Penn State head coach James Franklin has succeeded during his team’s seven-game winning streak in keeping his players focused on the next game and away from the increasing chatter about how his program has risen into contention for a Big Ten championship.
But Saturday’s final regular-season game, against Michigan State at Beaver Stadium, presents a pair of unique pregame challenges where Franklin will need to restore that concentration before the opening kickoff.
It is senior day in Happy Valley where the Nittany Lions will honor 17 seniors, most of whom had either just joined the team or had committed to the program around the time of the July 2012 NCAA sanctions related to the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal.