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Penn State head coach James Franklin press conferece: CFP format, new long-term injury

Headshot 5x7 reduced qualityby: Thomas Frank Carr06/05/25ThomasFrankCarr
James Franklin Penn State Football On3
Penn State head coach James Franklin (Photo: Thomas Frank Carr/BWI)

Penn State Nittany Lions football head coach James Franklin and his staff opened up the doors of the Lasch football building to talk with reporters for the team’s June press conference meeting with the media. Franklin spoke with reporters for roughly 25 minutes to kick things off. You can hear his complete comments on the Blue White Illustrated YouTube Channel or embedded here in this article.

James Franklin press conference

Franklin spoke at length about the state of the College Football playoff and the current selection process. He agrees with the building sentiment among the Big Ten that they should get more automatic spots in the playoff.

“I agree with the argument based, of all, based off all the things that I just said, it’s not even so why should it be even on the back end who gets in when it’s not even on the front end? Like our conferences are built differently. Everybody shouldn’t get the same vote,” Franklin said.

The news also broke on Thursday afternoon when Franklin confirmed that Penn State redshirt freshman defensive end Max Granville suffered a season-ending injury and will miss the upcoming football season.

“Max is out with us with a long-term injury,’ Franklin said. “He got hurt over break at home and working out. Obviously, not an ideal situation. And, heart breaks for the kid and the family, and obviously not what we wanted or needed either. The guy that played last year, we were depending on taking that next step this year.

Penn State surging as an offseason media favorite

Thanks to an addition to the spring transfer portal and a host of returning seniors, Penn State is a preseason favorite heading into the Fall of 2025. The team projects as a potential preseason number-one team. Recent odds based on the SP+ rating have Penn State as an early favorite in all but one game. The team is a six-point home favorite over Oregon during the White Out matchup at the end of September and a nearly 50-point favorite in its first three games of the season. The only game that the Lions are favored in, according to Greg Pickel’s preview article, is the team’s November matchup against Ohio State, where Franklin’s squad is an early five-point road underdog.