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James Franklin praises Penn State’s senior class ahead of Citrus Bowl
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Penn State has the opportunity to do something really special in the Citrus Bowl on Tuesday afternoon. If the Nittany Lions down Kentucky in Orlando, it’ll be the program’s third straight 10-win season.
Why is that significant? Penn State hasn’t recorded three-straight 10-win seasons since 1980-1982. For a program with as much tradition and history as PSU, it’s hard to believe it’s been that long.
One of the many reasons the Nittany Lions have returned to relevance has come thanks to the senior class. It’s a group that won a B1G title in 2016 and won several big games over the last four years. Head coach James Franklin knows it’s a special group.
“I think they are a very historic class in our program,” Franklin said at his Citrus Bowl press conference. “[They’ll] go down as one of the winningest classes in the B1G era.”
🗣️ @coachjfranklin on this year's senior class: "I think they are very historic class in our program. (They’ll) go down as one of the winningest classes in Big Ten era."#WeAre pic.twitter.com/9nEWwDTOTA
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) December 31, 2018
Penn State is still one of the newcomers to the B1G, joining the conference in 1993. It’s not as recent as Nebraska, Rutgers or Maryland, but there haven’t been nearly as many senior groups from Penn State playing in the league.
The Nittany Lions finished the 2018 season 9-3. While they didn’t compete for a B1G title or a spot in the College Football Playoff, having an opportunity to hit the 10-win mark again is no small feat.
Tuesday will also mark the final game for Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley, who owns several program records as a starter.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB