It’s time for James Franklin to start showing that this Penn State team is a different animal

Facing an extremely weak schedule, the Penn State Nittany Lions are 5-0 and College Football fans are wondering if this season is different from the squad's other hot starts under coach James Franklin. It's fair to say that the Lions fanbase will need Franklin to show this squad is a different animal this week against USC.

The program has an extremely easy schedule this season, with an above-average Illinois squad as their only notable competition so far. Drew Allar has looked like a solid QB this season throwing for 1101 passing yards and 9 TDs. The junior is looking to change the narrative around James Franklin's led squads with a win over USC.

The Trojans have struggled a lot this season with Lincoln Riley's job in question despite the long-term commitment to the coach. This game is on the road and is the kind of test that Franklin's teams have failed in previous years — they still have never made the College Football Playoff during his tenure.

With the squad in a great spot and the new 12-team field, James Franklin needs to take advantage of this opportunity and lead his team to a win.

Penn State can't afford to let up against USC

It's possible that the Lions could make the playoff even if the program loses to Ohio State in a couple of weeks. If the program is able to take care of business against programs that they should beat, the Lions will at least worst be 11-1 with their one loss coming against a Ohio State squad.

Still, this would likely require them to avoid any classic Franklin losses against teams like USC, Wisconsin, Washington and other schools in the Big10. While it's unclear if the Lions will be able to avoid a classic James Franklin loss this season, it's clear that this season is likely the best shot for the coach's squad to make the playoff in his entire coaching tenure.