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had hoped to earn a spot in the Rose Bowl opposite Oregon. That didn't work out either, but they didn't fall far, earn- ing an invitation to play in one of the sport's most historic games. While their tumble annoyed a lot of fans, it was, in its own way, a backhanded compliment. When the backup plan to your backup plan is a New Year's Six bowl, you're doing something right. And make no mistake, the Lions have been doing some things right lately. Their matchup against the Tigers marks the third time in the past four years that they have earned a New Year's Six bid. To put that achievement into context, consider that Penn State made only four major-bowl appearances in the 21 Big Ten seasons that preceded James Franklin's arrival. More context: Not since the first half of Joe Paterno's tenure have the Lions been more-or-less annual participants in major bowls. From 1971 to '75, they played in two Cotton bowls, two Sugar bowls and an Orange Bowl, winning three of those five games. From 1980 to '82, they played in two Fiesta bowls and a Sugar Bowl and won all three, claiming their first national championship with a victory over Georgia in the last of those games. But in the years that followed, even dur- ing that historically great stretch in the 1980s when they played for three national titles and won two, the Nittany Lions were an up-and-down program. They typically needed a year or two of steady player development before they were ready to contend for a championship, with the rebuilding years typically ending in one of those second- or third-tier bowl games played in a tourist mecca like Or- lando or San Diego or Honolulu. So, just by virtue of their presence in the Cotton Bowl this month, the Lions have seriously leveled up. Win or lose against Memphis, the program is doing things it hasn't done in years. But simply tallying up bowl invitations doesn't do justice to what Franklin and his staff have accomplished during their tenure in University Park. It's an obvious point, but we are a short-attention- span society, so it bears repeating: The current staff did not inherit a program that was humming right along. When Franklin arrived, Penn State was less than two years removed from the im- position of major sanctions stemming from the Sandusky scandal. The scholar- ship roster, particularly the offensive line, had been eroded by significant reduc- tions. A bowl ban was still in effect, and the athletic department was reeling from the $60 million in fines that had been levied by the NCAA. Bill O'Brien had kept the Lions competitive, winning 15 games during his two seasons as head coach. But when Franklin took the podium at his in- troductory presser in January 2014, there was no telling how long it would take to get back to the kind of winning that Penn State and its fans were accustomed to. It took less than three years. By January 2017, the Nittany Lions were Big Ten champs and were fresh off their first Rose Bowl appearance since the 2008 season, a disappointing but wildly entertaining loss to Southern Cal that showcased for a national audience the program's transformation from pur- veyor of old-school football orthodoxy into something sleek and modern. To Franklin, that part of the Penn State WHERE AT&T Stadium (capacity: 80,000), Arlington, Texas WHEN Noon ET, Dec. 28 TV ESPN will carry the game, with Mark Jones handling play-by-play and Dusty Dvoracek providing analysis. Olivia Dekker will be the sideline re- porter. RADIO Steve Jones and Jack Ham will call the game for the Penn State Sports Network. ESPN Radio will also carry the game, with Brad Sham and Jordan Rodgers in the booth and Kris Budden on the sideline. SERIES HISTORY This will be the first meeting between Penn State and Memphis. The Nittany Lions are 77-24- 4 against current members of the American Athletic Conference. JAMES FRANKLIN ON THE COTTON BOWL "It's a tremendous opportunity. I've been fortunate in my career to [coach] in almost every bowl game. I have not been to the Cotton Bowl, so I couldn't be more excited to get down there and learn more about the tradi- tion and the history, and play an unbe- lievable opponent like the University of Memphis. Obviously, what Coach [Mike] Norvell has been able to do there is fantastic, and we offer him a congratulations on his future and the next step in his career. And obviously, what a great opportunity for Coach [Ryan] Silverfield. I look forward to vis- iting with him. We've known each other for years. Tremendous opportunity. I know our players, our coaches, our let- termen and alumni, as well as our ad- ministration, couldn't be more excited about this opportunity. New Year's Six bowl games are very, very difficult to get and challenging to get, and to be able to play a program like Memphis, we couldn't be more excited." FRANKLIN ON MEMPHIS "We have [special teams coordinator] Joe Lorig on our staff who was at the University of Memphis for a number of years. Me and Joe have known each other for a long time. He's going to be able to give us some perspective. But we're just getting started in breaking down their personnel and schemes and things like that. ... I've been lucky enough to be able to watch some of their games. Ob- viously, being a head football coach at Vanderbilt in the same state, I was fa- miliar with Memphis, and then also I've coached in a bowl game in their sta- THE GAME AT A GLANCE PENN STATE VS. MEMPHIS P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >>

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