Penn State coach James Franklin among list of program leaders who could win first title next: Newsstand
Penn State news, notes, and updates for Jan. 29 include a list of head coaches who could win their first national title in 2025, headlines of the day, and more. It’s time to dive into Wednesday’s top tweets and stories about the Nittany Lions and college athletics.
Penn State tweets of the day
CBS Sports’ Chip Patterson has put together a list of program leaders who could follow in Ryan Day’s 2024 footsteps by winning their first national title in 2025. James Franklin, unsurprisingly, is on the list. He led Penn State to its first College Football Playoff appearance in 2024 and had the team on the cusp of playing in the title game. Now, the Lions return a lot of, but not all, of their top talent and just lured Jim Knowles away from Day and the Buckeyes.
“Franklin’s on-paper body of work at Penn State is not as overwhelming as Day’s seemingly outlier winning percentage. But, among coaches from this era, he is undeniably one of the most consistent. Since the start of 2016, there have been just two seasons at Penn State that did not include nine or more regular-season wins — and one of those was the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign,” Patterson writes.
“That nine-year run has included five top-10 finishes in the AP Top 25 poll, four seasons with 11 or more wins, a Big Ten title in 2016 and a Big Ten runner-up finish in 2024. If you want to argue that Sarkisian has Texas knocking on the door thanks to the last two years, Franklin’s argument is that he has been consistently knocking on the door of national title contention for a decade. And, in 2025, will return key pieces from a group that got closer than any other to winning it all.”
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Other coaches on the list include Steve Sarkisian of Texas, Marcus Freeman (Notre Dame), Dan Lanning (Oregon), Sherrone Moore (Michigan), Brian Kelly (LSU), and Kalen DeBoer (Alabama).
Headlines of the day
At first team meeting, Jim Knowles tells Penn State players ‘this is where I want to be’: Pickel, BWI
Former NFL MVP: Penn State hired ‘the best DC in college football’ in Jim Knowles: McGonigal, PennLive
Coatesville LB Terry Wiggins recaps Penn State junior day and the addition of Jim Knowles: Snyder, BWI
Is Penn State football a blue blood?: Haas and Linderman, Daily Collegian
Inside safety Kaden Gebhardt’s top four schools as he pushes toward an early commitment: Simmons, On3
Jim Knowles contract: New Penn State defensive coordinator can eclipse $4 million with lucrative bonuses: Dodd, CBS Sports
Quote of the day
“Every time I am there, I feel like a top priority. The staff has shown me how badly I am wanted. They made a great hire (Jim Knowles), his scheme fits me great and I have been so many times. The coaches and how I feel when I am there is what I love most about Penn State.”
–Ohio safety Kaden Gebhardt to Chad Simmons of On3 on the Lions.
