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By Neil Rudel
nrudel@altoonamirror.com
This is the biggest game of James Franklin's career.
Franklin is the common denominator in the Nittany Lions' 1-8 record against Ohio State.
He's had different coordinators on both sides of the ball, different quarterbacks and different standout players, and with the exception of Grant Haley's return of Marcus Allen's blocked field goal, a springboard to the Big Ten championship, the Lions have come up short every time.
They've been close with a couple gut-wrenching come-from-ahead losses, and despite playing the Buckeyes consistently tough, Ohio State has owned the Nittany Lions.
That's why this game is so big.
This is Franklin's best chance to finally stop looking up at the Buckeyes and allow Penn State in the conversation with Michigan for Big Ten supremacy in 2023 -- and with it the chance to play for a berth in the College Football Playoff, a PSU first.
Too often, when talking about the conference heavyweights, Franklin would be quick to point to his perceived imbalance in off-the-field commitments -- facilities, staffing or NIL. He'd often say "we have to compete 365 days a year."
Refreshingly, we haven't heard much of that lately, perhaps because Franklin has helped fuel better resources through a more productive working relationship with Pat Kraft than he had with Sandy Barbour and the previous administrative hierarchy.
To that end, though Franklin has done an excellent job recruiting, building the program back up to a high level and filling the stadium, the reality is the lack of parity in college football magnifies the two or three games per year against your peers.
For Penn State, that's Ohio State and Michigan.
In 2017, a year removed from the Big Ten title and coming off a 42-13 blowout of the Wolverines, the Lions were 7-0 and ascended to No. 2. They had a 35-20 lead in Columbus but were gassed in the fourth quarter and lost 39-38.
The Lions lost another one-point game to the Buckeyes the following year in 2018, via another blown lead and helped by questionable playcalling, and haven't won the Big Ten since 2016.
And the longer the drought goes, the more pressure there is to end it.
Earlier this week, Franklin succinctly summed up the game by saying, "tremendous challenge, tremendous opportunity."
And indeed it is.
With the Nits at No. 7 and OSU at No. 3, a win could vault Penn State into the Top-5 with the best win of any of the nation's top-five teams.
The Big Ten's revamped schedule begins next year, and Penn State will no longer play Ohio State and Michigan both annually. A win in Columbus would kick-start some needed momentum heading into the new non-divisional format.
The timing is perfect. The Lions' top offensive players, Drew Allar, Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, are all sophomores. Big Ten newcomer USC is vulnerable and will lose Caleb Williams, its Heisman Trophy candidate, while Washington and Oregon are also losing standout quarterbacks Michael Penix and Bo Nix.
And who knows how much longer Jim Harbaugh wants to fight with the NCAA?
But the Lions need to be more consistent in big games.
Under Franklin, in 18 games against Top-10 opponents, the Nittany Lions are 3-15, and their win over Utah in last year's Rose Bowl was his first over a Top-10 team in 12 tries since 2016.
Franklin is not on a hot seat - he's under contract through 2031 - but he needs to beat the Bucks or Wolverines this year to keep the faith of the fan base, which is anxious to go at least .500 against them.
With a defense that is the best in Franklin's tenure, the Lions have a chance to keep the game lower scoring, and they believe they have cornerbacks in Kalen King and Johnny Dixon who can check Ohio State's great receivers.
Franklin has said he thinks the Nits "have closed" the talent gap with the Buckeyes.
They also believe their speedy defensive ends - Chop Robinson, Adisa Isaac and Dani Dennis-Sutton - will get home to sack first-year Buckeye starter Kyle McCord.
Those two factors are a must for Penn State to spring the upset.
But eventually, they'll need a few key offensive plays, a timely and perhaps unexpected call - and to perform with the kind of inspiration, in the clutch, that separates coaches who aspire to go from really good to great.
Under Franklin, the Nittany Lions have been really good.
To be great - dare we say elite? — they need to conquer the Buckeyes, and after a frustrating six-year losing streak, if not now, when?
Rudel can be reached at nrudel@altoonamirror.com.