Their one win came back in 2016, when they sprung an upset of No. 2 Ohio State at home. Penn State's big-game blues continued Thursday, when the No. 5 team in the country lost 27–24 to No. 3 Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl.

This season, the Nittany Lions lost single-possession games to three such teams — Ohio State, Oregon and Notre Dame. Franklin's 34-8 over the last four seasons and has six double-digit win seasons at Penn State since taking over, but being one of the Big Ten's most reliable quality teams is rarely mentioned.