James Franklin’s Penn State, coming off 11-1, enjoys a comfortable no. 3 in the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings. But not for too long. That’s how brutal these calculations are. When they squared off OSU at home, their only loss this season, the Nittany Lions could chalk up just 13 points and were considered a lost hope for making it to the playoffs. They bounced back big time and as they face the No. 1 Ducks on Saturday’s Big Ten title game showdown, Franklin said he is focused on the game but not without acknowledging what lies ahead if he fails to deliver. 

His first conference championship with the Nittany Lions since 2016 against a team that has finished the regular season as the only undefeated team in the nation, he was asked a question on the Penn State Football on Blue White Illustrated: “There’s been a lot of conjecture and opinion about the value of the conference title game and the first round buy to the Rose Bowl versus being a five or a sixth seed hosting a playoff game and perceptions about who has the easier path whether winning gives you an easier path or being the five seed?”

If Penn State fails to bag a win against Dan Lanning’s Ducks, who are now at 12-0, that could cost them heavily. If they lose, they will drop out of the top four, sure, but there’s no guaranteed way of telling that they will automatically occupy the No. 5 spot, either. But, there’s no guarantee they will automatically slot into the No. 5 spot, either. We say this because the Michigan Athletic Director and CFP selection committee chair Warde Manuel admitted that they’d be willing to move teams that are playing this weekend to any spot the committee feels is justified, even if they are playing an extra game.

As of now, after Tuesday night’s release, Penn State is currently projected to face Arizona State at home to open up the playoffs. And as far as the Nittany Lions HC is concerned, he sounds very chill. He said, 

“What I would say is two things. Number one, I’m focused on the things that that I can control which is is being prepared to play Oregon and play Oregon well. Then, those other things are are outside of my control. I think everybody recognizes that. We want to make sure that these playoff games do not become a penalty.

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How James Franklin revived the roar before the big fight

Things are going to be neck-to-neck between Lanning and Franklin. After all, both the leaders led their program to the Big Ten Championship Game and are highly likely to face each other in the College Football Playoff. While Franklin might be confident about his boys, we must not forget that one of his weapons is there in the Ducks, who might reveal the secrets of the cracks present in the program. Guess who that is?

It’s none other than Oregon’s special teams coordinator, Joe Lorig. The coach has been part of the Nittany Lions between 2019 and 2021. But it looks like Franklin is not quite bothered by their old coach. Why so? “I know Joe, and Joe knows me, but like you mentioned, the coordinators have all changed. So I think we both probably have a similar amount of information on each other,” the Penn State HC sounded all confident. Meanwhile, there is some good news in the Nittany Lions hood. 

James Franklin’s running back Nick Singleton is back to his form after suffering from injury throughout the season. The player even gave the Maryland Terrapins a hard time by rushing for 87 rushing yards and came with two touchdowns. “It’s pretty obvious that Nick is back as close to 100% as he’s been in a long time, and you see the burst and the acceleration on tape,” confirmed the HC. The moment of truth awaits at Lucas Oil Stadium, where Franklin hopes to script his second championship victory story.