seems like Fox, NBC, cbs and the conference networks are knocking espn out of the picture. almost like what's old is new again. i don't see any of those networks giving psu the cold shoulder
Even if they don’t downplay PSU, they’re not going to get near the exposure that Georgia, Bama, OSU, Michigan, FSU, ND, Oregon, or USC get….and not even what Colorado gets now. We are not one of the most popular teams as much as we wish we were.
You were comparing 2005 to now saying we used to get some coverage and just drove now and didn’t hear us mentioned.
I believe this 'You manage things; you lead people.' is where the problem lies. This thread got way off track, as usual.
Big10 was down in 2005 and our game vs OSU was mocked nationally for being defensive struggle. We nearly lost in the bowl game vs unranked FSU. 1994 was the last time we were truly elite and the last NC was 1986 season. All those who believe Franklin is underperforming are ignoring history.
Regardless, PSU did finish 2005 as the third-ranked team in the country; if there had been a four team playoff that season, they definitely would been there. In 2008, they were one avoidable loss to Iowa away from finishing with an undefeated regular season. In 2016, they obviously were one slot away from being in the playoffs. So, there have been several seasons in which PSU was very close to either playing for a NC or qualifying for the playoffs.
Big10 was down in 2008 as well and we ended the season as an afterthought nationally. We got murdered by USC, who also clocked OSU in the regular season. I find no difference between 2008 and last season.
I guess every time that PSU won the Big 10 or was close to being considered for a playoff spot, it was because the Big 10 was down. Come on, the 2005 and 2008 teams were very good, and it wasn’t just because the Big 10 was down. In fact, in both of those seasons, OSU also only lost one conference game, both to PSU, so they were pretty good too.
The point is that those seasons ended up being no different than the current Franklin ceiling. Adding one more point , that has been our ceiling since 1995. Out of all those years I find the late 90s to be most disappointing with the amount of talent on those teams! They should’ve been in the national championship game at least once or twice even in that era.
yeah i am not sure i'm following how the 2005 team was an afterthought when they were ranked ahead of every other 1-loss team and were only behind two undefeated teams at the end of the regular season
Two things:
That 2017 team was, IMO, the best PSU team since the 2009 team, and was probably better than the 2005 and 2008 team. They blew a 9 point lead at OSU with about 7 minutes to go in what was probably the best that they ever had played at OSU in the Big 10 era. Of course, they also had an inexplicable loss to MSU in the delayed game, which never should’ve happened. That was the biggest blown opportunity under Franklin because I really believe that they were better than OSU, and they also beat Michigan.
I blame the OsU loss on Moorhead. I don't remember the exact situation but psu had a chance to put the game away and did some weird handoff nonsense that went nowhere and ended with either a fg or zero points. and then the msu game was just inexcusable because we had a second chance when iowa destroyed osu the next week
1a) Cincinnati, TCU, and Michigan State - not historically great teams have made it.
Let’s see how the PAC 12 teams adjust to playing in the Big 10, where weather and travel will be a bigger factor than where they traditionally play. These teams on the average will have to make twice as many trips to the Northeast and Midwest than the traditional Big 10 schools will have to make out west; that won’t be easy, as we see when West Coast NFL teams travel east to play. Also, it’s actually supposed to snow a little this week in the Midwest and Northeast; I wonder how many USC and UCLA players ever have seen a snowflake; imagine them playing in a game like the PSU game at MSU in 2021.
Yeah honest question. I saw that Day’s record at OSU is 53-6. So who the hell else is beating him outside of Michigan the last 2 years?
Apparently they weren’t buying what he was selling on those 2 gift TDS yesterday.
I was talking about when I used to listen to ESPN radio a lot and said i stopped in 2017…that was before the TV contracts and ESPN used to broadcast and cover a lot of games…yet they still never discussed PSU.
Two of the top programs of all time (PSU and Nebraska) joined the Big and didn’t exactly dominate, so I’m thinking the new teams will have similar fates….the Big seems easier than it actually is to fans of teams not playing in it.
Post 1994 you had a Joe Paterno in the twilight of his career (nice way of saying he was too old to coach/lead a major college football program) then the scandal.
You are spot on with Lettermen Assessment
Spot on w/Lettermen assessment.
Agree totally. All looked good after 1993 & 1994 but it quickly settled into a massive OSU and Michigan hump to get over and it never happened, maybe never will.
I am forever the dreamer as well and desperately want to see the program become truly elite again. I just don’t understand why so many feel Franklin must be achieving what Joe could not after 1994. There are different reasons for that. We got placed into a conference that has a historical bias against us and everyone outside of the historical big 2. That will only now largely disappear with the 4 pac teams entering the conference (I don’t see the LA schools or Phil Knight and Oregon tolerating any of that.) The program was wrapped up with the Sandusky situation that likely impacted us way before 2011 and then it wasn’t until a few years ago that one could say we were past the impact of the sanctions . Last year’s 11-2 record is historically a great season at PSU. Now we know that one of those losses involved a UM program involved in a massive cheating scandal that likely impacted the game. I want to see an NC but if you look back since 2016 (and eliminate the covid year) we have returned to historical and typical strong PSU performance .
We were not winning that game in AA last year regardless of whatever sign stealing may have allegedly occurred. We were pathetic on defense taking lousy angles and horrible tackling. We were taken to the woodshed.
Paterno went from being the biggest asset for this program for decades as he single handedly built Penn State football and put the university on the national map to our biggest liability.
Are you kidding me? They knew our plays! Of course that had a monumental impact on that game. You do realize we were up at one point.
Yes, but we ran all of what, 8 offensive plays in the first half? Just how long do you think our defense would withstand the onslaught? We were up because of one long QB scramble and run and a big play on defense.
Did we run limited plays because they already knew what was called and where the play is going and as such had 3 and outs? If it was a level playing field, it is likely we would’ve scored a lot more points and as such the game would’ve been completely different. I never thought I would dream of the day that PSU fans are downplaying outright cheating by Michigan.
I am not downplaying it, I think it’s reprehensible! I am just a realist when it comes to what I saw that afternoon. We gave up 400+ yards rushing. The last time I remember seeing us do that was against MI State when we gave up 200+ to two different RBs in East Lansing in the late 90s.
