Penn State fans hoping for a quick reunion with James Franklin may have reason to pay attention to ESPN’s latest bowl projections.
Kyle Bonagura has the Nittany Lions matched up with Virginia Tech in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, a setup that would put Franklin back in the spotlight almost immediately. Virginia Tech is Franklin’s first employer since Penn State fired him in October, so that angle would be hard to miss. The subplot is just as juicy: Penn State would be staring across the field at a roster stocked with 12 former PSU players.
The most notable of those is quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer. Former Penn State tight end Luke Reynolds has also carved out a major role for the Hokies, putting up 449 yards, four touchdowns and 43 receptions.
Virginia Tech is close to locking up bowl eligibility after opening the year 5-2.
Penn State, meanwhile, is not there yet. The Nittany Lions are 3-4 overall and 0-4 in the Big Ten, and they need to win three of their final five to get to a bowl game.
That stretch includes Purdue at home, Washington on the road, Minnesota at home, Rutgers at home and Maryland away. None of those teams is better than 4-2, which gives Penn State a path, even if it’s a narrow one.
Franklin spent 11.5 seasons as Penn State’s coach and finished with a 104-45 record. His résumé at the school includes one Big Ten championship, one College Football Playoff appearance and no national titles.
How his run at Penn State should be judged is still a matter of perspective. There was plenty of success during his tenure, even if the ending was ugly. He is tied with Rip Engle for the second-most wins in school history and took over when the program was still dealing with the fallout from the Jerry Sandusky scandal.
At the same time, his 4-21 record against top 10 teams is a number plenty of fans will never ignore.
In Other News...
Penn States Big Ten Position Just Got Much More Uncomfortable
Week 7 of the 2026 college football season shook up the national picture in a hurry, and the ripple effects reached well beyond the biggest headlines. With half of the AP Top 10 going down, including Georgia and Notre Dame, the sport suddenly feels a lot less predictable, and the Big Tens pecking order got harder to read by the hour. A weekend full of upsets and quarterback absences turned what had looked like a fairly stable race into something much messier.
Ohio State now has its own concern after Julian Sayin was sidelined for several weeks, a development that changes the leagues balance in a hurry. Around the conference, teams such as Rutgers, Minnesota, UCLA and Oregon posted notable results while also dealing with the growing reality of backup quarterbacks being forced into bigger roles. For Penn State, the broader takeaway is obvious: the path through the Big Ten just got more crowded, more unpredictable and a lot less comfortable. [Read more 🡒]
Rocco Becht Faces A Penn State Question Fans Can't Ignore
Rocco Bechts season has become one of the biggest reasons Penn States offense has stalled during a four-game losing streak. Through seven games, the quarterback has dealt with turnovers and uneven play, even as his completion percentage has climbed from last season. The bigger concern is that the improvement has not translated into cleaner overall production, especially on the short throws that are supposed to keep an offense on schedule.
Penn State has not done him many favors either. The running game has been weak, and injuries to key receivers have left Becht operating with less margin for error than he would like. Even so, the questions around him are growing because the underlying issues are showing up in the same places week after week, and the Nittany Lions still need a way to turn a frustrating stretch into something more sustainable. [Read more 🡒]
Penn States QB Faces Mounting Pressure After Painful Michigan Loss
Rocco Bechts latest outing left Penn State with plenty to sort through after a 21-18 loss to Michigan, a game in which the quarterbacks mistakes helped tilt the second half. Becht was part of a messy afternoon that featured two interceptions and a lost fumble, the kind of turnover-heavy performance that can linger after a tight road loss and raise questions about how a team moves forward.
Matt Campbell, though, did not sound ready to shift away from his starter. He pointed to Bechts competitiveness and the room he still has to grow, while Becht acknowledged the challenge and said he believes in himself and in the work ahead. For Penn State, the storyline now is less about one bad night than whether its quarterback can steady things quickly enough to keep the season from slipping into something more complicated. [Read more 🡒]