2024 has the potential to become one of the best seasons of college football ever. The expanded College Football Playoff and conference realignment will shake up the sport. With conference realignment going into place, the Penn State football team will have new opponents to play and new head coaches to our scheme. Now, On3 has released an updated Big Ten head coach power ranking that has James Franklin below Lincoln Riley, Dan Lanning, and Ryan Day.
Big Ten newcomers leap James Franklin in coach power rankings
James Franklin is an interesting name when speaking about where he factors in as one of the best coaches in college football. On one hand, this is the guy who built a brand of winning football at Vanderbilt, something the program has not seen since Franklin left. On the other hand college football fans often call him “overrated.” Last season Josh Pate of CBS Sports explained why James Franklin is one of the most properly rated coaches in the sport.
He will certainly get his chance to prove himself and improve his legacy during the 2024 season. The Big Ten welcomes Oregon, Washington, USC, and UCLA to the already-loaded conference. Jesse Simonton of On3 has ranked James Franklin behind Ohio State’s Ryan Day, USC’s Lincoln Riley, and Oregon’s Dan Lanning in his Big Ten coaches’ power ranking.
Opportunity ahead of James Franklin in 2024
While discussing the Penn State football head coach Simonton acknowledged Franklin’s ability to recruit at a high level.
“Franklin is 21-5 the last two seasons, yet Penn State is viewed as an underachieving program because it cannot beat Ohio State (seven losses in a row) or Michigan (last win in 2020). Franklin has also burned through offensive coordinators with the Nittany Lions, but he looks to have finally landed on the perfect fit in Kansas’ Andy Kotelnicki
Still, that’s a projection. But the opportunity is there for the program to take the next step under its veteran head coach. Franklin has recruited at a Top 15 clip and returns a stacked roster in 2024 — just in time for the expanded playoff. If he can start winning some games against Top 25 teams (5-10 the last three seasons), then Penn State might actually contend for a conference title again.”
Franklin will see Lincoln Riley on October 12th as the Nittany Lions travel to USC and Ohio State on November 2nd when the Buckeyes and Ryan Day return to Happy Valley. He will have to wait until 2025 to face off against Oregon and Dan Lanning.
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