James Franklin can 'silence the critics' with Penn State win over Notre Dame in CFP

James Franklin could go a long way in silencing the critics by leading Penn State to a win over Notre Dame at the Orange Bowl Thursday night.

With a chance to punch their ticket to the College Football Playoff national championship game, Franklin can end the notion that he can’t win the big one. When coaching against AP top five teams, Franklin has struggled.

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And since most considered Penn State’s path easy in this playoff, Franklin still has to prove himself but has a great shot, according to ESPN’s Heather Dinich.

“Well, this is the biggest game of his career, and it’s a chance to not silence his critics who wonder if he can win the big game,” Dinich said on Get Up. “It’s at least a chance to close the gap with elite coaches who can. When you look at his record against AP top five opponents by comparison, when you look at Kirby Smart and Nick Saban and Urban Meyer, they all have winning records as head coaches against top five teams. So this is an opportunity for him to at least start to close that gap.”

Notre Dame has been one of the hottest teams in America, since losing to NIU in their second game this season. Penn State has had another solid season but it was marred by another loss to Ohio State and losing the Big Ten Championship to Oregon.

Still, Franklin can make it right by beating a very similar team in the Irish.

“Notre Dame, Marcus Freeman, have known and followed Marcus for a long time,” Franklin said. “I think you guys know Gerad Parker. Gerad was on the staff there. Gerad was with us, Gerad and Marcus are really good friends. Heard a ton of good things about Marcus from Gerad. Watched his career for a while, obviously. You know, being promoted there and getting a job like Notre Dame and has done a great job and has really run with it. 

“I think in a lot of ways, they are built similar to us. You look at their turnover ratio numbers, you look at their explosive play defense in terms of defending and limiting explosive plays. You look at the middle eight, they are built in a lot of ways that I think we are in terms of emphasizing the statistics that matter.”