Penn State football head coach James Franklin isn't on the hot seat, but that doesn't mean all eye aren't on him to win the Big Ten and even the 2026 College Football Playoff. ESPN's Adam Rittenberg made it clear that even though the Nittany Lions aren't the only ones in line for. championship title, it's looming a little larger over Happy Valley than others.
"But what team has accomplished more in the past eight seasons without winning a title?" Rittenberg asked and continued, "Franklin has had five 10-win seasons and five AP top-10 finishes. He has repeatedly beaten the teams he should beat, including Penn State's first two opponents in its CFP debut, SMU and Boise State."
Airing out all the teams dealing with a lot of impatience, particularly for fans, Rittenberg placed Penn State at the top of the "Championship or bust tier."
College football analysts, like Paul Finebaum, already labeled the Nittany Lions as the team facing the most pressure in 2025. While they're expected to be a title-winning team, either within the Big Ten or overall nationally, it has to be taken into account that impatience is a huge factor feeding into this pressure — especially with a championship-worthy roster.
"Penn State has the most win-now roster in the Big Ten," Rittenberg wrote.
The last time Franklin won a title was his conference in 2016, and 2024 marked his as well as the team's first CFP appearance. Consistently performing at the top end of the country despite minimal accolades, though, is proof that Penn State needs to surpass its "so close, yet so far" pattern.
With star returners on both offense and defense, the Nittany Lions deserve to be the first ones in mind for a "Championship or bust" year. In fact, ESPN's Heather Dinich said that "there's no excuse" for them not to reach the playoffs and it can be argued that they could be the No. 1 overall team, not just in the Big Ten.
"I'm excited about the opportunity to change that narrative, and I know so are our players, but there's also recognizing that 99 [percent] of the programs would love to be [in] the position that we are," Franklin said to ESPN, according to Rittenberg. "You have to take it as a sign of respect and a compliment, and you have to take it as a challenge. I think we're going to be in a really good position to change the narrative. And the good thing is, it's all up to us. We're in total control."
Penn State needs (or should) beat Oregon, Ohio State, and Indiana to impress the committee, according to Dinich. It needs to capitalize on every opportunity to win against Top 25 teams, and those three would certainly do the trick. If the Nittany Lions lose against the Ducks on Sept. 27, Weeks 10 and 11 are must wins without a doubt.
Dinich also noted that they have to have a clean sweep through their non-conference slate. Nevada, FIU, and Villanova in the first three weeks should be easy wins. As Finebaum calls it, Penn State has a non-conference cupcake schedule. It can't afford to let one of those teams squeak out a win.
To be clear, those three wins aren't going to automatically put them in front of the line to make the playoffs. A 3-0 record is the bare minimum to start the Nittany Lions off on. They will still need to beat Top 25 teams on top of that, but any non-conference loss will leave a bad taste in the committee's mouth.