On the eve of the much anticipated Orange Bowl clash between Notre Dame and Penn State, the head coach of the Nittany Lions, James Franklin, gave the Notre Dame staff a bit of bulletin board material to work with. During a Wednesday morning media session, Franklin took aim at Notre Dame’s independence, suggesting Notre Dame should be forced into joining a conference to be in the playoffs.
“This is no knock to Notre Dame, but I think everyone should be in a conference,” said the Penn State head coach a day ahead of the Nittany Lions’ showdown with Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl. Notre Dame is, famously, the last remaining powerhouse independent program in the country and has been for the previous 25 years since Penn State sought the safety and security of the Big Ten.
“I think everybody should play a conference championship game, or nobody should play a conference championship game. I think everybody should play the same number of conference games,” Franklin continued. So, by Franklin’s logic, Big Ten rival Ohio State also shouldn’t be in the playoffs since they didn’t play in a conference championship game either.
After Franklin’s rant, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman was asked for his take, and the third-year head coach handled the question more tactfully than his counterpart. “Coach Franklin has a lot more experience, one, being a head coach in college football, and even just being in college athletics where you can formulate a strong opinion,” Freeman said. “For us, whatever you’re going to tell us, we’ll make the most of. We pride ourselves on our independence. If they come out with a decision we can’t be independent, then we’ll make it work.”
At this point, Franklin complaining about having an extra game is rich because his team benefited from the new format and seeding more than any other program that made the playoffs. By losing the Big Ten Championship game, Penn State ended up with a cakewalk to the semifinals. It was paired with fellow championship game loser SMU and the least deserving team to receive a bye, Boise State. Oregon, who beat Franklin and Penn State in the Big Ten Championship game, ended up with Ohio State in the quarterfinals, so their reward for beating Penn State was a much more challenging path than the Lions received.
Ohio State and Notre Dame also had much more challenging paths to the semifinals. The Buckeyes faced off against a Tennessee team that probably would have dispatched SMU like Penn State did and then got #1 and previously undefeated Oregon. While Notre Dame’s first-round opponent, Indiana, wasn’t all that tough, the Irish had to face SEC Champion Georiga in the quarterfinals. Penn State played the ACC runner-up, SMU, and the champion of the Mountain West. And yet, Franklin still complained that things were unfair to him and his program.
GIVE. ME. A. BREAK.
The other irony in Franklin’s statements is that Penn State was one of the last remaining independents in the early 90s, along with Notre Dame, before they joined the Big Ten, where they have appeared in just two Big Ten Championship games since the inception of the Big Ten Championship Game in 2011. Penn State has appeared in the same number of BTCGs as Northwestern and one fewer than both Michigan State and Iowa. Wisconsin has been to three times as many BTCGs as the Nittany Lions.
Since the expanded playoff was introduced, the topic of Notre Dame not having to play a championship game has been discussed ad nauseam. In the current format, Notre Dame could be undefeated and ranked #1 and still not get a bye.
“We know we can’t play in a championship game, and we can’t have a first-round bye, but we continue to use not playing week 13 as our bye, and that’s the way we view it,” Freeman stated during the morning’s press session.
However, a team like Penn State could be outside the top four, win their conference championship game, and leapfrog to the quarterfinals. That’s a tremendous advantage. Look at Arizona State. They weren’t a top-12 team until winning a weak Pac-12, and they got a free ticket to the quarterfinals.
Franklin’s comments will likely garner a lot of attention on the Notre Dame side. It was foolish of the more experienced head coach to give his opponent bulletin board materials the day before the game. Tomorrow night can’t come soon enough.
