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Penn State Football: A look at James Franklin’s Bowl Record

By Andrew Adair

GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 30: Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions cleans the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl trophy after defeating the Washington Huskies 35-28 at University of Phoenix Stadium on December 30, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 30: Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions cleans the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl trophy after defeating the Washington Huskies 35-28 at University of Phoenix Stadium on December 30, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images) /
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James Franklin and Penn State Football once again find themselves in a New Years’ Six Bowl. This time another trip to the Rose Bowl awaits.

One of the best things about the holiday season besides family, food, and for some, a couple of days off work has to be college football Bowl season. The bowl season is a glorious time when there are 41 Bowl games over 18 days. Penn State will signify the end of the bowl season when they take on Utah at the Rose Bowl on January 2.

Penn State exceeded expectations this season and has been rewarded for its efforts with a berth in the Rose Bowl. This Rose Bowl appearance will mark the second time in James Franklins’ career that he has led Penn State to the Rose Bowl, with the last one coming in 2016.

James Franklin has been a head coach of an FBS program for 12 years now. He spent the first three years of his career at Vanderbilt. While there, Franklin led the cellar dwellers to a bowl appearance in all three seasons.

ARLINGTON, TEXAS – DECEMBER 28: Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions is soaked with the Gatorade cooler by Cam Brown #6 of the Penn State Nittany Lions after the Nittany Lions beat the Memphis Tigers 53-39 at AT&T Stadium on December 28, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS – DECEMBER 28: Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions is soaked with the Gatorade cooler by Cam Brown #6 of the Penn State Nittany Lions after the Nittany Lions beat the Memphis Tigers 53-39 at AT&T Stadium on December 28, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

James Franklin exited Vanderbilt with victories in the Music City Bowl, BBVA Compass Bowl, and a loss in the Liberty Bowl. Coach Franklin finished his Vanderbilt career with a solid 2-1 bowl game record with a program that has not finished above .500 since his departure.

James Franklin’s career at Penn State has been quite the mixed bag of postseason results. Under his leadership, Penn State has reached bowl eligibility eight out of nine seasons, with the lone miss being the 2020 covid season. Out of the eight bowl games that Penn State has reached, four of them now are New Year Six Bowls.

In the four non-major bowl games, Penn State has only won the Pinstripe Bowl. The three losses have come in the Taxslayer Bowl, Citrus Bowl, and last season’s Outback Bowl.

Under James Franklin, Penn State has had the opportunity to participate in three New Year Six Bowls. Penn State has been more successful in these games, with victories in the Fiesta Bowl and Cotton Bowl. The lone New Year Six Bowl loss for James Franklin happened in his only other Rose Bowl appearance.

Long story short, James Franklin has a bowl record of 5-5 in his career and a record of 3-4 while at Penn State. A victory in the Rose Bowl will bring Coach Franklin back to the .500 mark at Penn State and would be the first Rose Bowl victory for the program since 1994.

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