Win or lose Saturday, Penn State is not in Ohio State’s stratosphere. Not yet.

Trust in coach James Franklin, though, the Nittany Lions are ascending toward the upper echelon currently occupied by Alabama, Clemson and — much as I hate to say it — the Buckeyes.

Those programs reload, they don’t rebuild. They dominate in recruiting, year after year. They’re always in the Top 10, usually in the Top 5.

This past weekend’s results speak for themselves. Bama led by 18 at the half and trashed No. 22  Texas A&M 45-23. Clemson led Ga. Tech by 21 at half, won 49-21. OSU didn’t mess around against Tulane — it led 42-6 at the break before calling off the dogs in a 49-6 victory.

Until further notice, these teams are going to be favored to win their conferences and make the College Football Playoff. Only those three programs have both multiple appearances and winning records in the CFP through its four seasons. Alabama has won five titles in nine years.

Penn State, storied as it is, has never been that type of program — not even while winning two national titles in five years in the 1980s. And certainly not since joining the Big Ten in 1993.

And that’s OK.

Why?

Two reasons: 1. Winning as The Little Cow College That Could was a heck of a lot of fun, and 2. It’s not a little cow college anymore. James Franklin knows what he has — courtesy of Joe Paterno — and is making the most of it.

Franklin’s Lions, ahead of schedule, woke up the echoes these past two seasons, coming within a few points — perhaps a single play each year — of making the Playoff. Many analysts and pundits suggested they got robbed in not being picked.

It fits with tradition. The Nittany Lions have had to scratch and claw their way onto the national stage. For years as an Eastern independent, they were dismissed. In back-to-back undefeated seasons in 1968-69, they finished second in the final AP poll to teams from power conferences — first Ohio State, then Texas.

Even as Paterno’s legend and Beaver Stadium’s capacity grew, the Lions never quite reached perennial powerhouse status. After beating Herscshel Walker and Georgia for the 1982 title, they had seasons of 8-4-1 and 6-5. After upsetting Miami for the 1986 title, they followed with 8-4 and 5-6 campaigns. So much for reloading.

So James Franklin didn’t inherit a perennial powerhouse. But he sure as heck did inherit the makings of one. Reaching Ohio State’s level isn’t just possible, it is to be expected. And by my read, no one is embracing that idea more than Franklin himself.

He brings a modern savvy to the 107,000-seat house that Joe built.

He comes off as fun and energetic, and talks and carries himself as if he expects the program to reach incredible heights very soon. It shows on the field. The players, even when the defense is breaking down and a potential upset is brewing, perform with a cool confidence.

Penn State is a national darling, a feel-good story, battling back from brutal sanctions to once again exude what college football should be all about. Passion. Possibility. Joy. Class. Fun.

Yes, the fun. People around the country are noticing. They most definitely are noticing.

Sports Illustrated, the same mag that that just six years ago ran the headline “We Were Penn State” now exalts the Lions as the cover boys of college football at its most exhilarating.

The Chicago Tribune ranks Penn State as the best game-day atmosphere in the Big Ten, and that’s without seeing what’s going to go down this Saturday. OSU is No. 5, at least partly because its fans are jerks. (I’m just repeating what the Chicago Tribune said.)

College GameDay will be in Happy Valley for the lead-up to Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. kickoff on ABC.

There is a major buzz around this program.

James Franklin made this happen. He brought in Joe Moorehead to install the scheme that offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne now gets to run with. He brought recruit Trace McSorley with him from Vanderbilt.

One side of the ball — the offense — is taken care of long-term. And it was the right side to handle first coming out of the scholarship reductions of 2012-13. What recruit wouldn’t want to play offense for a team that just put up 63 points in consecutive games? Offense is fun, offense brings attention, offense with McSorley leading it always has a chance. It’s a get-rich-quick scheme that Penn State somehow pulled off.

Now the target is Ohio State — not just Saturday, but for years to come.

And Penn State still has a lot to prove.

Penn State has not played for a national championship since it beat Miami 14-10 in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl (though it should have in the undefeated 1994 season). Since the year 2000, Ohio State has reached the Playoff twice and played in three BCS Championship games — winning it all twice in five trips to the real postseason.

The Lions are 5-13 against the Buckeyes starting with the year 2000 and haven’t beaten them by more than one score in that stretch. Six of OSU’s victories came by at least two TDs.

But vibes are changing.

Urban Meyer won’t lose Buckeye Nation while lying about lying, but national heat wears on a program. Don’t think College GameDay and ABC won’t milk the fallout from assistant coach Zach Smith’s firing as Meyer takes a big stage for the first time since returning from his suspension.

Meanwhile, they’ll be gushing over Franklin, McSorley, the crowd, the noise, the excitement.

I ask you, which man has the better product to sell, Meyer or Franklin?

Franklin has a stadium that holds more people. He has impressive practice facilities that he’s pushing to make even better. He has a program brand name at least the equal of Ohio State’s — I’ll put up Paterno and his 409 wins against Ohio State’s extra national titles any day. He has former and current NFL stars who will vouch for the greatness of the Penn State experience. He works at an institution willing to invest heavily in its cash cow.

And Franklin has a loyal, proud, hungry — extremely hungry — fan base ready to take this ride. It’s been three decades since Pete Giftopoulos intercepted Vinny Testaverde.

Since then, there have been Top 10 seasons, a bad spell of four losing years out of five, scandal, sanctions and recovery. Penn State can be better for it. It a lot of ways, I’d say it already is.

Matching Ohio State, making the Playoff, playing for national championships. It’s all right there.

It all hinges on Brent Pry’s defense, particularly the front seven. Can it make the same progress the offensive line has over the past several years? Are this season’s defensive woes just the last throes of roster imbalances cycling through position groups in the wake of the scholarship reductions? Are highlight-video playmakers developing or in the recruiting pipeline to restore the Linebacker U. moniker?

I’m betting yes. And I’m predicting soon. Not just for the defense, but for the program, for Franklin.

The greatest era of Penn State football in on the horizon. The McSorley years are just a prelude.