Former Penn State LB Brandon Bell: Not 'Big Ten title or bust' in 2023 for James Franklin

Former Penn State linebacker Brandon Bell claimed the Nittany Lions were Big Ten title or bust under James Franklin in 2023.

But there are big expectations for the program each year. Franklin led Penn State to a conference crown in 2016 but has yet to get back to the big game since. Ohio State and Michigan ran the conference since.

Bell joined On3 for an exclusive conversation on Penn State’s expectations this fall and more.

“I’m not going to say it’s Big Ten or bust,” Bell said. “But what I will say is that the expectations are just as high as they’ve always been, and always will be. You know, obviously, as you mentioned, (Michigan and Ohio State) are the front runners in the division and the conference itself. And hey, we’re still in the fight to gain that level of competition or experience as those guys have won this back and forth, Big Ten champs. So I think we’re fighting to get in that elite status and that’s that’s the expectation for me. At least when it comes to every season.”

Bell won a Big Ten title with Penn State back in 2016 and helped the team get to the Rose Bowl.

“I want to be in that conversation as a Penn State football team with those three, or those two, those two universities,” Bell said. “So I think that’s the fight and  it’s not going to come in one season, you know, it’s going to come after a few seasons where we knock those guys off and as I said the expectations just as high as any of the years. 

“So this is a year that we got to get those two and as well as everyone else, you know? I don’t want to get those two games and then fall off to a lesser opponent. So we’re fighting to get in that elite status. That’s the pressure that I feel, that I want for the team, is getting at least that. So the Big Ten (title) and to eventually compete for national championship.”

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Franklin is 78-36 in his career with Penn State since 2014. After back-to-back seven-win seasons, Franklin and the Nittany Lions broke through and won the Big Ten.

He has four 11-win seasons in his career, including the 2022 campaign which was capped off with a Rose Bowl victory.