Penn State vs. SMU Preview: Can Franklin Break Playoff Jinx?

Watch Penn State vs. SMU Preview: Can Franklin Break Playoff Jinx? - SportsGrid on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00Penn State and SMU. Joe, there will be many narratives that

00:06follow around the college football playoff and these

00:09programs each and every game each and every round all the

00:13way up to a national championship for Penn State.

00:16The idea is that in the 11 years under James Franklin, he

00:20can't win the big one. Well, is this game going to change that

00:25the Nittany Lions as a favorite since the start of 2022, the

00:29last three college football seasons. Thirty-two and one

00:33straight up. Twenty-three and nine and one against the spread.

00:39Joe, will this ease the minds of Penn Staters in terms of

00:43James Franklin's ability to win marquee matchups if they win in

00:47the opening round of the CFP as more than a touchdown favorite

00:51at home? Yeah, no, I don't think anything other than a trip to a

00:57national championship is going to you know, fulfill these Penn

01:01State fans dreams here. They are no matter who he plays and

01:05again, we know his record against top five teams, right

01:08Ben? But I guess the good news is SMU is not a top five team.

01:13Is it coming in at number eleven there? So I do think

01:17listen, Penn State at home is always going to be dangerous.

01:20That crowd is going to be unlike anything SMU has seen

01:24all year long. Weather doesn't appear to be great Ben heading

01:29into this game but this is a game Penn State should win, can

01:35win and probably will but winning and covering by more

01:40than eight and a half is a different animal in a

01:43tournament style where it doesn't matter. There's no

01:46point differential here. Just win and advance and that's the

01:50only thing that matters here.