It’s not necessarily fair to say that a big game fell into James Franklin’s lap.
It’s really not.
Penn State won 11 games. It proved itself as one of the top teams in the Big Ten. It took care of business when it was supposed to. Those things aren’t easy to do and certainly aren’t givens.
It just so happened, though, that the team Penn State lost its one game to didn’t take advantage of an opportunity to go to the Big Ten Championship thus giving Penn State an opportunity to now win a Big Ten Championship.
So no, a big game didn’t fall into Franklin’s lap but a big opportunity sure has appeared.
As Penn State heads to Indianapolis for the first since 2016, the Nittany Lions – or rather Franklin in particular – will get an opportunity to win when it really matters and set Penn State up for the better.
All of that is to also say Penn State doesn’t really need to beat Oregon on Saturday. It doesn’t.
If the collective goal is a national championship, a Big Ten title isn’t a direct correlation to getting there with the effort Penn State has already put into this season. Unless the Ducks put a Georgia Tech vs. Cumberland-type beatdown on Penn State, the Nittany Lions are still going to the College Football Playoff.
That is where national championships are won.
However, Penn State can make life easier by winning a Big Ten title, and that’s what makes this opportunity feel so big.
A win guarantees a first round bye, which equates to nearly three weeks off between now and that quarterfinal game. That’s time for more rest. That’s time for more prep. That’s time for avoiding injuries.
That’s taking opportunity into your own hand and not letting it go.
When Ohio State didn’t take care of its chance to go to Indy against Michigan last weekend, it put them behind the eight ball toward a national championship. In addition to creating a firestorm for Ryan Day’s head, the Buckeyes created their own problems. The loss left the opportunity out of their own hands and now Ohio State may not get a first round home game in the playoffs, let alone a favorable opponent.
If pitchforks and anger toward a head coach for not taking care of an opportunity sounds familiar, chances are that’s because you’ve paid attention to Penn State football over the last eight or so years. There have been countless opportunities either at-that-moment or after-the-fact where Penn State took an opportunity out of its own hands.
In 2016, Penn State’s loss to Pitt, a game it probably should have won, kept the Nittany Lions out of the playoffs even with a Big Ten title in hand and if that title didn’t seem possible in that non-conference matchup. In 2017, an inability to shut the door against Ohio State and a poorly managed rain delay against Michigan State kept Penn State out of the conversation. The list of other opportunities continued all the way into last season where if Penn State beats either Michigan or Ohio State, it probably makes the four-team playoff.
In many of those moments, Penn State has been a key that fits into a hole but not one that unlocks the door. That credence can also be applied to the present era of Penn State football as a whole, too. It’s at the table but it’s still waiting on the waiter to bring the silverware.
OK, that’s enough with the analogies, but it’s kind of hard to explain this purgatory that Penn State fans have felt like their program has been into an outsider – maybe even an insider too – without them.
Now though, another one of those opportunities where Penn State can seize a moment is here.
It won’t be an easy task either. Ironically, part of the reason why Penn State is in Indianapolis is that there was no real proven tough opponent on the schedule this year the way Ohio State and Michigan worked in tandem to keep the Nittany Lions out of the title game.
However, with Oregon, that second truly legitimate opponent has appeared.
Dillon Gabriel and Oregon’s offense rank first or second in the Big Ten in categories like third down percentage, total offense and passing offense. The Ducks defense ranks seventh in the country in total defense too. And of course, Oregon is the only undefeated team left in the nation – including a win over Ohio State in there.
Still if Penn State can win, it will have done something it hasn’t done in so long – or maybe ever under Franklin. It will take ownership of an opportunity. It will put the program in a better spot to achieve bigger goals.
Saturday is a big opportunity that was more earned than luck. Penn State doesn’t have to take advantage of it but it sure would make life easier.
vs. 
Time: 8 p.m.
TV: CBS
Announcers: Brad Nessler, Gary Danielson, Jenny Dell
Radio: Penn State Sports Network
Announcers: Steve Jones, Jack Ham, Brian Tripp
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