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July 29, 2025 13 mins
Penn State was picked to win the Big Ten in 2025 by the league's media, but to do that, they will very likely have to get over a hurdle they have struggled to clear for close to a decade - beating the Ohio State Buckeyes. 

In this special bonus episode, you'll hear Penn State head coach James Franklin's thoughts on what it will take to beat the Buckeyes this fall in Columbus, as well as the impact that former Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles is having after taking the same role with the Nittany Lions, and more. 
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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey guys, it's Tom This is a bonus show. We've
been dropping a couple of these in your podcast feeds.
You'll find them in both the Buckeye Weekly podcast feed
and the Buckeyes Tomorrow Morning podcast feed with just some
bonus content leftover from Big ten media days putting different
shows in each of those feeds, so make sure you
check out both of them. This one is about James Franklin,

(00:20):
Penn State head coach. He is always a really really
interesting interview subject, has a lot of different stuff to
say on a lot of different topics, but ended up
talking a bunch about the Ohio State Buckeyes and just
how they are sort of one of the big hurdles
that Penn State still needs to get over. He also
ended up talking a good bit about Jim Knowles, a
former Ohio State defensive coordinator and who is now, of

(00:41):
course the defensive coordinator at Penn State. So there was
a lot of interesting stuff there as well. I think
you guys will enjoy this one. This is a show
that was very very popular on YouTube. I think you
guys will enjoy it here as well. So here's everything
James Franklin had to say about Ohio State.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
One of the big things for the Penn State program
is they've been considered to leave very good but just
not quite being able to get across the line against
some of their top opponents. Frequently that has included Ohio State.
So this year they're bringing back a ton of veteran talent.
So what does it take to finally get across the
line against teams like Ohio State and others.

Speaker 3 (01:19):
No, we got to play well against really, really good teams.
That's that's what it comes down to. And there's going
to be moments where we're gonna have to step up
and make great plays. There's moments we're going to have
to make great calls.

Speaker 4 (01:35):
We're gonna have to.

Speaker 3 (01:37):
Handle at one of those, we're gonna have to handle
being on the road and dealing with the with the
attendance in the crowd, and that will be a factor
in it as well. We've been one of the most
consistent programs in college football over the last nine years
and specifically over the last three years. There's another step
to take for us, and we recognize that and embrace it.

(02:00):
And the good thing and the exciting things is we're
going to have opportunities to do that.

Speaker 4 (02:03):
This year.

Speaker 2 (02:04):
Franklin's Penn State has been one of the most consistent
programs in the country. They have beaten pretty much all
of the lower level programs that they have played, but man,
they just can't seem to get over the hump against
top five teams. They're one and fifteen against ap top
five teams at Penn State. That includes losses to Oregon

(02:24):
and Notre Dame and Ohio State last year. The only
win that he has gotten at Penn State against an
AP top five team that was twenty sixteen in that
blocked field goal game against Ohio State in Beaver Stadium.
So all right, well, how do you change the narrative
around this team?

Speaker 4 (02:42):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (02:42):
Again, kind of like what I just answered is you
get excited about the opportunity, can't control the past, excited
about about the future. I also respect and appreciation appreciate
that we're one of those programs that they're having that
conversation about. But yeah, we're excited about what we're going

(03:06):
to be able to do this year and the steps
that we're going to be able to take. We've had
a program that ninety nine percent of the programs in
the country would die to have and love to have,
but there's obviously room for growth.

Speaker 2 (03:20):
He was also asked about the hype around this year's
Penn State team, some of the expectations that they're dealing
with now, and he also in the middle of this
sort of starts talking about some other head coaches without
naming any names. You can draw your own conclusions on
who he's maybe subtweeting there.

Speaker 3 (03:36):
Yeah, again, it doesn't feel a whole lot different for me.
It doesn't feel a whole lot different for us. I
think there's obviously more conversation going on nationally, but you know,
I mean, the expectations in our Lash football building.

Speaker 4 (03:53):
Are always really high.

Speaker 3 (03:55):
The expectations on our campus, in our community, with our letterman,
with our our fans, with our alumni are really high.

Speaker 4 (04:02):
I think last year's a perfect example of that.

Speaker 3 (04:04):
You know, we finished essentially a drive away from the
national championship game, and people were pissed. Didn't necessarily feel like,
you know, the type of season that we had and
that that comes with being the head football coach at
Penn State or being a quarterback at Penn State. You
knew that when you took the job. I also recognized

(04:25):
that there's been a ton of work that's gone into that,
and the program was nowhere near that when we took
it over, And to me, there's got to be balanced
with both of those conversations. There's a lot of coaches
that I know that get talked about and when they
took over the job that it was they were ranked

(04:48):
number two in the country when they took the job,
they were ranked number five in the country. When they
took the job, they were act number ten in the country.
When when they took the job, we weren't ranked in
the top twenty five. And as you guys know, there
was a lot of things that we had to overcome.
So to think that we're back in this position and
there's these types of conversations going on and we've been

(05:10):
one of the most consistent programs in the country over
the last nine years, I'm extremely proud and I'm extremely confident.
But again, there is complete recognition and embracing what we
got to do and where we got to go. And
the best part about it your question and your question
your question.

Speaker 4 (05:30):
Is we're in We're in total control of it.

Speaker 5 (05:32):
Right.

Speaker 3 (05:33):
If we want the narrative to change, we got an opportunity.

Speaker 4 (05:37):
To change it.

Speaker 5 (05:38):
We want we want people to shut up. We can
we can shut them up real, real easy. So we
we embrace it all and and again. But there's also
balance with me and perspective, because people don't always talk
with perspective.

Speaker 2 (05:56):
There are a lot of familiar faces back on the
roster of this penn State team, but there is a
new face in the defensive coordinator's office. That is Jim Noles,
former Ohio State defensive coordinator. What was it that made
Jim Knowles an attractive option for James Franklin as his
new defensive coordinator.

Speaker 3 (06:12):
Yeah, obviously, when you get you have a chance to
get a guy who's been a head coach, who's been
a high level defensive.

Speaker 4 (06:18):
Coordinator at multiple places.

Speaker 3 (06:21):
Who you could make the argument has had the best
defense in college football over the last two years.

Speaker 4 (06:26):
Has just been a part of a national championship.

Speaker 3 (06:29):
Is from Pennsylvania, is from Philadelphia. Obviously, it's it's a
it's a it's a big it's a big get and
he's been awesome. You know, he don't say a whole lot,
and when he does speak, he speaks quietly.

Speaker 4 (06:45):
You got to kind of lean in kind of like
the old E. F. Hutton type of deal.

Speaker 3 (06:51):
He is a little bit of a mad scientist, you know.
But but but I'm excited. I think I think Penn
State was attractive to him. I'm very proud of the
fact we've had four defensive coordinators and every single one
of them have had a top ten defense. That's a
credit to them, but I think that's also a credit
to our program and how we do things.

Speaker 4 (07:11):
There's a ton.

Speaker 3 (07:12):
Of offensive head coaches that they stink on defense and
always have right, So I think that was attractive to Jim.
Jim came and visited us, I think when he was
at Duke and been out at practice and saw how
we do things. So I think all those things happened.
One of the things that not a lot of people
are talking about last year is we played the longest

(07:32):
season in Penn State history last year, sixteen games, won
two playoff games, and we had three new coordinators last year.
New offense coordinator, new defense, new spash teams Carder. That's
hard to do. Offense coordinator's back, special teams coordinators are back,
and we were able to go out and get arguably
the best defense coordinator in college football. I think it's

(07:53):
the best combination of personnel that we've had since I've
been there in terms of staff and play. So it
was a big get it. It was a big get so,
but we're excited about having them.

Speaker 2 (08:08):
One of the really interesting aspects of adding Jim Knowles
is you not only have this brilliant mind that you're
adding and a guy with a great track record, you
also have a guy who went up against you the
last few years, went up against your players, went up
against your offense. And who can tell you here's exactly
what we did, Here's exactly why we did it, Here's
exactly what we saw on film. That feedback sounds like

(08:30):
it's been really valuable for James Franklin.

Speaker 3 (08:32):
I think it helps all of us, right, like we
do self scouts all the time, had the defense analyzed
the offense, offense analyze the defense, special teams, but your buddies.
So you're honest, but sometimes you kind of sugarcoat some things. Well,
we were able to get his Ohio State game plan
and evaluation of us in our personnel that he did

(08:55):
before he was in our office and hand it to us,
and that he really valuable and to be able to
go back and watch the game with him and our
offensive staff and Drew and all those things really valuable,
you know, really valuable. But it's like anything else, right,
you want feedback, you want to ask, you know, tough questions,

(09:16):
then you better be willing to listen and hear and
embrace the information that you're getting and understand the value
of it.

Speaker 4 (09:23):
And you know, we're a program that does that.

Speaker 3 (09:27):
We're a program that has honest, tough conversations with each
other all the time. So yep, but there's also again
back to Jim and these conversations, there's also a reason
why Jim Kane he was attracted to Penn State. So
you know, we're excited about it, and it's it's been
fun so far, but we've still got a lot of.

Speaker 4 (09:47):
Work to do.

Speaker 2 (09:48):
And finally, one of the reasons that this Penn State
team is getting a lot of hype this year and
has been picked to win the Big Ten is because
it feels like they're following a successful model. In twenty
twenty three, Michigan brought back a ton of veteran players
for one more year. They passed up the NFL Draft
to come back and try and finish the deal and
they did. Last year, Ohio State followed that same model,

(10:10):
had a bunch of guys pass up the NFL draft
come back to try and reach their team goals. This year,
that's kind of the Penn State thing. Durella came back,
Nix Singleton came back, k Trean Allen came back, but
they brought back offensive lineman, defensive lineman, s in the secondary.
It is a loaded and veteran team. So is that
something where they think they maybe can follow that winning

(10:31):
model that Michigan and Ohio State had pulled off the
last two years.

Speaker 4 (10:34):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (10:35):
I kind of talk about it a little bit like
college basketball.

Speaker 4 (10:38):
You think about like when the one.

Speaker 3 (10:39):
And Doun's were kind of happening and going on and
first started, and those are a ton of teams having a
bunch of success by just being old, old basketball teams
that were making late runs in the the tournament.

Speaker 4 (10:51):
And I think there's a lot of that in college
football now.

Speaker 3 (10:53):
And I think a lot of people can be upset
or have questions or concerns about and those types of things,
but I know for the retention of players, I think
it's an extremely positive thing. There was guys that were
leaving college to go to the NFL, and they shouldn't have,

(11:17):
but based on their situation, their family situation, or whatever
it was.

Speaker 4 (11:21):
They hadn't gotten their degrees yet. They were going to be.

Speaker 3 (11:27):
Fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh round draft choices, and they came
out early because they just could not turn that opportunity
to make that type of money down for their family.
So when it can become a win win situation where
they can come back and finish their degrees or get
a master's degree like Dawkins, have a chance to win

(11:49):
at the very very highest level and got a chance
to increase their draft stock, it's hard to argue it's
a win win for everybody. It's a win for the kid,
it's a win for the institution, it's a win for
the big tenant's a win for college football. Everybody wins.
And then not only that, you're investing in proven commodities

(12:10):
in your program that you know a lot about already, right,
And part of this recruiting thing is getting a five
star really valuable, yes, but also eliminating mistakes and bringing
the wrong guy into your program is also really valuable.
And guys that have been in our programs three, four
or five years that you're able to keep for another

(12:33):
year and everybody benefits from it. It's a no brainer.
It's a no brainer, and that's been a big part
of our model. And I think what happens is we
got one of them to come back, and then two
come back, and then that start kind of get some momentum.
Guys said, look, we got an opportunity here to do
something special as a team, but also to be able to.

Speaker 4 (12:56):
Achieve some things as individuals as well. So pretty cool.
With team's success comes individual recognition. Well, that'll do it.

Speaker 2 (13:05):
I always find James Franklin so so interesting here, and honestly,
I would recommend go to our channel, Saturday Glory and
watch the whole press conference. He had really interesting stuff
to say about a bunch of other topics, including non
conference scheduling, having coached in the SEC and the Big Ten,
and some of the differences between those two leagues and
some of the similarities in terms of mentality. Really really

(13:26):
interesting stuff. So I think you'll enjoy that. Go ahead
and subscribe to Saturday Glory as well, and make sure
you're subscribed as well to Buckeye Huddle.

Speaker 4 (13:32):
We've got all sorts of coverage coming.

Speaker 2 (13:34):
We'll have even more from Big Ten Media Days in
the coming days as we sort of go through everything
we got. There was a ton of content coming for you,
and then of course the season coming very soon. Hope
to see you here and see you as well at
buckeyehuddle dot com
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