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Penn State football lands in top 10 of first Coaches Poll of 2024

James Franklin will lead a top 10 team onto the field later this month according to the first Coaches Poll of 2024.

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Penn State football, James Franklin, Coaches Poll
Nov 24, 2023; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin leads his team on to the field before the game against Michigan State at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-USA TODAY Sports

Penn State football is off and running with the 2024 season, now almost a full week into the start of training camp. On Monday, we got our first glimpse of the national perception surrounding James Franklin and the Nittany Lions this year with the release of the USA Today Preseason Coaches Poll.

Like last season, Penn State will kick off 2024 in the top 10. The Nittany Lions were several spots lower than last year’s ranking, however, down to No. 9 in this year’s Coaches Poll.

Of course, 2024 begins a new era of college football with the expansion of the Big Ten and SEC. The Power Two dominate the top of the inaugural Coaches Poll for 2024, holding eight spots in the top 10.

Penn State football is the fourth-highest-ranked Big Ten program behind No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Oregon, and No. 8 Michigan. The Nittany Lions will only play the Buckeyes during the regular season.

James Franklin details insight approach to 2024 Penn State football in expanded CFP era

Penn State football, Coaches Poll

Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

This season will also start the 12-team College Football Playoff era. At local media day on Saturday, James Franklin provided insight on how his staff will manage 2024 with the potential of a playoff run at its conclusion.

“I would say the first thing [challenge] is the length of the season,” Franklin said. “I think you guys know, we have always talked about trying to create depth. That was always important playing in a conference like the Big Ten.

“So that was philosophically something that we’ve always believed in, but I think your point is a good one. It’s magnified now, right? You have the potential of 17 games.

“So how are you going to do that? I think that coupled with some of the rule changes over the last couple years where you can play in four games, save your redshirt, but then you also get to be able to play in all of the postseason games and not burn your redshirt, I think that factors into strategy in how we do these things.

“And then, you know, just making sure we are doing a really good job of rotating and playing guys for the fourth quarter, for late in the season, and now a playoff run, all those types of things.”

But the Nittany Lions won’t have to wait for the CFP for a big-game atmosphere. Franklin believes his program will get a great test in Week 1 versus West Virginia.

“I think it’s going to be a great game,” he stated Saturday. “I think it’s going to be a great environment, and then on top of that, the way they ended their season, right? You know, I think they ended up winning nine games and the quarterback ended up playing really well and finished the season on a real high note. So they got a ton of confidence coming into this year because of that.”

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Matt is a co-owner and Editor in Chief of Basic Blues Nation. Launched in 2022, Basic Blues Nation is one of the fastest-growing websites covering all Penn State athletics, with over 3.5 million readers in 2023. Matt is also a credentialed member of the Penn State football beat, and is a member of the Football Writers Association of America.

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