Urban Meyer gives his take on if Penn State has hit its ceiling

No. 3 Penn State suffered yet another big game loss last Saturday at home against No. 6 Oregon. The game went to 2OT, but the Ducks forced a game-ending interception thrown by Drew Allar to steal the road 30-24 victory in Happy Valley. Franklin’s teams are now 15-29 against ranked opponents and the program is now 13-9 in ‘White Out’ games.

This repeated cycle of getting excited for big games and repeatedly falling to the Ohio States, the Michigan‘s and the Oregons of the world has left many wondering what Penn State‘s ceiling truly is. Is a National Championship their ceiling, or is losing 1-2 games a season and squeaking into the College Football Playoff their ceiling?

Legendary head coach Urban Meyer gave his take on Penn State‘s ceiling on the latest edition of ‘The Triple Option‘ Podcast. Meyer was clear with his stance.

“Yeah I would put it at a solid four (meaning very likely) because the ceiling is really high,” Meyer said. “He’s right there at the top of the ceiling. Go through 132 teams that would like to have the record that James Franklin has. I made this comment on ‘Big Noon‘ or ‘The Herd with Colin Cowherd,‘ but I don’t remember, but when you lose a game in Columbus (I’ve been there). I’ve lost games in Columbus. The sun does not come up.”

Meyer says Penn State is ‘near the ceiling’

“People are so pissed off for so long in Columbus, Ohio. Mark (Ingram), you’ve seen it when you walked out of that stadium,” Meyer continued. “You go to Ann Arbor and the nasty, some of the things people say and look don’t get me started there. And then last one with Penn State, the pre-game, the ‘White Out’ is the best in the country. You lose that game though and I remember walking out when we beat Penn State and everyone is happy. It’s Happy Valley. Everyone’s like ‘see you in a few years coach. What a game.’ I’m thinking, ‘damn.'”

“And so, very few places have the same mentality of Columbus, Ohio, where you batten down the hatches when you lose there. I don’t feel that way at Penn State. I think Penn State is about where they need to be, which is one of the top-five teams in the country and if they make some plays, they can win a National Championship. It’s just, I think they’re near the ceiling but the ceiling can always go a little further.”