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By Andy Stine
astine@altoonamirror.com
This season will be No. 11 for James Franklin at Penn State, and the voices to make the playoffs are only getting louder.
The question is probably going to keep coming more frequently, and that question is: "If not now, when?"
It's probable that nobody in college football benefits more than Penn State with the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams. Had the CFP been a 12-team format since its inception in the 2014 season, the Lions would have made it six times (2016-19, 2022-23).
Fall camp began this week and media day will be held Saturday inside Beaver Stadium and Holuba Hall. It's unlikely that question about the playoffs will come up much on media day, but it will linger within the fan base.
Franklin noted at last week's Big Ten Media Days that those around the PSU program and fans are not happy with 10-win seasons. He's right, but ESPN's Paul Finebaum was also correct when he discussed Penn State and its fans on "Get Up" last week.
"Well, James, they're unhappy with you," Finebaum said. "You're a very competent coach. You've done a nice job. You haven't done enough. Penn State fans expect excellence, they expect championships. They're getting a little tired of 10-2 seasons that the two biggest games of the year you blow."
It will help that Michigan is off the schedule this season, but there's also a chance the Wolverines could have a down year after winning last year's national title and losing Jim Harbaugh.
Ohio State at home will be the Lions' biggest test, as usual. Traveling to new Big Ten member USC won't be easy.
As for the other new Big Ten members, the Lions do not play Oregon, which has a solid chance at winning the conference. UCLA and Washington both come to Happy Valley, and PSU should handle its business in both games. (Washington certainly isn't what it was last year as the national runner-up.)
Another 10-2 record for PSU may be good enough this season to reach the CFP for the first time, as long as one of those losses isn't against one of the cupcakes. That would go a long way in silencing a lot of Franklin's critics.
But what if PSU finishes with a record of fewer than 10 wins, which would likely bounce the Nittany Lions from the playoff again? Not to mention that it would waste another season of a prized prospect in quarterback Drew Allar?
Those loud voices would start sounding like a rock concert.
Andy Stine can be reached at astine@altoonamirror.com.