Phil Steele calls Penn State a 'legitimate' contender in Big Ten, national scale

Is Penn State ready to take the next step and contend for not only the Big Ten, big a spot in the College Football Playoff?

College football expert Phil Steele seems to think so, breaking down what could put the Nittany Lions over the hump during the 2023 college football season.

“This year they take on my #60 rated schedule but have eight starters back on offense and eight on defense,” Steele said. “Penn St keeps taking Ohio St to the wire each year but plays them on the road. They do get Michigan at home and they are a legitimate Big Ten and National Title contender.”

It’s a long way from the 0-5 start to the season the Nittany Lions suffered in 2020, though they won the last four games in the shortened COVID season. Penn State was +101 against their opponents in yards per game, which indicates to Steele that of a “seven or eight-win team.”

After another mid-tier season — finishing 7-6 overall with an Outback Bowl loss — in 2021, they won Steele’s 1 Most Improved Team after ending 2022 11-2 overall. During that run, the Nittany Lions benefitted from being +11 in turnovers on defense and garnered 12.1 yards per play on offense. That was capped with a decisive 35-21 victory over the Pac-12 Champion Utah Utes.

Of course, these days it seems as though the Buckeyes and Wolverines have been one step ahead of Penn State in the standings.

But head coach James Franklin isn’t concerned about that right now. After all, he signed a 10-year deal in 2021 to remain Penn State’s head coach through the rest of the decade and beyond. The money is certainly good with a position like Franklin’s — but his priorities lie in the contract’s length rather than a specific dollar amount.

“For me, it’s really never been the finances. Don’t get me wrong, I know that’s part, and you threw that out there in the beginning and I get that,” Franklin said. “But for me, if you really study all my contracts, all my contracts were about how do we put the program in the best position to be successful.”

That’s exactly what Franklin did in 2022, and has proven to do throughout his tenure with the program. Last season was the third time Franklin has notched 11 wins with Penn State during his nine-year stay in Happy Valley. It isn’t expected to be the last.