It was five seasons ago, after a gut-punch, 27-26 loss to Ohio State, that James Franklin declared that his Penn State program was close to the mountain top, but not quite there.
“We’ve gone from an average football team, to a good football team, to a great football team,” Franklin said. “But we’re not an elite team yet.”
If Franklin delivered admirable growth from the program after Bill O’Brien and through the final years of the Jerry Sanducky-induced sanctions, Penn State has seemingly hit a ceiling. Beating Ohio State is never easy, but Jim Harbaugh and Michigan figured out how to do it and take over the Big Ten.“ are trying to find a way to get a win this week against a really good team, against a program they have tremendous respect for, the talent they have,” Franklin said of the Buckeyes.
It’s not that Franklin is on some coaching hot seat. He isn’t and shouldn’t be. The program’s frustration, though, should carry the day. Then there is the fact that since joining the Big Ten in 1993 until Franklin arrived in 2014, Penn State went just 7-14 against Ohio State and 6-10 against Michigan. It’s not like this has ever been easy.
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