After another disappointing loss for Penn State in the Orange Bowl it really seems that Penn State has reached its peak with James Franklin.
He's a decent coach who can win 10 to 11 games a year, and will probably be a close-to-yearly participant in the playoff field with the expansion to 12 teams. The expansion to 12 teams and the removal of divisions in the Big 10 benefits the Nittany Lions more than any other team in that conference. After years of being left out of the four-team playoff due to not being able to beat Michigan or Ohio State they finally were able to break through.
Yes, they still lost to Ohio State and to Oregon in Big 10 Championship Game, but in the world of the expanded playoff a 2 loss Big 10 team is almost a lock in the playoff field.
Despite being able to make the playoff now and getting a few wins to have reached the semifinal round against Notre Dame against a top team they came up short again. Drew Allar had an atrocious game including the interception that allowed for the late field goal which sent the Irish to the National Championship game. I am sure James Franklin wonders when his time will come.
In his career, he is now 1-15 against top-five opponents and it doesn't seem he will ever get over the hump in these type of games. They had plenty of chances to win Thursday night in Miami but anytime it seemed they had gained momentum against Notre Dame something bounced the other way.
From the strip sack at the end of the first half that was recovered by the Irish, to no actual wide receiver catching a pass in the Orange Bowl. Reaching the final four of the playoff is nothing to sneeze at but it just doesn't seem a James Franklin led Penn State team can ever go further.
It does make you wonder what could this program due to get over the hump? They brought in a new offensive coordinator in Andy Kotelnicki and defensive coordinator Tom Allen. Maybe Allar isn't the guy and they need to see what they can find in the transfer portal. The lack of wide receiver production is very worrisome as well.
You would think through the portal and recruiting that a program of this magnitude would be able to fill up the receiver room with consistent production. It will be interesting to see how this program responds in the 2025 season and if we will ever see James Franklin get over the hump by beating the teams atop of the college football world and give this hungry fanbase their first title since 1986.