Have James Franklin, Penn State looked ahead to a potential Big Ten Championship appearance?

Penn State football enters Saturday’s Senior Day contest with Maryland as the No. 4 team in the country and one win away from a College Football Playoff berth. But this weekend’s matchup carries with it Big Ten Championship implications as well.

Top-ranked Oregon has already punched its ticket to Indianapolis. With victories over the Nittany Lions and 10-1 Indiana, Ohio State is in the driver’s seat to return to the Big Ten title game for the first time since 2020. But a Buckeyes’ loss to arch-rival and heavy underdog Michigan in Columbus on Saturday would suddenly catapult James Franklin and Penn State football back into the conversation.

Indiana faces one-win Purdue this weekend. Realistically assuming a win over their in-state rival, the Hoosiers and Nittany Lions would be tied in the conference standings if Penn State beats Maryland. With identical records against common Big Ten foes, league guidelines dictate that the title game representative would be chosen by comparing the cumulative winning percentages of each team’s conference opponents.

Penn State football currently holds the advantage in this tiebreaker. Heading into the season’s final week, the Nittany Lions’ Big Ten opponents hold a 0.419 cumulative winning percentage (31-43 combined record) to the Hoosiers’ 0.370 (27-46).

Franklin: Penn State focused on Maryland, not Big Ten title opportunity

© Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Despite having an opportunity to play for a conference title for the first time since 2016, James Franklin says the consequences of this weekend have not been a topic of internal conversation.

“To be honest with you, I haven’t spent a whole lot time thinking about that [a conference title game]. I’m literally completely focused on the Terps and the University of Maryland, and after that game, there is a lot of other things I think that have to happen,” Franklin said on Monday. “But that is a possibility. For us, we want an opportunity to compete as many times as we possibly can this year. If that includes a conference championship game, we would be very, very excited about that opportunity.

“But, again, all we have to do is focus on playing Maryland this week, and if we’re not focused on that, then a lot of these other things that everybody else wants to talk about, then those things become questionable. Those things become challenging. Those things become different.

“So honestly, we have not talked about it in the Lasch Building once. We are focused totally on the University of Maryland and sending our seniors out the right way.

“Got a ton of respect for the University of Maryland and the talent they have on their team every year. Totally focused on that. Anything that happens after Saturday, we’ll be excited about those opportunities that we’ve earned.”

Ohio State faces Michigan at noon on Saturday, so Penn State football will know by the time it kicks off against Maryland at 3:30 p.m. if its title scenario is realistically in play. Indiana and Purdue do not play until 7 p.m. Saturday night.

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