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) /

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STATE COLLEGE, PA – OCTOBER 21: Shareef Miller /

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

Penn State blows out No. 19 Michigan

The 2017 college football season saw Penn State get out to a tremendous start, as they followed up their appearance in the Rose Bowl with a 6-0 start to the season heading into the Michigan game. At the time, Penn State was ranked No. 2 in the country and were fully expected to beat the Wolverines.

However, what ensued was an absolute bloodbath inside Beaver Stadium, as the Nittany Lions dominated the Wolverines from the start, beating their rival 42-13 in front of the home fans. What made the win even sweeter was the fact that College Gameday was there, and after the win, many believed this was a Penn State team that was destined for a national title.

Unfortunately, the good feelings surrounding this team would fade away, as they lost back-to-back games to Ohio State and Michigan State, and saw their No. 2 ranking fade to a No. 16 ranking. Still, pasting Michigan in front of over 110,000 people was one of the defining moments of Franklin’s career.

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