Cory Giger

The entire state of Alabama is having a meltdown right now, and everybody wants coach Kalen DeBoer fired after the Crimson Tide lost their season opener to Florida State.

Texas and Arch Manning have become the butt of national jokes after losing to Ohio State. After Arch looked horrible against the Buckeyes in the first big game of his career, it spawned a viral fake meme where Peyton Manning says Arch was “adopted.”

Ouch! Who the heck needs all that drama and noise in their program after one week?

You know who doesn’t have any drama this week? James Franklin and Penn State.

The Nittany Lions clobbered a terrible opponent, and everything is hunky dory in Happy Valley.

They will clobber two more terrible opponents in the coming weeks, will still be ranked No. 2 in the country, and fans and media alike will be heaping praise on Penn State.

You know what, there’s nothing wrong with the path of least resistance.

If you want Penn State to play some marquee opponent out of conference, you’d better be prepared for what might happen if the Lions were to lose. All the hate toward Franklin would be pouring down about how he can’t win big games.

You know it’s true.

Yes, it’s also true that Penn State’s non-con schedule this season is garbage. Playing Nevada, FIU and Villanova is a slap in the face to fans who pay their hard-earned money to go to games.

Oh, but hey, did you know the Nevada game was a sellout at Beaver Stadium? FIU probably will be too, and even Villanova. So, if the demand is going to be there regardless of who you play, then there’s really no need to play anybody challenging.

There’s no reason to risk losing one of these games, not when the only thing that matters is making the playoff down the road. The Lions could play Tyrone, Bishop Guilfoyle and Bald Eagle Area in the non-con, and as long as they take care of business in the Big Ten, they will make a 12-team playoff (or 16 or 24, which it inevitably will become).

Yes, absolutely, the non-conference slate could hurt Penn State if it loses to both Oregon and Ohio State. Because at 10-2, the Lions may not have a single high-quality victory on their resume.

Regardless, with 12 teams getting in, even a 10-2 record this year still probably gets Penn State into the playoff — albeit it as a likely 11 or 12 seed — simply because other good teams around the country will lose multiple games, as well.

I’d like to see Penn State play one really good Power 4 opponent in the non-con, or at the very least a solid Group of Five program. We all would, from an entertainment standpoint. But the honest truth is that the Lions simply don’t have to.

Franklin knows it. He even embraces it.

I’ll leave you with this: How good do you feel about Penn State football right now, even if it was after beating up on a lousy opponent? Would you really rather trade that feeling for a potential loss to a tough non-conference opponent, thereby bringing about a whole bunch of drama?

You’d better believe that Alabama would rather be sitting here right now 1-0 with a victory over Nevada than dealing with its current state of chaos.

Cory Giger hosts the new Blue & White Wrapup show following each Penn State game this season on WTRN-FM 96.9 and 100.7 FM.