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Penn State Football: Would a win over Michigan help recruiting?

By Alec Whitaker

STATE COLLEGE, PA - SEPTEMBER 10: Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions leads the team onto the field before the game against the Ohio Bobcats at Beaver Stadium on September 10, 2022 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA - SEPTEMBER 10: Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions leads the team onto the field before the game against the Ohio Bobcats at Beaver Stadium on September 10, 2022 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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AUBURN, ALABAMA – SEPTEMBER 17: Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates with athletic director Patrick Kraft of the Penn State Nittany Lions after defeating the Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium on September 17, 2022 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images)
AUBURN, ALABAMA – SEPTEMBER 17: Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates with athletic director Patrick Kraft of the Penn State Nittany Lions after defeating the Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium on September 17, 2022 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images) /

The argument for

Penn State and James Franklin would change a lot of narratives by winning at Michigan.

The Nittany Lions have struggled on the road, especially against ranked opponents under Franklin. Penn State is 19-20 on the road and just 1-10 against ranked opponents on the road with Franklin as the coach. Additionally, Penn State is just 3-5 in games that come directly after the bye week. The Nittany Lions are coming off of their bye week.

Winning this game would silence a lot of the doubters and end some of the negative recruiting that comes with numbers like these.

Beating Michigan would likely put Penn State well inside the top ten in the AP Poll. Penn State was consistently in the top ten from 2016-19 and getting back there would show recruits that the Nittany Lions are taking another step forward.

This would also put Penn State in the College Football Playoff discussion, a goal the Nittany Lions are yet to achieve. In addition to the Playoff, this game also has huge implications for the Big Ten title. Winning this game and being put in the spotlight for a run at the Big Ten title and the Playoff would be huge for Penn State because it can show recruits that they will play in big games and contend for titles.

Michigan got a leg up over Penn State last year when the Wolverines made the playoff, something Penn State has not done. Winning this one will at least help the Nittany Lions close the gap in head-to-head recruiting. Michigan and Penn State have not had many recruiting battles against each other recently, with 4-star OL Evan Link heading to Michigan being the most notable.

At the very least, winning this game would give Penn State a ton of good publicity and make the Nittany Lions the talk of College Football for the week. That exposure will make an impact with recruits.

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