Penn State’s appearance in last season’s Big Ten championship game was the Nittany Lions’ first since 2016, the year Saquon Barkley, Trace McSorley, Chris Godwin and the rest knocked off Wisconsin in Indianapolis to win the title.

For many, this is the best team Penn State has had since James Franklin took over as coach in 2014, and Franklin came about as close to saying that without fully saying it. “This is the best combined personnel that I think we’ve had at Penn State,

Entering his 12th season as head coach, Franklin says his team is embracing the conversations that rank the Nittany Lions as the class of college football heading into this season.