Big Ten Scheduling Should Focus on the Playoff, Penn State's James Franklin Says
Penn State's James Franklin occasionally has wondered about college football's future, though he's not prone to longing for yesterday. As much as Franklin might critique the game's changing landscape, he embraces it fully. Entering his 10th season with the Nittany Lions, Franklin certainly engages with where the game is headed.
"Everybody understands that college football has changed, and the college football that maybe we grew up with is gone and never coming back," Franklin said at Big Ten media days. "And, to be honest with you, I think in a lot of ways that's good."
That comment prefaced a nuanced answer regarding NIL, though it also applies to what's coming in college football realignment and the scheduling models that follow. As the Big Ten prepares the runway for USC and UCLA's landing, while also quickly adding Oregon and Washington for the 2024 season, Franklin said he's grateful for the conference and its foundation. "There are two real conferences I think are built in a way not only to be the most successful but to be able to sustain it long term," Franklin said. "We're fortunate to be in one of those conferences."
And yet, Franklin and Penn State want to assure that the Big Ten is doing everything possible to further its position in college football. Specifically, Franklin wants the conference, which could grow to 20 teams within a few years, to build its schedule with the coming 12-team College Football Playoff squarely in mind. Both Franklin and Athletic Director Patrick Kraft made the point emphatically at Big Ten media days in Indianapolis.
"Literally everything we talk about as the Big Ten needs to be based on how do we get the most teams into the playoffs," Franklin said. "So you need to be thinking about six, and all of your strategy needs to be based on that."
Added Kraft, "We believe that [the Big Ten] should plan to to try to get six teams in the playoffs. I think that's what the SEC is trying to do, and that's what we should do."
Scheduling became a significant topic in June, when the Big Ten announced its framework for the 16-team conference that includes USC and UCLA. Specifically, Penn State was the only program without a "protected opponent," otherwise known as a rivalry game. As a result, Penn State's 2025 schedule will not Ohio State for the first time since Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1993.
In 2014, when Franklin became head coach, Penn State introduced the term "Unrivaled" as a brand strategy. Nearly a decade later, the Big Ten codified the brand. "James and I laughed, 'Well, we really are unrivaled,'" Kraft said.
Kraft didn't detail why Penn State won't play a protected opponent beyond saying that the Big Ten "handles all the scheduling" and, "We don't get to dictate schedules — and we shouldn't." Kraft said the bigger issue was scheduling to ensure competitive balance and playoff access. That is among Franklin's primary issues as well. "You need to be strategically making decisions to get as many Big Ten teams into the playoffs as possible," Franklin said.
Which, the coach added, should lead the scheduling discussion to much more than rivalry games — at least from Penn State's perspective. Franklin isn't a fan of scheduling nine conference games when the SEC plays eight. He also doesn't feel obliged to schedule marquee non-conference games when wins matter.
As for rivalries, Franklin prefers that they happen naturally. The Lions' designated trophy game with Michigan State never really took off, and they're 16-2 against Rutgers and Maryland since those programs joined the Big Ten. Of course, many Penn State fans view Ohio State and Michigan as rivals, so why do those games need contracts to matter, Franklin asked.
"To me, that word [rival] is different," Franklin said. "I think there seems to be a lot of people trying to create those things. And it’s funny, when I first got to Penn State and they were having this discussion about unrivaled. Well, why? We're not an original Big Ten team. We were independent for a long time. Then you join the conference, and then people try to create rivalries that weren't really there. Just like everybody wanted to tell me about our rivalry with Pitt. Which I agree with geographically, but literally, up to when we played them a few years ago, none of our players have ever seen a Penn State-Pitt rivalry game in their lifetime. So I just think these games are important. They’re big games, they’re important for the Big Ten, they're important for our teams individually as well. But to me, there shouldn't have to be a discussion on, 'Is this team a rival or not?' If they're a rival, everybody knows they are, in my opinion."
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