Paul Finebaum blasts James Franklin, casts doubt on his ability to lead Penn State to championship

There are very few teams entering the 2025 season with expectations as high as Penn State. After falling in last season’s College Football Playoff semifinal, the Nittany Lions are returning plenty of experience and talent and want to make a national championship run under head coach James Franklin.

At SEC Media Days, ESPN’s Heather Dinich and Paul Finebaum appeared on Get Up. There, Dinich shared that she believes it’s Penn State that could prevent the SEC from winning a national championship for a third season in a row. Finebaum wasn’t having it, though, and he put Franklin firmly in his crosshairs as to why Penn State won’t be winning a championship.

“Why are you doing this to me,” Paul Finebaum asked. “First of all, I’m not going to sit here and belittle Penn State. I think they are the best team in the Big Ten, but James Franklin is still coaching and the last time I saw him in a big game, he did what he always does in a big game. He choked. I fully expect somewhere late in the season when maybe the Big Ten and the SEC meet, he’ll choke again.”

Penn State finished last season in the semifinal, having gone 13-3. The problem is that all three of their losses came in the three biggest games of the year. They lost in the regular season to eventual national champion Ohio State. Then, the Nittany Lions dropped the Big Ten Championship Game to Oregon and the semifinal to Notre Dame.

For his career, that’s an issue Franklin has had and has clearly developed a reputation for losing big games. Under Franklin in New Year’s Six and other CFP games, Penn State is 5-3. In the Big Ten Championship, they’re 1-1. Then, against AP Top 25 opponents, the Nittany Lions are 15-28 under Franklin. That includes just one win against Ohio State.

“Heather, I applaud your bravery,” Finebaum joked. “But there’s a big group of people who have gathered around Heather and she will need security to get out of here.”

Penn State is a program with a proud history in college football. Still, it’s been since 1986 since they’ve won a national championship. That’s one of two national championships in school history. After making their first Playoff appearance, now the expectation is that James Franklin takes the Nittany Lions back to that mountain top.

Paul Finebaum identifies Penn State as the college football team under the most pressure in 2025

Paul Finebaum does know that Penn State is fully aware of the expectations on the team this year. That’s why, just last week, he also shared on Get Up that no team is under more pressure than Penn State.

“I believe it’s Penn State because of this reason. They may very well be favored to win the Big Ten and James Franklin does not handle pressure well. He had a 10-point lead against Ohio State last year. Blew it. He had a 10-point lead against Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl. Blew it. And that’s why he gets in trouble with his fanbase,” Finebaum said. “His record is exemplary, but he can’t seem to handle the pressure and he has it now.”

Penn State opens the season hosting Nevada on August 30th. Big Ten play begins with a massive game when Oregon travels to Happy Valley on September 27th.