over Washington in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl. 2018 saw another excellent season in Happy Valley as Penn State finished the season 9-4 and set themselves up for a tremendous 2019 season.

As 2019 rolled around, Penn State again rose to the top of college football, ending with an 11-2 record for the third time in four years and taking home a second NY6 bowl with a Cotton Bowl win over Memphis. With Penn State playing their best football in years, the only thing that could stop James Franklin was a pandemic.

In 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic seemingly ruined much of the Big Ten’s season and saw Penn State finish 4-5, the program’s first losing season since 2003. Despite the 0-5 start, the Nittany Lions rebounded and took home a handful of valuable wins, including a road win at Michigan and a home win against Michigan State.

2021 seemed like it could have been a bounce-back season for James Franklin. After ending the 2020 season on a four-game win streak, Penn State wanted its shot at redemption. Within the first three games of the 2021 season, Penn State remained undefeated with two ranked wins (at Wisconsin and home against Auburn). On October 9, No. 4 Penn State took on No. 3 Iowa in a game that would ruin the Nittany Lions’ season.

Though PSU started the season 5-0, a series of costly injuries (including a rib injury to starting quarterback Sean Clifford) wreaked havoc on Penn State’s season, causing the Nittany Lions to finish the year 7-5. With much of the team’s starting lineup sitting out for the Outback Bowl against Arkansas, Penn State fell to the Razorbacks, 24-10.

Penn State has an 11-11 record over the past two seasons, and it would seem as if not much is looking up for Penn State right now; however, this may not be entirely true.

Over the past few seasons, PSU has been recruiting among some of the nation’s best teams. With loads of talent on its way in the door, Penn State has all of the pieces to make a full recovery within the next few seasons. Additionally, James Franklin has proven that he can coach high-level college football over his past six seasons in State College.

Lastly, Penn State managed to play numerous 10-win teams (at Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State) within single digits, even with the injuries and offensive line problems.

If Penn State can stay healthy, figure out its issues on the offensive line, and develop its young talent, there is no reason that the Nittany Lions cannot bounce back to 9-10 wins in the coming year and gun for even better seasons in the years that follow. With a new athletic director, Pat Kraft, James Franklin will have both the support he needs to win games while simultaneously feeling the pressure to deliver on-field results to keep his job.