Abdul Carter Announces His Status For Thursday's Orange Bowl

Carter's return is bad news for Riley Leonard but a huge relief for Penn State. 

The 6-foot-3, 259-pound edge rusher has collected 11 sacks and two forced fumbles during a dominant junior year. He accrued 63 tackles for a defense allowing 288.8 yards per game.

Via ESPN's Andrea Adelson, Franklin joked about Carter's Star Wars teasers when expressing optimism that the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year would compete at Hard Rock Stadium.

"Abdul's approached this the right way. He wants to play," Franklin said. "He's put a ton of cryptic messages out on social media. I learn as much from those as I do from our trainers. But we are hopeful and expecting Abdul to play, and we'll see how that plays out."

Despite playing most of the Fiesta Bowl without Carter, Penn State's defense notched three sacks and three interceptions in a one-sided 31-14 triumph. The Nittany Lions now face a steep challenger in the Fighting Irish, who advanced to the Orange Bowl with hard-nosed victories over Indiana and Notre Dame.

Leonard passed for just 90 yards against the Bulldogs, but Notre Dame ran for 154 yards in a game dominated by defense and special teams. Marcus Freeman's squad has won 12 straight games since a Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois.

Franklin and the Nittany Lions will look to erase its poor big-game reputation and advance to the National Championship Game. The Orange Bowl starts Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.