James Franklin has finally gotten his Penn State Nittany Lions to the College Football Playoff, but rather than revel in his first-round blowout victory of SMU at Beaver Stadium on Saturday, Franklin took a moment at the start of his press conference to shout out Penn State women’s volleyball, which will play Louisville for the National Championship on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET.
“Because I don’t want to forget this at the end,” Franklin concluded his opening statement in the postgame press conference, “our women’s volleyball program and Katie (Schumacher-Cawley), they’re playing for the national championship tomorrow. We wish them all the luck in the world, they’ve had an unbelievable season, obviously.”
Amidst the insanity of preparing for a CFP first-round game while the transfer portal is open, Franklin apparently even took the time to watch the semifinal match against Nebraska, which Penn State won with an improbable reverse sweep after going down two sets to none.
“That game that they played when they were down by two and back three sets was just crazy,” Franklin remarked. “I think that’s one of the special things about being at Penn State,” the 11th-year head coach of the Nittany Lions continued. “There’s so many sports and so many coaches that are thriving.”
In just her third season at the helm, Penn State alum, Schumacher-Cawley has already accomplished one of the objectives that has eluded Franklin, a national championship semifinal. Miraculously, she has done it while battling breast cancer and she and her program can cap this remarkable season off with a national title on Sunday.
If Penn State beats the Cardinals at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, it won’t be the first national championship ring on Schumacher-Cawley’s finger. The two-time All-American helped lead the Nittany Lions to the 1999 title as a player.
Even with the Fiesta Bowl against Boise State to prepare for, Franklin appears to be booked on Sunday afternoon. “We’ll be screaming and hollering and watching and supporting Katie and our women’s program,” Franklin finished.