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James Franklin on hype around Penn State: 'No one gives a **** about preseason rankings'

ns_headshot_2024-clearby: Nick Schultz07/25/25NickSchultz_7

With college football nearing its return, Penn State is receiving plenty of hype as a potential national championship contender. The Nittany Lions have plenty of contributors back, as well as a revamped wide receiver room.

However, James Franklin isn’t concerned about the preseason rankings. In fact, he admitted, “No one gives a sh**.”

Franklin acknowledged the increased attention Penn State is getting from a national standpoint and how it reflects the work put into the program. That said, he doesn’t see anything changing in the building because the goal remains winning a national championship – whether people think the Nittany Lions will do so or not.

“I would say this about expectations … on a national scale, I do think there’s more conversations and there’s more talk going on,” Franklin said on SiriusXM College Sports Radio. “We embrace that because we’ve earned that. A lot of people worked really hard to put our program in that position, so we’re excited about it. But I also say this – no one gives a shit about preseason rankings. What do preseason rankings mean? They don’t mean anything. We appreciate it and all that kind of stuff. And what I was saying, too, is nationally, those conversations are going on.

“But in terms of our lash football building, in terms of locally, we’re at a place that expects to win the national championship every year. Last year, we were a drive away from playing in the national championship and it didn’t feel like it at Penn State. People were pissed. I get it. These conversations are going on and people are saying it’s different and all that kind of stuff. But for us, it’s really not a whole lot different than it ever is at Penn State. There’s really high expectations there.”

Following last year’s season-ending loss to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, Penn State got welcome news. Quarterback Drew Allar announced his return, as did the two-headed running back monster of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. The Nittany Lions also boast a staunch offensive line and a wide receiver room Allar called Penn State’s best yet.

Despite notably losing Abdul Carter on defense, Dani Dennis-Sutton is back to help anchor the pass rush with new coordinator Jim Knowles at the controls. Those are reasons the buzz is growing around Penn State, and the Nittany Lions topped the Big Ten preseason media poll as they look to get to the mountaintop.