Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1530530
J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 5 2 1 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// T H E B I G P I C T U R E ////////// J ames Franklin knew better than to get worked up over the possibilities. His Penn State football team, fresh off a 45-37 loss to No. 1 Oregon in the Big Ten Championship Game on Dec. 7 in Indianapolis, was destined for a spot in the College Football Playoff, but everything else — time, date, place, opponent — was entirely speculative. "I'm fairly confident that we're going to be in the playoff," Franklin said, flanked at his postgame press conference by junior quarterback Drew Allar and redshirt senior defensive tackle Dvon J-Thomas. "I know these guys and myself and the rest of the guys in the locker room will be excited about the opportunity that comes. "I'm not in that room," he added. "We don't make those decisions. We'll be waiting eagerly to find out who we play, and then we'll take all the necessary strategies and planning to put ourselves and our team in the best position to be successful." The Nittany Lions' uncertainty came to an end less than 24 hours later. Announced on ESPN as part of the College Football Playoff selection show, Penn State earned the No. 6 seed in the field with an ac- companying home game. At noon on Dec. 21, the Nit- tany Lions will play host to No. 11 seed SMU, which lost to Clemson, 34-31, on a walk-off 56-yard field goal in the ACC Championship Game. Franklin conceded on selection Sunday that he had only seen bits and pieces of the Mustangs' games this season, noting that they looked "explosive on of- fense" and were "playing really good defense." COLD FUSION PENN STATE VS. SMU TIME Noon ET DATE Dec. 21 PLACE Beaver Stadium (106,572) TV TNT With their playoff debut imminent, the Lions are hoping that a unified vision and a hostile environment will combine to extend the 2024 season James Franklin will be seeking his 100th victory at Penn State when he leads his team into its first-ever College Football Playoff game. MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS N A T E B A U E R | N AT E . B A U E R @ O N 3 . C O M