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James Franklin returns fire on Penn State, Pitt series future

nate-mug-10.12.14by:Nate Bauer•09/07/23•

NateBauerBWI

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Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi (left) and Penn State coach James Franklin in 2016. (Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)

A Penn State fan at head coach James Franklin’s weekly radio show called the Nittany Lions’ game against West Virginia “beautiful.” 

The reason?

Welcoming a familiar, traditional foe to Beaver Stadium, she said, was a big reason why. Running through a list of Penn State’s history against opponents like the Mountaineers, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse, the questioner argued that future foes Southern Cal and UCLA won’t fill Beaver Stadium the same way.

“What’s the chances that we can get Pitt back on the schedule?” she asked. “West Virginia back on the schedule? Syracuse?”

Now in the fourth season since Penn State last played the Panthers, a 17-10 win for the Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium, Franklin offered his most detailed answer regarding the series in recent memory. Explaining the shift of the Big Ten to a nine-game schedule, comparing it to the SEC’s eight-game conference slate, and all of the ramifications of that decision, Franklin said scheduling those traditional out of conference opponents has become more challenging.

But, he also said he’s open to it. 

“The more conference games you play and the less regional the conferences are, then those games become more and more challenging,” Franklin said. “And you have to see, ‘Do they make sense?’”

Earlier this summer, Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi insisted it does. When asked when the Panthers might next face Penn State, Narduzzi put the ball in Franklin’s court regarding the future of the series.

“You’d have to ask James Franklin that,” Narduzzi told 93.7 The Fan. “My call is ‘let’s go.’ We’ve called. We’ve asked.”

James Franklin explains scheduling perspective

Subtly, Franklin would go on to explain the reasons it might not make sense for Penn State. 

While the questioner insisted that the traditional rivals helped to fill Beaver Stadium, Franklin pushed back. Noting that the Nittany Lions had averaged 107,000 fans per game before Pitt’s games in Happy Valley, the increase to 109,000 fans in attendance meant a difference of just 2,000 more fans.

“That shouldn’t dictate whether we play them,” he said. “If it’s the right thing to do for our conference, if it’s the right thing to do for Penn State, then I’m more than open to doing it. I think our ADs can get on a conversation, get on a call and talk about it. 

“The thing I do know, is when we went and played at Pitt, it was the second-largest, if not the largest sporting event, in the history of Heinz Field. And I don’t think you could buy a Penn State single game ticket unless you bought their season tickets. So it was a very different deal.

“For us, it was an increase of 2,000 fans. To me, it needs to be an even exchange and it needs to make sense. But I think our ADs should get on the phone and work it out. I’ll tell them that it’s important to you and we’ll see if it makes sense for both programs.”

Over 100 meetings between the two teams, Penn State holds a 53-43-4 advantage in the all-time series. After dropping the first of the most recent four-game slate, the Nittany Lions won games in 2017, ’18, and ’19.

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