Penn State Football is the Healthiest It’s Been Since Joining Big Ten

Franklin and company need to be better in big games. But it’s because of what this program does when the lights aren’t shining as bright that have made this the best overall era of Penn State football since the program joined the Big Ten.

PENN STATE IN THE BIG TEN ERA

Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now: James Franklin

Franklin will always be the second-best coach in PSU history. The first is, obviously, Joe Paterno.

Most of Paterno’s big accomplishments came before Penn State joined the Big Ten, which happened ahead of the 1993 season.

That’s where he won his first 247 games, had four of his five undefeated seasons and won both of his national titles.

Make no mistake, Joe Pa won in the Big Ten, too. He won three conference titles, three BCS bowl games and has an unbeaten squad in 1994 that many feel is the best in Penn State history despite that team not getting a chance to play for a national title.

But how consistent was Penn State under Paterno in the Big Ten era?

Yes, the team went unbeaten in 1994. But it followed that up by going 9-3 the next season, with a bad loss to a Wisconsin team that finished 4-5-2 at home (the type of game Franklin hasn’t lost in a long time).

The 2005 team won the Big Ten and then one of the greatest Orange Bowls ever played. But what happened before and after? The 2006 team went 8-4 in the regular season and had to settle for the Outback Bowl, and the two teams before that combined to go 7-16. The 2008 team won the conference and played in the Rose Bowl. The 2009 team did finish 11-2, but one of those losses was at home to an un-ranked Iowa team, again, the type of game Franklin doesn’t lose.

Penn State had some great teams post-1993 but it’s hard to argue that the program was the consistent Big Ten force that it’s become until Franklin got things rolling.

THE LAST TIME IT WAS THIS GOOD

Photo by Penn State Athletics: Todd Blackledge

By beating Minnesota Nov. 23, Penn State did something it hasn’t done since the Reagan years: won double-digit games three seasons in a row. Penn State won 10 or more games each season from 1980-82, well before the program joined the Big Ten.

Based on that, PSU football been healthier in the Big Ten era.

Over the past nine seasons, Franklin is 85-28, good for a winning percentage above 75%.

In Paterno’s first nine seasons as a Big Ten coach (1993-2001), Penn State went 80-29, which equates to 73% (Penn State also had two losing seasons in this time, Franklin’s only losing season was a 2020 campaign that should come with an *.)

In Joe Pa’s next nine seasons, Penn State went 73-39 (65%).

Talking specifically about the Big Ten, Paterno went 49-23 from 1993-2001,  41-31 from 2002-10.

Franklin is 58-23 from 2016-24.

Statistically speaking, Penn State football has never been healthier in the Big Ten era. Whether fans want to admit it or not, James Franklin is responsible for a golden age of football in Happy Valley.