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James Franklin highlights how much Rose Bowl victory means to Penn State football
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James Franklin coached Penn State to a 35-21 victory over Utah in the Rose Bowl on Monday. Franklin discussed what the win means for the football program as a whole at the post game presser.
Franklin knows that it was also the 100-year anniversary of Penn State’s Rose Bowl game in 1923. The Nittany Lions played USC back then and lost 14-3. With the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff including the Rose Bowl as a venue, it could be the last time fans get to see a B1G and Pac-12 team play there as well.
“Yeah, and not only that, I also understand that it’s the 100th anniversary of Penn State playing in this in 1923, as well. So much tradition and history with this bowl and then obviously specific to Penn State, and then playing Utah, there’s not too many things in 2023 where you can say it’s never happened before. Penn State had never played Utah before.
A lot of really cool things. But most importantly, I’m so proud of these guys and how they handled themselves.”
Franklin really enjoyed the entire Rose Bowl experience, from the hotel the team stayed at to the game itself.
“I’m talking about it all, the feedback from the Rose Bowl staff about our players and how they conducted themselves, from LA Live, the JW Marriott, they were phenomenal with us, and the feedback I got about our players, that’s very important to us at Penn State, not just winning on the football field but doing it in the classroom and in the community, as well, and these two guys are great examples of that.”
It looks like Franklin is feeling good about the state of his program heading into 2023.
Grant Bricker covers the B1G for Saturday Tradition. His previous stops include the Williamson Homepage and Nashville Post.