Greg McElroy reacts to James Franklin possibly losing to Ohio State, Michigan again

Every team coming into this season has a hurdle that they want to overcome. For Michigan, it’s whoever they face in the College Football Playoff while, for Ohio State, it’s the Wolverines. In the case of No. 7 Penn State, though, it’s both of those teams out in the Big Ten East.

In a recent episode of ‘Always College Football’, Greg McElroy discussed the potential fallout in University Park if James Franklin can’t get wins against the Wolverines or Buckeyes again. He said that it’d be an obvious disappointment for the Nittany Lions if they fell to both again. With that said, context is obviously going to matter a lot to him within those results.

“That would be a real disappointment – that would be the initial reaction. If you look at where Penn State is this year? It depends a little bit on how you lose, right?,” said McElroy. “I mean if you lose a game at the buzzer? Ohio State has to go down at home and kick a game-winning field goal as the clock runs to zero? It’s a little different feeling, right?

“But if you lose the way you lost last year at Michigan, for instance? It was a complete and utter beatdown,” McElroy noted. “They lost by a lot. That loss feels a little different than losing close.”

From there, McElroy admitted that Penn State posting another season where their only losses were to their divisional foes won’t bother him too much. In his eyes, he just wants to see competitive progress in those matchups considering how young and talented their program’s core players are.

“It’s time now, I think, for James Franklin, with this young nucleus, to give them a game,” McElroy stated

“Now, Penn State fans might not want to hear this. I’ve always circled 2024 as the year that they could break through,” he continued. “If they come up short? It’s still going to leave me feeling optimistic with the type of young players they’ve been able to attract. And knowing those young players are all going to come together in what will be year three, because many of them are second-year sophomores, in 2024.”

Penn State is ready to not be the odd man out amongst that trio when it comes to the postseason. Still, to McElroy, there still might be one more season between now and when they’re actually fully capable of changing that narrative.

“If they don’t get it done this year, I’ll at least be able to point to next year and say, ‘Hey. Now it’s put up or shut up time for the Nittany Lions,'” McElroy said.