Georgia coach Kirby Smart made a curious observation Saturday.
“Either you’re elite or you’re not. There’s no gray area.”
That was easy for Smart to say. His team had just put a ferocious 37-0 beating on Arkansas and would climb to No. 2 Sunday in the Associated Press poll. Georgia and Alabama are strong bets to make the College Football Playoff. It would be the second time in five years for Georgia if it gets there. It lost to Alabama in the championship game after the 2017 season.
But Penn State’s James Franklin might disagree with Smart’s point of view. He knows for a fact there is a gray area in college football. His program has been stuck in it for quite a while.
Remember Franklin’s passionate rant three years ago after Penn State blew a fourth-quarter lead against Ohio State for the second year in a row?
In 2017, No. 2 Penn State led No. 6 Ohio State, 38-27, with fewer than six minutes left before losing. In 2018, No. 9 Penn State led No. 4 Ohio State, 26-14, midway through the fourth quarter before Dwayne Haskins — maybe you’ve heard of him — brought Ohio State back with two touchdown passes.
Franklin lost it after that second loss, which happened before a White Out Night crowd of 110,889, the biggest crowd in Beaver Stadium history.
“The reality is, we’ve gone from an average football team to a good football team to a great football team, but we’re not an elite team yet,” Franklin said.
This might be the season it finally happens for Franklin and Penn State. The team is off to a 5-0 start with impressive wins against Wisconsin, Auburn and Indiana and is No. 4 in the AP poll. A win Saturday at No. 3 Iowa would be a big step out of that murky gray area. It would put Penn State among the heavy favorites to make the playoffs even though its remaining schedule in the brutally difficult Big Ten Conference is challenging.
The problem for Penn State is Iowa is looking at the game as the same opportunity, the chance to join the elites, to use that word again. Iowa destroyed previously unbeaten Maryland on the road Friday night, 51-14, to go to 5-0. That performance enabled it to jump over Penn State in the AP poll.
Iowa always is good under coach Kirk Ferentz but hasn’t won a Big Ten championship since 2004. A win Saturday would put Iowa in a terrific spot because of its remaining schedule. It doesn’t have to play No. 7 Ohio State, No. 9 Michigan or No. 11 Michigan State. Penn State must play all three down the road.
Ferentz is from Upper St. Clair and is in his 23rd season as Iowa’s head coach. He has spent the week trying to downplay the hype for a game that is considered Iowa’s biggest home game since 1985 when it was ranked No. 1 and beat No. 2 Michigan, 12-10. Ferentz was an assistant under Hayden Fry on that Iowa staff.
But how do you not hype up this game?
It is the Big Ten’s first between Top 5 teams since 1997 when one isn’t Ohio State. It’s the first since 1962 when Ohio State or Michigan isn’t playing.
“I think you know how I feel about rankings in October and September,” Ferentz told the Iowa media. “Those things will be a lot more valid four, five, six weeks from now. I hope we are in that discussion. It’s not a five-week season or six-week season. You don’t get any prizes. They do the prognostications every week. I get that. They don’t really count those. They are paper money. Monopoly money. Nobody really counts until you get to the finish line.”
Iowa beat Penn State, 41-21, in Happy Valley last season, Penn State’s fifth loss in a 0-5 start. That was the game when Penn State quarterback Will Levis got the start for benched Sean Clifford. This game should be a little different. Clifford, a redshirt senior, is back in charge and playing his best football.
The game figures to be low-scoring, just like the one in 2019 when Penn State won in Iowa City, 17-12.
Iowa ranks No. 2 in the country in scoring defense, allowing 11.6 points per game. It forced seven turnovers — six interceptions — at Maryland.
“They line up and they’re sound,” Franklin said. “They’re never out of position. They play fast. They play aggressive. They play with great confidence. They’ve got a really good scheme that is challenging. There’s no easy yards out there.”
Penn State’s defense also has been terrific. It ranks third in the country in scoring defense, giving up 12 points a game. It shut out Indiana Saturday night, 24-0, the first time Indiana had been shut out since 2000.
“I’ve been following Penn State since I was basically in elementary school,” Ferentz said. “The story doesn’t change a heck of a lot. A lot of things that were true when I was young still are right now. They have outstanding players. They’ve always had good players there. I can’t remember a year when they didn’t. Very well-coached. Coach Franklin really has them playing well right now, at a high rate.
“If you’re not ready to play, it could be embarrassing. So you better get ready to play.”
Penn State is 9-0 since that loss to Iowa last season. Iowa has won 11 games in a row and outscored its opponents, 380-141. Iowa is a 2 1/2-point favorite.
“This is why you play football, for games like this,” Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras said.
“It’s fun when the chips are on the table,” Ferentz agreed.
Fun for the players and coaches.
Fun for those of us who will watch.
