Lucky for him they weren't Top 5
I can't be too mad about that one in the current system (and since it was essentially a tie), though hard to see them winning in Columbus and playing for the Big 10 title (though Ohio State won it all without doing that last year). Wish they'd played better in the first half. Certainly didn't look like the better team. But second half was still impressive. Some very tough breaks, both ways.
I think the real question at this point is less how good Franklin is - he obviously can't get over that hump - as, can Penn State actually compete in the transfer portal/NIL era? They have the money now, but we're still looking at a sport where a kid from Michigan who committed to Oregon and than flipped to UCLA and then transferred back to Oregon outplayed our homegrown neighboring state QB, and the transfer WR group did not deliver enough. The extent to which bringing back Allar and both RBs made them one of the two best teams in the country certainly looked overstated last night. Oregon seemed more talented as well as better-coached/tougher.