Penn State notebook: James Franklin OK with new Big Ten scheduling

PENNLIVE.COM
Wednesday, July 26, 2023 10:22 p.m.
INDIANAPOLIS — The last time James Franklin spoke to a group of media members was the afternoon of June 8. A couple of hours later, the new Big Ten scheduling model was released and generated plenty of reaction.
Perhaps the biggest piece of news from that June announcement, at least in Happy Valley, was Penn State being the only Big Ten team without a permanent annual opponent. Divisions were nixed, but 11 rivalry games were protected. Every team had at least one except Penn State.
That means the Nittany Lions won’t face Ohio State and Michigan every season, like they have as a Big Ten East division member for nearly a decade. Penn State will play Ohio State in 2024 but miss Michigan and vice versa in 2025.
Franklin was asked about that upcoming reality on Wednesday at Big Ten media days at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
“I don’t think (Ohio State) was ever a protected rival. We were just on the same side of the division,” Franklin said. “I think there’s things you’re going to lose. We’re going to lose some games that people are used to seeing on a yearly basis.”
Franklin then pointed out, like athletic director Pat Kraft did a day before, that part of the Big Ten’s rationale with the new schedule was to set itself up for postseason success.
With the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams in 2024, you could easily make the argument that it makes sense for the Big Ten not to pit Penn State against Ohio State and Michigan on an annual basis.
“The Big Ten made some decisions from a strategy perspective to give us the best chance to get six teams in the playoffs,” Franklin said. “Literally everything we talk about in the Big Ten needs to be based on how to get the most teams into the playoffs. You need to be thinking about six, and all of your strategy needs to be based on that. And if you end up with five teams in or whatever, that’s fine. But you need to be strategically making decisions to get as many Big Ten teams in the playoffs.”
Of course, Penn State’s schedule will still be difficult. In 2024, the Nittany Lions host Ohio State, USC and Michigan State and travel to Wisconsin. In 2025, they host UCLA and travel to USC, Michigan, Iowa and Michigan State.
That’s not a cakewalk by any means. But it sure beats trying to battle through the Big Ten East to reach the College Football Playoff.
Other takeaways
• Earlier this month, Franklin went on the “Next Up with Adam Breneman” podcast and stated that Penn State is “two years behind” its competitors in the NIL space.
In light of those remarks, Franklin was asked if he felt like there was a message about Penn State’s NIL efforts that he needed to deliver.
“Pat has come in here and made a significant impact and emphasizes more to what we’re competing against not only within the conference but also on the national level. And I felt like although we made progress, it had kind of leveled back off again,” Franklin said.
“We needed to take that next step when the collectives (Lions Legacy Club and Success With Honor) were merging (into Happy Valley United), which was also an important point for us. But while that was happening, we weren’t making the progress we needed to make. So the combination of all those things — Pat’s leadership, the merging and trying to emphasize where we could be as a program — I think that helped maybe speed up that maturation process in this specific area.”
• On the topic of NIL, Franklin said Penn State players were “contacted by other programs” and “offered deals” before the transfer portal windows opened.
“Before the transfer portal opened back up, everybody in the country was concerned what that was going to look like,” Franklin said. “But we had a ton of conversations with our players. Although we’ve had some challenges in the NIL space, I do think there’s a ton of respect from our players and how we have handled things. I think there’s been some examples of places that were very aggressive early on, which is good, but also if not handled well could cause issues in your locker room.”
• Franklin wasn’t just asked about current players during his 45-minute interview session. He was even asked about a former player in the news.
Saquon Barkley recently ended his brief holdout and inked a one-year contract with the New York Giants after refusing to sign the franchise tag tender. Barkley’s new deal is worth up to $11 million with $2 million up front as a signing bonus.
Barkley wanted a long-term contract and even suggested he would sit out the 2023 season if he didn’t get an improvement on the $10.1 franchise tag.
Franklin, asked about the contract situation, said he spoke to Barkley a few days ago.
“I want to be a resource for Saquon and his family not just during his playing career but really for the rest of his life. I’m a big fan of his and a big supporter of his,” Franklin said. “He was able to sign a pretty good one-year deal. And I think he’s gonna have a big year for the Giants. And I think he’s going to continue to be one of their better leaders in the locker room and representatives in the community.”