AUBURN, Ala. -- More than 10,000 Penn State faithful showed up to watch Saturday's stunning 41-12 dismantling of Auburn, and in talking with fans at Jordan-Hare Stadium, a good time was had by all.
In addition, the Big Ten vs. SEC matchup surely drew a massive TV rating for CBS (the numbers haven't been released yet).
So, this was clearly the kind of matchup that a lot of people enjoy watching.
Just not James Franklin.
The coach was asked after the game if he would like to schedule more home-and-home series like this.
"No," Franklin said emphatically before repeating, "No."
But why? These are great matchups for college football, right?
Yeah, sure. But what coaches want in scheduling compared to what fans or TV networks want are two very different things.
"There's a reason that this is like one of the only games that's been scheduled in the history of the Big Ten," Franklin said of the return trip to Auburn, which visited Penn State last year.
"All the data, all the analytics show you, you got to do whatever you can to win your conference."
Franklin is not unlike coaches everywhere in that he wants easy wins in the non-conference schedule. Any game that could be a potential loss -- a tough matchup against a major power -- can hurt Penn State in any number of ways, primarily with regards to its chances to reach the College Football Playoff.
We only have to look back to the 2016 loss at Pitt for a reminder. If the Nittany Lions had won that game, they would have made the playoff. Simple as that.
Franklin wants easier opponents in the non-conference because he knows those games really can't help Penn State's playoff hopes, but certainly can hurt them if they lose. Surviving the Big Ten East and then winning the league is enough for the Lions to earn a playoff berth, regardless of whether they play three cupcakes in the non-con or not.
The issue, though, is that Penn State fans pay a whole lot of money for season tickets, and the school can't just schedule three garbage home games every year in the non-conference because fans will get fed up. So, there has to be some kind of a balance, such as an occasional marquee matchup, or a series with Pitt, like the one that ran from 2016-19.
If Franklin could get his wish, he probably would rather play three games against the likes of Buffalo, Akron and Kent State every year in the non-con.
But c'mon, that would really suck, and we wouldn't get opportunities like the one we just experienced and/or witnessed against Auburn.
Looking ahead to future schedules, this is what Penn State has lined up in the non-con:
2023: West Virginia, Delaware, UMass
2024: at West Virginia, Bowling Green, Kent State
2025: Nevada, Villanova -- the Lions had a series with Virginia Tech that was canceled, so they still need a game for this season
2026: Marshall, at Temple, San Jose State
2027: Syracuse, Delaware, Temple -- that's two visits by Delaware in five years, which is ... something
2028: at Syracuse -- still need two other games
As you can see, there are interesting opponents in West Virginia and Syracuse, two old Eastern rivals. But there's nothing overly exciting coming up like another Auburn series.
Will we ever see home-and-homes again with more national powers? You would like to think so, but Franklin's answer after the Auburn game would indicate otherwise.
It has nothing to do with the coach or Penn State being afraid of tough competition or anything.
It's just being pragmatic.
It's just being smart.
Even when the playoff goes to 12 teams in a few years, the ultimate goal for Franklin -- and the vast majority of coaches -- will be to do whatever it takes to make the cut.
For Penn State, being 3-0 in the non-con is a big part of it, because the Big Ten will provide plenty of challenges.
Had Penn State lost Saturday's game, it would have meant the only way to make the playoff this year would be to run the table and win the Big Ten. But winning the game, now the Lions might be able to afford to lose once in the league and still have a good chance to make the playoff.
No matter what, Franklin did acknowledge, the Auburn trip did a lot of good for the team.
"This is going to help us," he said. "We're going to build on, it's a great experience, not only for this year for us to improve going forward, but also for the freshmen."
LIONS RISE BIG IN POLLS
Penn State's impressive win made a big impression on pollsters. The Lions jumped up eight spots in both polls released Sunday, going from No. 22 to 14 in the AP poll and from No. 23 to 15 in the coaches poll.