Surveying Penn State football's immediate, long-term future: Inside the Den
Penn State football lost its third-straight Saturday night.
Climbing as high as No. 4 in the rankings after a 5-0 start to the 2021 campaign, the Nittany Lions have since dropped a 23-20 contest at then-No.3 Iowa, a 20-18 decision in nine overtimes against Illinois, and this past weekend’s 33-24 loss at No. 5 Ohio State.
The result for head coach James Franklin and the Nittany Lion program has been a precipitous fall in the rankings to No. 22 in the most recent iteration.
Further, with a 2-3 mark now against Big Ten competition, Penn State is effectively eliminated from any conversation for the College Football Playoff, the Big Ten Championship Game, or a New Year’s Six Bowl regardless of the outcomes of the final four games of the season.
Still, after defying the expectations of being 19-point underdogs in the game at the Horseshoe Saturday night, limiting the Buckeyes’ explosive offense and establishing better offensive success than in either of the prior two outings, that immediate future is very much uncertain on the field.
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Welcoming the return of Penn State fifth-year senior starting quarterback Sean Clifford after exiting in the second quarter of the loss at Kinnick Stadium on Oct. 9, despite playing with obvious limitations against the Illini, the external perception of possibilities for the Nittany Lions came out of the Ohio State game with more optimism than going in.
While that narrative is taking place and carries its own significance, a separate story line has been at work behind the scenes for the Nittany Lions as a program. With Penn State head coach James Franklin reportedly being pursued by the likes of Southern Cal and LSU, and Franklin relatively limited in his response to questions about those possibilities, speculation has run rampant.
What’s really going on?
We’ve got insight Inside the Den.
