Another heartbreaking season came and went for the Penn State Nittany Lions despite so much promise entering the Orange Bowl against Notre Dame.
Minutes away from appearing in the national championship game, soon-to-be senior quarterback Drew Allar threw the eventual game-sealing interception to clinch the Fighting Irish's spot.
Now, it's back to the drawing board for the Nittany Lions entering this fall. A possible ultimatum could be on the line for coach James Franklin, as he is still looking to dethrone Ohio State for the first time in nearly a decade. He brought in Jim Knowles from the defending champs as his new defensive coordinator and retained a host of talent.
The biggest question still remains whether an older roster will work. ESPN is sure to think so, specifically Bill Connelly. Franklin was ranked eighth amongst its newly-released top 10 coaches, but Connelly believes he is good enough at No. 5.
"He's following a Mark Richt-style, success-over-the-long-haul path (without the ultimate success, at least so far), and I respect that," Connelly said.
Connelly noted how dedicated Franklin has been with rebuilding the program from immense turmoil a decade prior and how nothing seems to faze him.
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"He dealt with a number of setbacks in the 2020-21 range, made the changes he needed to make and got PSU right back on the path they were following from 2016 to 2019," Connelly added. "He has four former coordinators who have gone on to hold FBS head coaching jobs, and that number will likely grow when Andy Kotelnicki joins the ranks in the next couple of years. He hasn't figured out a way to get past Ohio State and into the promised land yet, but he's got his PhD in program-building at this point."
Even with high-profile accolades, it's a must-have season for the Nittany Lions. With November's heavyweight-style matchup with Ohio State looming, it could be for all the marbles in the Big Ten by season's end.
It could also give Knowles a sense of satisfaction that he made the right decision to transition to State College, recently describing the end of his tenure in Columbus as "awkward."
Whatever the case, Franklin has the pieces to win a championship this season. He just has to do it; now, there's little excuse if he can't.
Once August rolls around, doubts may creep up about Franklin. Either way, they could all be put to rest with one season where everything just goes the way it's supposed to for Penn State.
For now, all the expectations will eventually become a reality. It's under 100 days away.