One of the biggest games of the college football season was played last weekend between Ohio State football and Penn State Football. Both teams came into the matchup ranked top-10 in the country, and both teams were undefeated. After winning the Big Ten in 2016, the Nittany Lions have had a hard time getting back over the hump in the Big Ten East. They have specifically struggled with Ohio State, but they have also struggled with Michigan football. This season felt like a huge opportunity for James Franklin and Penn State to knock off the Buckeyes as this looks like a really good Nittany Lions squad, but once again, the result of the game was a disappointment for Penn State fans.

Saturday's game in Columbus between Penn State football and Ohio State football was a defensive slugfest. Neither team could get anything going offensively, but the difference in the game ended up being that the Buckeyes had Marvin Harrison Jr., and the Nittany Lions didn't. Ohio State ended up winning the game 20-12, and it was yet another disappointing loss for James Franklin.

Penn State fans aren't happy after the game, as they felt like this could be the year to knock off Ohio State. However, college football analyst Josh Pate disagrees with those upset fans.

“The idea that James Franklin is overrated is floating around a lot right now,” Pate said on a recent episode of Late Kick with Josh Pate. “And here is the evidence they give you, he’s 1-9 versus Ohio State, he’s 3-6 versus Michigan, he’s 3-16 against AP Top 10 teams. This is where the bumper sticker logic will get you. Because you say overrated, and this is your evidence. And I ask you, who out there is touting James Franklin as being better than Urban Meyer or Ryan Day? I don’t ever hear anyone say that, so you’re not going to present his record against Ohio State to me. I don’t hear folks telling me that James Franklin is superior to Jim Harbaugh right now, so you’re not going to tout Harbaugh’s record against James Franklin and say he’s overrated. …I had producer Jesse go through McGrady (who does stats and info for us) and find how many of those 19 games Penn State was a point spread favorite in because that’s when you’re overrated. When they’re favoring you to win and you don’t win that’s when you’re overrated. They were favored in 1 of those 19 games and they won the one game they were favored in.”

While Pate does have a point, that probably won't make Penn State fans feel better about the loss. However, the season isn't over for the Nittany Lions. They haven't played Michigan yet, and they get the Wolverines at home this season. If Penn State can knock off Michigan, and Michigan can knock off Ohio State, the Nittany Lions could find themselves in the Big Ten title game with a chance to go to the College Football Playoff. If that does happen, the James Franklin doubters will be silenced.