James Franklin, in his 12th year in charge with a $85M contract, is guiding the Nittany Lions into 2025 with unusual momentum. The previous team tied a school record at 13 wins, went deep in the playoffs, and came back with a core of stars. Franklin himself is embracing the hype. He has spoken publicly about the “tremendous opportunity” on the horizon, discussing openly championship dreams and the special team he has built.
Franklin recently expressed on the Triple Option podcast his desire to finally break through and bring a national championship back to Happy Valley: “I want these players to experience this, I want these players that have come back and made these sacrifices to be a part of something special”. The running back tandem of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen shocked Franklin by returning for their senior seasons. But just when it seems the team is on the right track, analyst Josh Pate raises doubts about that one looming curse.
Penn State football with Franklin is a tale of near misses, what-ifs, and disappointments. “There were a lot of doubters,” Josh Pate said on his show on 23rd June. “Going into last year James Franklin and Penn State had a lot of doubters and the doubters would say they can’t win big games they can’t get over the hump they’re just good but they’ll never be great.” He adds, “All you did last year was lose to Ohio State at home.” The concerns aren’t so much about wins and losses, however. They’re about identity. Many perceive that Franklin can’t win the “big one,” despite his fine coaching record of 101-42 at Penn State.
Pate didn’t stop there. “Again, you went to the Big 10 title game, and you lost to Oregon. So you got two shots against the big boys, you lost, yeah, you made the playoffs, and yeah, you won a couple of games. Who’d you beat? You beat Boise and SMU; you absolutely should beat them. And then you got paired against an equal competitor in Notre Dame, and you lost.”
The Ducks rocketed to a dominant lead, scoring touchdowns on their first three drives and taking a 28-10 lead. The game is a shootout, and both teams accumulate almost 1,000 yards total. In the end, with an opportunity to tie and the ball on the midfield stripe, an Oregon player intercepts Allar’s deep pass, and the confetti erupts for Oregon. Final score: 45-37. And then, after the easy victories over Boise State and SMU, the ultimate test comes against the Irish. The Nittany Lions and Irish fought hard, both having high-powered offenses and defenses looking for answers. In the final quarter, the quarterback of Notre Dame engineered a clutch drive to put a last-second field goal in position, dashing Penn State’s dreams as the game came to a disappointing Notre Dame 27-24 win.
So, why are the doubts lingering? Because Penn State fans demand more than great seasons, they crave championships. Pate says, “James Franklin doesn’t just retire if they don’t do it, but it is a failure if they’re not competing for a national championship this year.” Fans perceive it as an ongoing cultural issue with repetitive errors, play-calling questions, and frustrations against top teams, culminating in skepticism about a return to elite form while Franklin continues to lose pivotal games. Fans are also concerned because James Franklin tends to falter in high stakes game that happen in november. The november curse has been looming onto the Lions for quite some time now.
The ultimate test for James Franklin
James Franklin knows the deal: he has constructed a roster that’s not only good, but stacked. Drew Allar stands behind center again at quarterback, Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen load the running back corps, and Jim Knowles coordinates things on defense. And as Pate puts it, “So this is the year, more so than any year in recent history that I can recall, that Penn State should be geared up to silence. Forget about doubters, just prove it to yourself.” Penn State has been the team that could beat the games they ought to but couldn’t quite get that past the elites—Ohio State, Michigan, and now Oregon and Notre Dame—for years.
This year, the criteria is evident: it’s not about quieting the critics or demonstrating that the program can win big games—it’s about demonstrating to themselves that they can be champions. As Josh Pate and others have said, Penn State is one of the most promising teams in 2025. The Nittany Lions proved they could keep up with the elite, and this year they doubled down. They retained their nucleus, added fresh talent, and made coaching moves that have prognosticators buzzing.
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