Penn State football: Top-10 wins of the James Franklin Era

By Brad Weiss | Dec 1, 2020

STATE COLLEGE, PA - NOVEMBER 30: Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions reacts to a play during the second half of the game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Beaver Stadium on November 30, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

4 of 10

Franklin and the Nittany Lions knocked off No. 2 Ohio State (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

Penn State football: Top-10 wins of the James Franklin Era

Penn State defeats No. 2 Ohio State

The signature win of James Franklin’s run at Penn State came in October of the 2016 college football season, as an unranked Nittany Lions squad went up against the No. 2 team in the country in rival Ohio State. Playing inside White Out conditions at Beaver Stadium, the Penn State program proved they were back with the win over the Buckeyes.

Ohio State went into that game as a favorite to win it all that season, and against a Penn State team that was on a winning streak, but not getting national love, they were supposed to steamroll. However, the 2016 team was full of pride and talent, and they pulled off one of the more shocking victories of the college football season.

With a chance to go up to seven, Ohio State lined up for a field goal with under five minutes left in the game. What ensued was pure bedlam, as Marcus Allen blocked the field goal and Grant Haley scooped it up and ran 60 yards the other way for a score. The win would be the Nittany Lions’ third of a nine-game winning streak that season.

Home/Penn State Football