Run it back!: James Franklin under even more pressure with Penn State stars returning

Penn State is coming off one of its best seasons in ages. The Nittany Lions not only qualified for the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history, but they actually won a pair of games in the tournament. Unfortunately, their run at a national title came to an end in Miami Gardens thanks to the healed right leg of Notre Dame placekicker Mitch Jeter. Penn State lost by three measly points...

I remember talking to my False Start co-host and FanSided.com colleague Cody Williams about Penn State's chances of ever winning a national title under Franklin in the wake of their Orange Bowl defeat. We were both dubious about it ever happening. This is because Penn State had the easiest pathway to a national championship this year as a No. 6 seed and did not get it done. It is always something...

Last year, it was the offensive coordinator. Out went Mike Yurcich and in came Andy Kotelnicki. This year, it was the wide receiver room. Even with quarterback Drew Allar and running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kayton Allen announcing they are returning to school, all-world linebacker Abdul Carter is not, and defensive coordinator Tom Allen seems to be on his way to Clemson here soon.

Penn State has the pieces in place to win a national title, but its head coach must win as an underdog.

James Franklin has even more pressure to win it all at Penn State in 2025

It is too early to tell, but I think there is a chance we will view Penn State quite differently than we did even entering last season. Penn State was a team that many college football pundits thought was about as close to being a playoff lock as possible without being in the same tier as the likes of Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon and Texas. Penn State was right there with Notre Dame and Ole Miss.

Flash forward to now. Six of the seven teams mentioned above made the playoff, with only 9-3 Ole Miss missing out. Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State and Texas were all top-eight seeds. If not for Arizona State and Boise State getting first-round byes, those were the six best teams in all of college football. Penn State is no longer an ascending team; the Nittany Lions have arrived.

My concerns for Penn State are three-fold. One, they are no longer the hunters, but the hunted. They may not win the Big Ten next year, but they will be a team other playoff hopefuls will be gunning for. Two, Franklin has to learn how to beat top-five teams to ever become a champion, especially with his team now being in that echelon. And three, what new and creative excuse will we have come 2025?

It would be exceedingly convenient to say losing Allen to Clemson was the straw that broke the camel's back for next year's team. Well, I remember Manny Diaz being an elite defensive coordinator two years ago, and Brent Pry a few years before that. They too now work in the ACC, albeit in bigger and better roles than Allen does as a coordinator. Diaz leads Duke, while Pry still leads Virginia Tech.

What I am getting at is Franklin is going to be under more pressure than even Ryan Day was this past season. I would argue that Steve Sarkisian will be feeling similar pressure at Texas, but he will be breaking in a new starting quarterback in Arch Manning. For Franklin, his team has no excuses next year on the offensive side of the ball with Allar, Allen and Singleton all returning to play for Kotelnicki.

Ultimately, Franklin cannot let a convenient excuse be an excuse next season. Yes, I understand that only one team can win a national championship each year. However, I fully expect for Penn State to be one of the 12 best teams in the country next year, probably firmly inside the top eight. From there, Franklin has to build on his meaningful playoff debut so he can finally get this monkey off his back.

If Franklin cannot get Penn State to the promised land after next season, go get someone who can.