Finebaum has Ohio State #1 in 2024...says he'll never 'believe in Penn State'
- Thread starter Jerry
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Finebaum is an SEC shill who probably never played the game. Penn State has a far better program than he thinks
It sounds like you weren't paying much attention to the PSU program before the start of the 2023 season because the buzz around the program and in the BIG last year was that this was to be the year that PSU would turn the corner against tOSU and/or UM. It was pretty much a consensus view. PSU finished 9-2 in 2022 with an impressive win in the Rose bowl and had a 2023 pre season poll ranking of #7. They had what was considered by many to be two of the premier running backs in the country heading into last year and a defense considered to be at or near the top of college football. PSU also had 8 NFL draft picks in 2024 and had several players who signed NFL free agent contracts. Do you think maybe both coordinators might have survived at the end of last season if expectations weren't so high? Granted PSU was going to be playing a QB with no starting experience but he was the #1 QB recruit in the country two years prior who many felt had the tools to win immediately.
Agreed. Wasn't McCord also a first yr starter? People will continually find excuses. What will it be this yr? Well, it's a nearly brand new OL and we have unproven special teams. Blah blah. Every yr in CFB, teams have strong areas and unproven areas. It's about overcoming...we don't.
We shouldn't expect top 5 but the possibility exists. Our D is really good, Allar improves significantly and the O Coordinator is a significant upgrade meaning he has better schemes for our passing game and more effectively utilizes our stud running backs including creatively utilizing the Frosh, Martin.. All that happens and we will be up there in the race.
Give it 2 years ....... and if no improvement. I think they make a switch. Just 1.5 cents.
Moving forward, I expect PSU to end most seasons ranked in the 16-25 range. There may be an occasional season where PSU finishes as high as 8th to 15th and slips into the playoff. Also an occasional season when PSU falls out of the Top 25 in the final rankings.
Probably looking at being the fourth to sixth best team in the B1G in the better seasons.
Current trends don’t have me overly optimistic.
Probably looking at being the fourth to sixth best team in the B1G in the better seasons.
Current trends don’t have me overly optimistic.
Disagree. Most season we will 10-15. Top ten three outta ten years. Usually 3-5 in B2G. Mich cheated to a title, coach skipped town, and will revert back to where they were for twenty years. Suckeyes have to win, at minimum, the B2G or Day is gone and night will fall on BuckeyeLand. UCLA/USC aren’t the fearsome powers they used to be. Nike U will be a power unless and until NIL gets under some kinda control.
The west coast swing will be interesting. Different styles, time zone/travel issues, weather impacts. Will be a couple years before we all understand those impacts making it more difficult to predict season outcomes. Interesting times ahead.
I am not saying that this a good development. It is sickening. We as fans have direct impact now on the performance of the program via donations to NIL. It really is as simple as that. It is a “show me the money” world in cfb.
No different than 95% of the team or coaches.
Where would you rank PSU's talent and funding the last 10 years?
He is a real genius. He took the final standings, subtracted players that left and added players that joined and made a pick that anyone could make. Did he reinvent the wheel or cure cancer?
Funny thing is the writers are usually wrong. Did he pick Michigan last year? He was calling for harbaugh to be fired 3 years ago.
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I don't believe Penn State will ever be a champion under Franklin either. That said, I always said that about Andy Reid with the Eagles. Look how that played out once he changed teams.
Honest question....Do you believe PSU should be a preseason Top 5? If so, based on what?
I feel like Franklin comes in with a good game plan in big games then panics. I don't know how many big games we've lost where we had outplayed the other team through three quarters. I can think of two tOSU and the USC rose bowl, specifically, as games we should have won but didn't. it feels like it is always something that sets us back. the tOSU Dlineman had a career game and nobody has heard of his since. Why? The next game has some really bad calls. The next game has us tighten on and abandon our offense in the 4th qtr. In the Rose, we remained aggressive and threw a ridiculous INT.
No, I don't...and said so in another post in the thread.
However, I interpreted (perhaps wrongly) Finebaum's comment to be a generalized knock on Penn State.
Even if it was, as others have pointed out, that would be understandable, given the recent history of the program. At this point, I'm not sure even I could say I "believe in Penn State." It's more like rooting for Penn State while hoping for the best.
That said, Finebaum is in fact an "oily SEC shill," which irritates me regardless.
Also, though I don't personally think a top-5 preseason ranking is remotely justified, I do think we'll crack the top-10. Moreover, it's very interesting that as noted in a separate thread, one of the major sportsbooks in the country effectively rates us in their top-5 as measured by their over/under numbers on team wins for each major program. See my link in the other thread.
So, you find Finebaum's stance "understandable," even with your initial misinterpretation, yet decided to take the opportunity to bash him for that stance?
And then, upon understanding that you misinterpreted his comments, and you actually hold the same views as him on the subject, you decided to double down and bash him again?
Those AI technological overlords can't come fast enough.
I don't know that I misinterpreted him, but whether I did or not, I still take umbrage when oily SEC shills knock Penn State for the simple reason that they're oily SEC shills. Thus my use of the word "regardless" in the above post.
PSU is not an elite program. It hasn't been for 25 years. We don't have the resources, unwavering desire from the BoT on down to invest at an elite level let alone hold anyone accountable to delivering it. Franklin's record does suck against elite level programs but aside from other elite programs so does everybody else. Indiana hasn't beat OSU since the 1960s! However, I'm certain there are a few other schools in the Big Ten that would appreciate what we have achieved including regular appearances in the NY6 and top tier non-NY6 bowls. You don't think Minnesota would be thrilled with our level of success? How about Nebraska? What about Illinois or Maryland?
Once you realize we are not elite and accept our achievements for what they are relative to college football overall you sleep better at night.
Franklin deserves the heat he gets for the stats you posted but to act like we are not an accomplished program relative to most non-elite schools is wildly ignorant.
If King Mack goes to Alabama and starts we have major problems with the coaching staff and James Franklin has no where to hide
No one ever said Penn State is ‘not accomplished’ compared to non elite schools like Indiana, Minnesota, Illinois, etc.
However, most would argue that Penn State should aim higher than comparisons with Indiana, Minnesota, and Illinois.
I guess I messed up trusting posts on our site!
I’ve watched Finebaum’s show for years. Finebaum has been very clear to distinguish his criticism of Franklin as a coach vs. Penn State as a program. He has been very respectful of Penn State as a program. Not so much respect for Franklin though.
That is what is most frustrating. WeAre above all but 10-12 teams. And being so close but not taking that final step is maddening.
Really? Who should he start ahead of at psu?
If he does not start at bama on day one will you praise Franklin or will you hide?
If he starts at ‘bama it shows that we, because of Franklin, are very good at that position! Couldn’t start here but does at ‘bama…..says a lot!
Should they aim higher? It would be nice but they aren't. My point - For what the BOT is willing to pursue Franklin has done better than other schools who are also not committed to being elite. You want to go toe to toe with Georgia Alabama Ohio State Texas Michigan then somewhere amongst the Alumni we had better find some deep pockets who will not settle for anything but national championships. I doubt that happens. There are only so many five stars out there so you'll need to start outbidding and convince them 3 years in the middle of PA is not that bad.
I would take Michigan off that list. Sure you can factor in the sign stealing if you want, but they had like 44 seniors, were built inside out and coached extremely well. They aren't exactly landing 5 star kids and are NIL leaders either. It's actually the opposite. Don't think you can put them in that 'elite' group yet with one year out of decades for them.
So, the rest of that group surely are the leaders of the talent and buy-in. But, what about the rest of the playoff spots? You don't think we can be in the Top 12 unless JF gets more help and efforts from the BOT, admin, etc? I mean, he couldn't win a big game since 2016 when everything was even (so to speak), sans NIL and portal. Nobody is saying we have to go from where are now, to all of a sudden in that group of the Top 5 programs...how about just a fairly regular playoff team that can win a game or a few every once in a while? Considering that Wash will likely have a HUGE dropoff and UCLA is a mess, really the two teams with comparable talent to us on the schedule obviously are OSU and USC....can JF avoid the 0-2 scenario which he seems incapable of? If so, we are likely in the playoffs. It shouldn't be that hard for a program of our size, stature, fanbase, etc. I just think blaming it on facilities, buy-in, as to why JF can't get it done is a cop out. He blew it in 2017 as a chance to knock OSU down a couple of pegs and for PSU to climb the mountain.
Did Michigan beating OSU three straight knock OSU down a couple pegs? You still have OSU on the list and Michigan NOT on the list.
I don't care for either one but OSU is the model of consistency all the way back to the 1960s - they've had 2 losing seasons since that time period. And for that matter, PSU has probably been more consistent. Michigan comes and goes......I believe that their last B1G title was clear back in 2004 before their most recent run. Plus, they cheat
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