For Penn State, Ending the Ohio State Narrative 'Feels Important,' Analyst Says

A win over Ohio State "would go a long way" for the Nittany Lions and coach James Franklin, college football analyst Mike Golic Jr. said.

Penn State coach James Franklin stands on the field at Camp Randall Stadium prior to the game against the Wisconsin Badgers. / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Penn State coach James Franklin confronts another "legacy" game Saturday, when the No. 3 Nittany Lions host No. 4 Ohio State at Beaver Stadium. Everyone knows the numbers: Franklin is 1-9 against Ohio State and 3-7 against Michigan in his career at Penn State and 60-16 against everyone else in the Big Ten. That includes 18 consecutive conference wins over conference teams other than Ohio State and Michigan.

So what matters more Saturday: Beating Ohio State for Big Ten and College Football Playoff positioning this season or to rewrite a narrative, at least for one year? We posed that question to college football analyst Mike Golic Jr., co-host of the DraftKings' GoJo and Golic podcast.

"I would say probably ending the Ohio State narrative feels as important as anything right now," Golic said in an interview this week. "Just because, if you're Penn State, I think there's always a belief that in the 12-team playoff, you were going to be one of the teams that benefited from that. You've been better than 90 percent of college football for the last number of years under James Franklin. You really just haven't been better than two teams in the Big 10, with one of them taking a massive step back this year.

"Yeah, I know Indiana and Oregon being here complicate things a little bit, so it's not quite a do-or-die game in terms of the playoff, but it's pretty important [for Penn State]. I would just say, though, getting the metaphorical monkey off your back in terms of it feeling like there's such a lid on the conference with that team in Columbus, I think that would go a long way for James Franklin and this program and the continued trajectory for them as we move into this changing world of college football."

RELATED: What this game means for Penn State

The game matters for other reasons, Golic said. Fundraising, for instance. Penn State will join the top athletic departments next year in disbursing as much as $22 million to athletes through revenue sharing. Penn State also is financing a $700 million renovation of Beaver Stadium. And, as Golic Jr. said, there's also the team-building aspect.

"Obviously there are the external factors for every program, which we hear all the time, that these football programs are the front porch for your university and all the windfall that can come there in a day and age when money has become much more important in terms of how overtly we talk about its impact on the game: buying players, funding these rosters, all the different machinations that teams need now," Golic said. "I also think that there's still the team factor that's been consistent forever. We saw it as clear as we have in a while last year when Penn State did great against everybody else, and then it just completely shelled up against Ohio State and Michigan. They wouldn't and couldn't push the ball downfield.

"So it's about getting confidence in yourself as a team and, for guys on this roster who are going to be a part of the team for the rest of this year and going into subsequent seasons, to see the ball go through the basket and to get external validation for the way that you've prepared for these moments behind the scenes. It just reinforces the things that you know you need to do. Then it's not just, hey, we've got to go in the weight room and work this hard in the offseason so that we can beat Ohio State one day. Instead, now we understand exactly what it took to get there, and so it's on us to make sure we replicate that each and every week from here on out."

Penn State hosts Ohio State at noon ET Saturday at Beaver Stadium. FOX will televise.

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