Top 131 of last 40 years
Not sure if this was already posted...pretty cool list. And the stories inside are interesting to recall.
My takeaways...
1. Twelve seems fair considering the dark years were 10% of this stretch. Right behind USC, ahead of LSU and Notre Dame. I'm surprised to see Clemson above USC and us, but I guess their two nattys to our 1 in that stretch gave them a statistical boost.
2. Franklin has had 3 of our top 9 seasons in his decade at PSU. Sure, he hasn't had a playoff appearance or championship (while our rivals UM and OSU have had numerous of one or the other)...and maybe that's why we're harder on him than Joe. But it's interesting to see 2017 and 2019 comes in ahead of 2008, 1991, and 1985...some super nostalgic seasons for me. Another little stat...5 of Franklin's 10 seasons were in the top 20, which put him statistically on par with JoePa as well (Joe had 75% of the top 20 seasons in 70% of the years coached over the past 40). Another way to say it: Franklin is JoePa 2.0. (Once he wins a natty, it'll be easier for our fan base to stomach this reality...)
3. It's nice to see Reddit acknowledge our 1994 team as #1. I honestly don't mind being #2 in 1986...because we were #1 in the real polls.
Not sure if this was already posted...pretty cool list. And the stories inside are interesting to recall.
My takeaways...
1. Twelve seems fair considering the dark years were 10% of this stretch. Right behind USC, ahead of LSU and Notre Dame. I'm surprised to see Clemson above USC and us, but I guess their two nattys to our 1 in that stretch gave them a statistical boost.
2. Franklin has had 3 of our top 9 seasons in his decade at PSU. Sure, he hasn't had a playoff appearance or championship (while our rivals UM and OSU have had numerous of one or the other)...and maybe that's why we're harder on him than Joe. But it's interesting to see 2017 and 2019 comes in ahead of 2008, 1991, and 1985...some super nostalgic seasons for me. Another little stat...5 of Franklin's 10 seasons were in the top 20, which put him statistically on par with JoePa as well (Joe had 75% of the top 20 seasons in 70% of the years coached over the past 40). Another way to say it: Franklin is JoePa 2.0. (Once he wins a natty, it'll be easier for our fan base to stomach this reality...)
3. It's nice to see Reddit acknowledge our 1994 team as #1. I honestly don't mind being #2 in 1986...because we were #1 in the real polls.