Four years later, where is Penn State on 'elite' scale?

ALTOONA, Pa. -- James Franklin really never should have said it. He got caught up in the moment after an emotional loss, and deep down inside, you gotta think he regrets saying it.

Franklin never should have said it because it was a promise that would be incredibly difficult to keep, and yet he would be judged by that promise every step of the way until, you know, he actually fulfills it.

Four years later, where is Penn State and Franklin with regards to fulfilling that promise? That's where we start this edition of the midweek top 10, with another showdown against Ohio State coming up Saturday.

1. On a scale of 1-10, where is Penn State right now with regards to being an "elite" program?

I'm going to say 5. And down probably three steps from four years ago, when Franklin made this vow following a gut-wrenching 27-26 loss to the Buckeyes at Beaver Stadium:

For context: In 2017, Penn State was No. 2 in the country and led 35-20 at Ohio State before losing, 39-38. In 2018, the Lions were No. 9 and lost the 27-26 game to the Buckeyes at Beaver Stadium.

Here's what Franklin said after that loss on Sept. 30, 2018:

"We lost by one point this year, we lose by one point last year. You make that up by the little things. By going to class consistently so the coaches don’t have to babysit you and we can spend our time developing you as men and as people and as players and not be babysitting everything. And don’t get me wrong, our guys do a great job going to class, but there’s two or three guys. It’s all the little things. It’s all the little things that are going to matter."

ALL of that was perfectly fine. Franklin was on a roll and making a whole bunch of good points.

But then he decided to take it one giant step further.

"We are going to find a way to get from being a great program -- which we are, just so everybody is crystal clear, we are a great program. We lost to an elite program, and we’re that close. We’ve gotten comfortable being great. We will no longer be comfortable being great. We’re going to learn from this, we’re going to grow from this and we’re going to find a way to take that next step as a program because we’ve been knocking at the door long enough. It’s my job as a head coach. I’m ultimately responsible for all of it. And I will find a way, we will find a way, with all the support of everybody in this community and everybody on this campus and the lettermen and everybody else, we are going to get this done.

"I give you my word. We are going to find a way to take the next step."

Well, not only has that not happened, Penn State is no longer a great program, and has dropped back to being merely a good program.

Yes, the Nittany Lions are ranked 13th in the country right now, which might suggest they're close to being great. But a 41-17 trouncing at Michigan two weeks ago and being 15.5-point underdogs at home this week against Ohio State will tell you they're not close to being great.

Oh, and there's that whole thing about being 11-11 over the previous two years, which would suggest Penn State really wasn't even very good.

So, I'll go back to saying that the Lions probably are about at a 5 on the elite scale at this stage. If they can give Ohio State a great game Saturday and lose by only a few points, we could probably bump it up to a 6 or maybe even a 7, because the Buckeyes are an elite team. And then if the Lions finish this season 10-2 and beat a good opponent in a bowl game, it would solidify them at a 7.

If the Buckeyes come in and win by 14 or more points on Penn State's home field, then really, how can we say the Lions are any higher than a 5?

OK, so ... what if Penn State actually wins Saturday? Hey, it could happen. Crazier things have happened in sports. If the Lions were able to pull off a repeat of the 2016 miracle, go on to win the Big Ten and reach the College Football Playoff for the first time, then ... gulp ... we could probably go ahead and declare the program elite.

Ohio State is the standard. Beat the Buckeyes, and Franklin will deserve an enormous amount of credit for getting the Penn State program back to where it was six years ago.

But short of all that, the reality right now for Penn State is that it is merely a good program that's trying to get back to great, and not remotely close to being elite.

2. OK, so where does Franklin think Penn State is on the elite timeline right now?

The coach was asked that Tuesday, and gave an answer that sounds like a lot of his answers over the past year with regards to continuing to need support from everyone in and around the program.

"I think a lot of things have changed since then," Franklin said of the four years that have passed since his elite comments. "We talked a lot this offseason about, new president in Dr. (Neeli) Bendapudi and new athletic director in Pat Kraft. That factors into all of this, there's no doubt about it. I think there's things within our program that you look at, whether it's from a development standpoint, whether it's a facility standpoint, whether it's a nutrition standpoint, whether it's recruiting. All the things that you talk about in terms of building a program, I think some areas, we have made significant progress in and others we still have work to do.

"I think in a lot of ways, we've taken some steps in the right direction, but there's still some areas that we need to get resolved. That's why I think I voiced this over and over again, the excitement I have for the leadership that we have in those two positions, and that's with total respect and appreciation for the past as well."

Alright, so while all of that is pertinent, it's just not a good enough answer from Franklin. If he's going to keeping mentioning all of those outside factors, he has to also take ownership for the on-field problems, as well, such as the depth issues that caused last year's collapse and the embarrassing loss at Michigan two weeks ago.

Those are football issues, not external support issues. And it's a big reason why many fans believe, no matter how much support the program receives, that Franklin the football coach is a primary reason why the program has not and cannot become elite.

3. You want to be elite? Get an elite quarterback!

I've been saying this for a year: There is NO WAY Ohio State would ever start Sean Clifford for four consecutive years. It just wouldn't happen, because the Buckeyes have an incredible standard, and they would never settle for rolling out an average quarterback year after year after year just because there's nobody better.

Ohio State would have gone out and done anything it could to find someone better.

Period.

So, while Clifford is less than a week away from being booed by his own fans -- which was a disgrace, as I discussed in our We Are podcast -- Ohio State has a quarterback in C.J. Stroud who is the odds-on favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.

"He's leading the Heisman race for a reason," Franklin said Tuesday. "A talented guy that we have a ton of respect for."

Stroud has thrown for 2,023 yards with 28 TDs and four interceptions while completing 70 percent. Unlike a lot of Ohio State QBs over the years, he is not a running threat, as he has minus-9 yards rushing this season (including sacks), so Penn State at least knows he will be staying in or around the pocket.

In last year's 33-24 win over Penn State, Stroud completed 22 of 34 passes for 305 yards and one TD, and he did not have a single rushing attempt.

Franklin was asked Tuesday about trying to replicate what Stroud does in practice.

"I don't think you really can," Franklin said. "I mean, obviously we do that, like when we build the scout teams each week, you're literally saying, OK, this guy should play him, and this guy should play him. There's not too many people in the country that have a quarterback like that, let alone a quarterback like that on the scout team.

"So, that's hard to pull off and that's where, trying to replicate it as much as you possibly can in practice but then also doing some of the good-on-good work every single day, so they are getting the speed of it. That's helpful, too. But there's no way to completely replicate it week in and week out."

4. Looking ahead to the NFL draft

As of now, Stroud is projected by many to be the No. 1 pick in next year's draft, according to the folks at NFL Mock Draft Database.

Former Penn State QB Will Levis, now at Kentucky, is projected to be the fifth overall pick in the draft, per that site's consensus. Many Penn State fans continue to scoff at Levis' draft projections and believe he is vastly overrated, but the truth of the matter is that he has a skill set that NFL teams love.

As for Clifford, he is not projected to be drafted, and his name appears in no mock drafts on that site's database.

5. Speaking of Clifford and the fans ...

This was a stroke of genius by Franklin during his press conference Tuesday:

That little pause and look were Franklin's way of getting back at the Penn State fans who booed Clifford during pregame lineups Saturday against Minnesota. Clifford had a great game, throwing for 295 yards and four TDs to lead the Lions to a 45-17 whiteout victory over the Gophers.

Franklin was asked about how backup quarterbacks are always popular with fans and why maybe Penn State fans don't appreciate Clifford the way he does as the coach. For whatever reason, Penn State's official transcript omitted the question and response, but here is what Franklin said:

"Yeah, I'm spending my energy, all my energy, on getting ready to play a really good Ohio State team. I'm pouring all my energy into loving and supporting my players and staff and focusing on things that I can control and impact. That's where all my energy is focused on is supporting my staff, supporting and loving the players and focusing on getting ready for a really good Ohio State team on offense, defense and special teams. And those other things, I'm not spending any time on, because to be honest with you, unless unless you have something for me or somebody else, I don't see how I can I can impact that."

6. The end of Tunnelgate, thankfully

To Franklin's credit, he had no interest in continuing the tunnel silliness between himself and Jim Harbaugh. The Michigan coach took a shot at Franklin on Monday, calling him the "ringleader" of the tunnel skirmish at Michigan Stadium.

Franklin was asked if he had any response to Harbaugh.

"No. I don’t. Nope. Ohio State," Franklin said.

Now, whether readers care about this part or not, from a journalistic standpoint, Franklin had to be asked about that topic Tuesday. He had to. That's just how things work in our business. Harbaugh's comments were national news Monday, and a follow-up question to Franklin was a necessity, even if we all knew Franklin would do exactly what he did -- which was nip it in the bud.

Not all reporters on the Penn State beat like asking those kinds of must-ask questions. But again, we have a job to do as journalists, and sometimes that means asking questions no one else wants to ask.

So, credit to Neil Rudel of the Altoona Mirror for saving the beat's integrity by biting the bullet and being the one to ask the question that nobody else wanted to ask, and getting the answer up above from Franklin.

7. Mustipher provides leadership the Lions needed

We talked all last week about how would Penn State bounce back from the debacle and Michigan, and that doing so would require good leadership on the team.

While it's likely that a number of players provided such leadership during the week leading up to Minnesota, Franklin made sure to single out senior defensive tackle PJ Mustipher for his efforts.

"I thought PJ Mustipher's leadership and vocal presence all week long in meetings and practice, I think was really important, and I thought he made a huge impact," the coach said.

8. Only 12 more days til basketball

The Penn State basketball season gets under way Nov. 7 vs. Winthrop at Bryce Jordan Center. Loyola (Md.) visits three days later, and Butler comes in for a game Nov. 14.

“I think just the energy and that excitement in the locker room, everybody's just really excited to get started,” senior Myles Dread said during media day Tuesday, from The Collegian. “We got a lot of bright-eyed and bushy-tailed guys that are coming in and getting ready for the grind, and they have such a positive attitude about them that it makes me feel good.”

Micah Shrewsberry went 14-17 overall and 7-13 in the Big Ten during his first season as head coach last year. Shrewsberry had this to say Tuesday, from The Collegian:

“I'm trying to constantly evolve and continue to grow as a coach. I know we need to be better earlier. Like, we played Michigan State the second game of the year in the Big Ten, and they ran us through the gym. We're playing them to start the Big Ten this year, so the transition defense better be pretty good on that day.”

9. Starocci takes bronze at Worlds

Penn State wrestler Carter Starocci turned in an outstanding showing last week at the U23 World Championships in Spain, finishing third to earn a bronze medal.

Starocci is a two-time national champion for Penn State at 174 pounds. Here's more from his performance at the Worlds, from Penn State's school release:

Starocci went 4-1, with his only loss a one-pointer in the semifinals.

The Nittany Lion junior began his tournament run with a resounding 11-0 technical fall victory over Bulgaria's Oktay Hasan early Friday morning. He followed that win up with a second tech fall, a 10-0 tech fall over Erik Reinbok of Estonia. Starocci then met Turkey's Abdubasi Balta in the quarterfinals and rolled to a third straight tech fall, advancing to the semifinals with an 11-1 win.

Starocci met Kazakhstan's Daulet Yergesh in the semifinals. After leading 1-0 at the break, Starocci got caught in a takedown to ankle lace move and fell behind 8-1. But Starocci nearly pulled off the thrilling comeback, notching two takedowns with one turn in the final minute-plus before falling 8-7. He took on Valentyn Babii of Ukraine in his Bronze Medal Match and rolled to an 11-0 technical fall to win the Bronze. Starocci went 4-1 overall in Spain with all four wins by technical fall and the lone loss by a point in the semifinals.

10. Is Journey now a cover band?

OK, so this has nothing to do with sports. But it is Penn State related, as it was announced last week that the rock band Journey will perform at Bryce Jordan Center on March 3.

Just so you know, Journey not only is my favorite band, I also am one of the biggest Journey fans you'll ever find. I've been to many concerts and already have my floor seat tickets for their concert at Penn State.

Journey

Someone recently asked me a great question about the band, which has only one original member from its debut in 1972 -- founder and guitarist Neal Schon. Legendary lead singer Steve Perry, one of the greatest singing voices ever, left the band in the late 1990s, while keyboard player Jonathan Cain has been with the band since 1980. The current lead singer, Arnel Pineda, has been with the band since 2007, and he actually has been the lead singer longer than Perry was, after famously getting discovered by Schon on YouTube while performing in his native Philippines.

So, with only one original band member left, and with the group still touring based primarily on songs made famous by Perry, is Journey a cover band?

Hmmmm. It's a great question, and I love this kind of philosophical discussion.

As a huge Journey fan, I say absolutely not, because Schon and Cain were there during the band's heyday and were responsible for "Don't Stop Believin'" and most of the band's most famous songs.

But, with a lead singer who was discovered on YouTube and whose name still isn't known by many rock fans and even lots of Journey fans, it does make for an interesting question about whether the current group is a cover band.

I say NO WAY! There are lots of bands that have replaced lead singers and key members, and we cannot consider all of them cover bands. The steadying presence of Schon and Cain keep Journey's legacy intact even to this day.

Disagree? Tell me what you think in the comments.