Before his Nittany Lions faced the Fighting Irish for a spot in the national title game, Penn State head coach James Franklin was blunt about Notre Dame not playing in a conference.
Notre Dame is one of three teams that play an independent schedule in the FBS, but the expansion of the College Football Playoff has led Franklin to believe that all teams should be in one conference.
It didn’t matter that Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman was right next to him during a joint news conference Wednesday. Franklin let his thoughts be known.
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Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin against the Boise State Broncos in the Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
“It should be consistent throughout college football,” Franklin explained via ESPN. “This is not a blow to [Freeman] or Notre Dame, but I think everyone should be in a conference. I think everyone should play in a conference championship game, or no one should play in a conference championship game. “I think everyone should play the same number of conference games.”
To Franklin’s point, the Nittany Lions made it to the Big Ten championship game, where they lost to the Oregon Ducks, who were named the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. The Ducks fell to Ohio State, who will face Texas for the other spot in the national title game.
Penn State played one more game than Notre Dame, making the CFP a No. 7 overall team.
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So, with more teams entering the playoffs, Franklin calls for all teams to play the same number of games and belong to one conference.
However, Notre Dame has remained steadfast about its independent status, which has been part of its identity for decades. Other Fighting Irish teams play in the ACC, the conference with which the football program has a scheduling agreement.
There are also differences between conferences. For example, SEC teams play only eight conference games, while the Big Ten plays nine before the conference championship games are played.
Franklin likes the SEC’s eight-game conference schedule.
Penn State head coach James Franklin speaks with an official during the second half against SMU in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Dec. 21, 2024, in State College, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)
“I didn’t take math at East Stroudsburg, but the numbers will make things more challenging if you play one more conference game,” said Franklin, who previously coached at Vanderbilt in the SEC.
“We need someone to look at it from a broader perspective.”
The CFP selection process was already ridiculed in this first year of expanded playoffs, leaving teams like Alabama out. Franklin wants to see consistency because of scheduling differences, which he believes makes things difficult for the selection committee.
“How do you get those people in that room to make a really important decision that impacts the landscape of college football, and they can’t compare apples to apples or oranges to oranges?” Franklin wondered. “I think that makes it very, very difficult.”
Freeman said he recognizes that his program’s independence comes with a great sense of pride, but he also knows his team can use the conference championship weekend to rest and recover, a luxury only Notre Dame could afford before heading to the playoffs.
Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin against the Boise State Broncos in the Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
“I’m a guy who just [thinks[, ‘Tell us what we’re doing, and let’s go.’ And you move forward,” Freeman said when asked about whether he had an opinion on the matter. “I love where we’re at right now. [Notre Dame athletic director] “Pete Bevacqua and our Notre Dame administration will continue to make the best decisions for our program.”
The Capital One Orange Bowl between Penn State and Notre Dame begins Thursday in Miami Gardens, Florida, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
