Division woes no more for Big Ten? James Franklin Radio Recap

Penn State head coach James Franklin joined host Steve Jones for his weekly radio show on Thursday night. In his last media appearance ahead of his Nittany Lions’ trip to Indiana this weekend, Franklin offered insights into Penn State’s plans for bad weather, hinted at an injury return, and more.

Here’s a look at some of the news and notes items to emerge from the show:

James Franklin radio show takeaways

1) Big Ten divisions

The question from a fan had to do with Southern Cal and UCLA joining the Big Ten, and whether or not that would be the end of the conference’s east and west divisions.

Franklin not only fed into reports that the Big Ten would soon banish its divisions but also weighed in with what has been a sustained position of reality in the Big Ten East. Namely, that divisions in college football are going by the wayside because they’re imbalanced.

“Even without USC and UCLA coming into the conference, I think most conferences across the country are getting away from divisions. Whether it’s the Big Ten East or whether it’s the SEC West, they’re out of balance,” Franklin said. “And I think a lot of times people will say, well, from a historical perspective, it all evens out. No, it doesn’t. It hasn’t. So I think most conferences are looking to go away from an east and a west.”

As reported by The Athletic in October, that’s likely to happen sooner rather than later. And according to Franklin, Penn State fans can circle the 2024 season as the first to be held without the Big Ten’s east and west divisions.

“The challenge is people have some historical rivalries, so how do you keep the rivalry and then still rotate throughout the other games? So I think that’s what you’re gonna see in the Big Ten,” Franklin said. “I don’t think it’s in stone yet, but I think that’s what you’re gonna see in the Big Ten. I think there’s one more year of the current model, and then it’s changing.”

2) Fairweather?

Depending on the source, Saturday’s game in Bloomington could be quite pleasant. Friday is shaping up to be sunny with temperatures in the mid-70s.

But, by kickoff, according to State College-hosted AccuWeather, less enjoyable conditions are more likely. Forecasting 66 degrees, the company also is projecting 0.34 inches of rain to fall over the area. And, of much more concern to the Nittany Lions, winds are expected to be steady at 21 miles per hour, with gusts up to 45 mph. 

What’s that mean for Penn State? Franklin is taking it all in, he said and is in turn preparing his team for the possibilities at hand as best as he can. 

“I wouldn’t say it necessarily determines our game plans or things like that, but it is something to be aware of,” Franklin said. “If you look at the weather in Bloomington, you got anything from one of the nicest days you can imagine in terms of this time of year. But there are also reports now of possible rain and wind that we’re gonna have to factor in. 

“We’ve played in some of those games already this year, so we’ll be fine either way. But I wouldn’t say it necessarily dictates our game plan, but it’s something we need to be aware of.”

3) Keyvone to the game

Asked by a fan about the potential rotation at running back, and how it might change given the weather forecast, Franklin offered another shot of optimism from his Tuesday comments on Keyvone Lee.

Bringing up that Lee has been injured for the past five weeks and unavailable, describing the situation as hard both on Lee and the team, Franklin seemed certain the Nittany Lions will have him back for the game against the Hoosiers. 

“No matter what the weather is going to be like on Saturday, we’ll be prepared and ready for it,” Franklin said. “We’ll have three backs. We’re hoping it’ll be a game-time decision with Keyvone Lee, but we’re hoping he’ll be available. (Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen) will rotate pretty much the way they’ve been rotating for the last three games. And then obviously, depending on what happens with the game-time decision, Keyvone will factor in that as well.”