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Penn State’s James Franklin is hands down a better coach than Jim Harbaugh

By Evan Smith

Oct 19, 2019; University Park, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin (right) shakes hand with Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh (left) following the completion of the game at Beaver Stadium. Penn State defeated Michigan 28-21. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 19, 2019; University Park, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin (right) shakes hand with Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh (left) following the completion of the game at Beaver Stadium. Penn State defeated Michigan 28-21. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-USA TODAY Sports /
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Penn State Football and The No. 7 Michigan Wolverines renew their rivalry Saturday at Beaver Stadium, offering another glimpse at James Franklin vs. Jim Harbaugh

Both Penn State’s James Franklin and Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh are connected at the hip, taking over prestigious programs trying to rebound to their glory days.

But how do they actually compare?

Here’s how Penn State’s James Franklin matches up against Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh

Record

Jim Harbuagh: 57-23 overall record (39-17 in conference)
James Franklin: 66-31 overall record (41-26 in conference)

Harbaugh has slightly higher winning percentages than Franklin, so we’ll give the maize and blue ball coach a slight lead over Franklin.

Weeks in Top 5/10

Jim Harbaugh: 19 weeks
James Franklin: 11 weeks

Another statistic, another lead for Harbaugh.

Not a huge differentiator, and we all have issues with the polls, especially when some of those weeks are ‘preseason’ (or Week 0/1) rankings.

Bowl Games

Jim Harbaugh: 1-4 (victory in the Citrus Bowl, losses in the Orange Bowl, Outback Bowl, Peach Bow,l and Citrus Bowl)

James Franklin: 3-3 (victories in the Pinstripe Bowl, Fiesta Bow,l and Cotton Bowl with losses in the Taxslayer Bowl, Rose Bowl, and Citrus Bowl)

A lot of Penn State fans feel Franklin gags in the big games, how do you think Michigan feels about Harbaugh?!?

Harbaugh’s only won a single Bowl Game for the maize and blue. At least Franklin has two NY6 Bowl wins.

A pretty significant advantage here goes to the blue and white.

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