Former Penn State QB gets 100% real about James Franklin after historic season

Penn State football head coach James Franklin has taken the program to new heights, but the job isn’t finished.

The 53-year-old led the Nittany Lions to their first-ever College Football Playoff (CFP) appearance last season, losing to Notre Dame in the semifinal. The FBS integrated the CFP in 2014, but the program never qualified for the four-team competition in the first 10 years.

The CFP then expanded to 12 teams last season, and Penn State made it as the sixth seed. Franklin led the squad to wins over SMU and Boise State in the first two rounds, respectively, before the 27-24 loss to the Fighting Irish.

In addition to last season’s run, Franklin is also 101-42 all-time as Penn State’s head coach. However, NBC analyst and former Nittany Lions quarterback Todd Blackledge wants to see more, via The Athletic’s Ralph D. Russo.

“He’s got Penn State in the upper echelon of college football, and he’s had a lot of wins,” he said. “But there still is that thing out there of breaking through that ceiling of, not necessarily winning a national championship, but winning some games that either you are dead even going in or maybe expected to be a little bit the underdog.”

“And whether that’s fair or not — I think he’s done an outstanding job — but I do think that’s something that is still out there, that people want to see,” he continued.

Is James Franklin overrated or underappreciated?I dove into that question. Not sure I found an answer but one thing is for sure: We’re primed to be talking a lot about the Penn State coach this season.https://t.co/jnyNjiIVlz

— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoATH) August 19, 2025

James Franklin Must Prove Last Season Wasn’t a Fluke 

It will be hard for Penn State to top last year’s campaign, as it finished tied for second in the Big Ten with an 8-1 conference record before nearly reaching the National Championship. However, the Nittany Lions’ No. 2 ranking in the preseason Top 25 shows that they are no longer considered a dark horse nationally.

Success heightens expectations, and Franklin must help his program live up to them. Anything less than another 8-1 conference record, with the only loss being to No. 3 Ohio State on the road in November, will be a step back.