James Franklin is set to begin his 12th season working as the head coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions, and many believe that the coach is about to operate with the best team that he has coached since joining the team back in 2014.
Keep in mind that current NFL stars such as Saquon Barkley and Micah Parsons have been under Franklin’s coaching in his time at Penn State, so that claim has to be promising for the Nittany Lions in 2025.
As if the hype surrounding the team wasn’t enough, the 15th annual Big Ten Coach of the Year poll conducted by Cleveland.com had the Penn State coach at the very top of its results, and Penn State as a team also landed the top spot in the preseason Big 10 team polling as well.
25 people were voters in the Cleveland.com poll this year.
Coach Franklin narrowly beat out Illinois Fighting Illini coach Bret Bielema, 10 to 9, to take the top spot in the poll. Reigning national champion coach Ryan Day of Ohio State earned three votes, Michigan Wolverines coach Sherrone Moore received two, and Oregon Ducks coach Dan Lanning was given only one vote.
Franklin and the Nittany Lions will look to improve on their 13-3 2024 record, which saw them defeat SMU and Boise State in the College Football Playoff before finishing just short to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the semifinals.
The team will open up their 2025 campaign with their first four games taking place at Beaver Stadium, with the season opener taking place on Saturday, August 30 against the Nevada Wolf Pack.
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Publish date : 2025-07-21 23:52:00
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