James Franklin details his initial thoughts on Ole Miss ahead of Peach Bowl

Penn State is set to take on Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl this year. With that, Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin shared what his initial thoughts on Ole Miss ahead of that game.

One of the unique things about bowl season is that it provides matchups between teams that typically don’t play for each other. Because of that, there is a lack of familiarity and that’s no different in this case.

“Sometimes when you’re sitting around a hotel you get a chance to watch a few games or maybe just a few highlights,” James Franklin said. “We do have some guys that we both recruited that are either on our team or their team that we’re familiar with, specifically their tailback we’ve got a ton of respect for.  We recruited him out of high school.”

Franklin is referring to Quinshon Judkins, the star running back for Ole Miss. Penn State was one of the teams in on him but signed Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen in that same 2022 recruiting cycle instead. All three have been fantastic at the college level, though, making the running games a key to the Peach Bowl.

“Yeah, besides that, coaches don’t really kind of make decisions or come up with a feel based off seeing highlights on TV or watching a game kind of on TV in the afternoon while you’re sitting around a hotel. It’s very different than the coaches’ film that we study.  So, not a whole lot at this point,” Franklin said.

“Obviously, been able to see a little bit.  Lane’s done a great job in not only recruiting but developing and also scheme. It’s going to be a challenge, and we recognize that. Literally just getting started.  Probably like Lane [Kiffin], I’m sitting in an FBO right now, just landed.  Haven’t had a whole bunch of time to do a whole lot more than that.”

The Peach Bowl will be played at Noon EST on December 30th. The Nittany Lions opened for the game as a 2.5-point favorite.

James Franklin reflected on winning double-digit games

For a second season in a row, Penn State won double-digit games and earned a bid to a New Year’s Six Bowl. Following the season, James Franklin took some time to reflect on that accomplishment.

“They’ve been phenomenal. They’ve kind of seen it all and done it all here at Penn State. Rose Bowl win, Covid, back-to-back double-digit win seasons, they’ve done some really good things,” Franklin said.

“Obviously we’ve gotta take a step, but they’ve laid a foundation for us in the future.”