As the 2024 season draws near to dropping the curtains, the heartbeats could be felt. And guess, whose heartbeat is the fastest and the loudest right now? The Penn State Nittany Lions. After all, maybe their HC James Franklin himself did not expect to find himself in the position that they are today. Looks like Penn State now has some bright future looming ahead for them in terms of landing the National Championship.

At least, the odds say so. But it’s better for Franklin not to get too carried away by what the future holds. Instead, he should shift his focus to the present as he had already received a warning.  

CFP odds bring hope to James Franklin and Co.

Well, Franklin must not have been in a peppy mood now that their penalty fear came true. The Nittany Lions would not be able to host the playoff game after Dan Lanning’s boys landed them a hard blow, 45-37 loss. So, that’s when analyst Josh Pate raised a warning for Franklin as they are prepping up for a face-off against SMU Mustangs. “You’ve got to win, there’s no other option here. You’ve got to win cause this is a situation where to to this point the games that Franklin’s been losing in these big moments, they’ve been an underdog,” stated the analyst. But just when Franklin got too worked up being in a do-or-die situation, here came some good news. On December 10, the College Football Report dropped the odds which is enough to fill the HC’s heart with a gush of hope. 

The Nittany Lions received a favorable CFP draw when the selection committee revealed its 12-team bracket coming off as the No.6 seed. According to FanDuel, Penn State now has the fifth-best betting odds at +550. That means Franklin’s program is just below the top contenders. Texas Longhorns at +360, Oregon Ducks at +360, Georgia Bulldogs at +500, and Ohio State Buckeyes at +500. There is a huge difference between Penn State’s fifth spot and Marcus Freeman’s Notre Dame who are in the sixth spot at +700 odds. 

But to give a head-to-head competition to the top contenders, Franklin and Co. will have to take care of SMU. Only then they will be facing off against Boise State and making the most out of the opportunity in the CFP quarterfinals. However, that’s no easy deal! 

Rhett Lashlee’s confident challenge to James Franklin 

Pate has already given a heads-up to Franklin, “Speaking of pressure, pressure is plenty here. Pressure’s on James Franklin.” No matter how hard the Penn State HC tried to clean up the mess after the Oregon loss by pointing fingers at the Ducks for penalties received, this is the reality. Just when the Nittany Lions were taking time for their fresh wound to heal, here entered Mustangs HC Rhett Lashlee. 

That man is on his way to prove his point that SMU is nothing but the best. Without getting intimidated by the daunting atmosphere of Happy Valley, Lashlee thought of landing a threat for Franklin. On CBS Sports Live, he had a message for the Nittany Lions, “You know, we got a 10-game road winning streak right now and so it’d be awesome to see if our guys can continue to travel and play well.”

More than to his fans, Rhett Lashlee now wants to prove to the CFB committee for trusting them, “We’re fired up and we’re excited about the challenge to go out and prove that the committee made the right decision.” And guess what? He has already done his research on James Franklin’s game plan and found out about the “leaking” Penn State defense. So, it’s better that the Nittany Lions HC buckle up and fix the loopholes. Or else, another mishap after the Ducks’ is on its way.