James Franklin had to use the Ohio State Buckeyes as an example for Penn State to cope with their loss to Oregon

The Buckeyes were certainly a team that faced adversity last season, though this may be different.

Brandon Little — Ohio State Buckeyes & Cleveland Browns News Writer
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The Ohio State Buckeyes haven’t won the Big Ten since 2020 and that’s something they want to get done this year. Beating Michigan, winning the conference, and competing to win it all are the three things the Buckeyes look to do each and every season. Ohio State is off to a good start this season with a 4-0 record and is ranked the No. 1 team in the country. Ohio State is one of the three teams that are expected to compete for a Big Ten title this season and the other two faced off over the weekend. 

James Franklin brought up the Buckeyes after being beaten by Oregon 

It was a whiteout at Penn State over the weekend between the undefeated Nittany Lions and the undefeated Ducks. Oregon weathered the storm and escaped with a 30-24 win over Penn State in overtime. The loss was another top-10 loss for Franklin at Penn State, which has become a common theme. In his message to the team, the team that Ohio State had last year was used as a point. 

“The team in our conference last year that won the national championship had two conference losses during the season,” Franklin stated. “I think college football is different than maybe how it’s been in the past, and you got to do everything you possibly can to put yourself in the best position to get into the playoffs and then make a run.”

Franklin is right on the point that college football is different now. With the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff format, one or even two losses don’t mean that your season is over. Ohio State had an early-season loss to Oregon last year by a point in a game they probably should have won. The Buckeyes bounced back after losing to Michigan later with four straight wins over top-10 opponents in the CFP, including revenge over Oregon. The main difference was that Ohio State was on the road in that game they lost to Oregon last year, though a loss is a loss. 

James Franklin while at Penn State

  • 4-21 against top-10 teams
  • 1-15 against top-5 teams
  • 1-10 record against Ohio Stare

Penn State’s first loss of the season was the first for former Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles while at Penn State. Ohio State will host Penn State to start November and that game is going to have big conference implications as well as even playoff seeding. That’ll be a must-win game for Penn State if they want to compete for a Big Ten Championship with a loss already on their record. 

Sometimes adversity brings out the best and that happened last year with Ohio State. Franklin is hoping that the same can happen for Penn State a season after they won a first-round game in the College Football Playoff. Ohio State doesn’t have Oregon on the regular season schedule but very well could end up seeing them in the conference title game, until then they have to take care of business. 

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