James Franklin: Penn State battling outside noise to find motivation for Michigan State game

Penn State football is firmly outside the Big Ten title and College Football Playoff hunt for 2023. Given the expectations the Nittany Lions had coming into the year, it’s hard not to have a letdown seep in. But sitting at 9-2 and No. 11 in the latest CFP rankings, there’s still plenty on the table for Penn State this season. On this week’s episode of the Quite Franklin podcast, James Franklin discussed blocking the outside noise and finding motivation ahead of Friday’s regular-season finale with Michigan State.

Penn State football has motivation ahead of Michigan State, despite the outside noise

It’s been a string of adversity for Penn State football in November. In the last two weeks, the Nittany Lions suffered their second loss of the season to Michigan, a game that led to the booing of James Franklin off the field and the firing of Mike Yurcich the following day.

The challenges didn’t stop for Penn State when it took the field last week against Rutgers, either. Starting QB Drew Allar was injured early in the third quarter, forcing the Nittany Lions to rally behind backup Beau Pribula to emerge victorious.

Amid falling short of the season’s expectations and the recent series of difficulties, it would be easy to write off the rest of 2023. But on this week’s episode of the Quite Franklin podcast, James Franklin explained to Penn State football legend LaVar Arrington that the Nittany Lions still have much to play for Friday night against Michigan State.

“These are all the things that we were battling last week. The fans, the media, the players’ perception of where we’re at, the coaches, all of it,” Franklin said. “But for us, I do think there’s something to winning 10 games in the regular season. That’s something to be proud of. That’s something to be very proud of. And then to be able to get to a bowl game and win 11.”

James Franklin keeps driving the point home

There have been themes for James Franklin when he’s talked to the media this season. One of the points he’s reiterated numerous times throughout the fall is the challenge of winning in college football and the importance of appreciating on-field success.

The Penn State football coach raised the topic yet again while discussing his team’s motivation with Arrington.

“I think it’s interesting when you [Arrington] make statements like that because I don’t think that’s the perception out there,” Franklin said. “When you make the statement that in your career at Penn State, you never beat Michigan. When you make the statement that you never won 10 games, and there are people that take that for granted and don’t realize how hard that is.”

“So, to be able to get this win [against Michigan State], be 1-0, win 10 games, with an opportunity to win 11,” Franklin continued. “Which is even harder to do now because back in your day, you didn’t have the transfer portal, you didn’t have players opting out of bowl games, you didn’t have any of that. There’s more things to manage that make it more challenging.”

Favored by three scores over the 4-7 Spartans, we’ll see just how motivated the Nittany Lions are to get an emphatic 10th win of the season. Kickoff between Penn State football and Michigan State is set for Friday night at 7:30 on NBC.

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