Penn State coach James Franklin and Ohio State coach Ryan Day have both lost far more than theyโve won against top five teams.
Franklin is 1-8 against top five teams.
Day is 2-7.
One advantage Day has over Franklin is that heโs 5-0 against him head to head.
But this season, James Franklin and Penn State are still unbeaten at 7-0 while Day and Ohio State are 6-1 with a loss at Oregon last month.
Before No. 3 Penn State and No. 4 Ohio State clash Saturday at noon, two of ESPNโs College GameDay talent gave their takes on which coach is under more pressure.
WHAT DESMOND HOWARD SAID
BLOOMINGTON, IN – OCTOBER 26: ESPN College GameDay analyst Desmond Howard on set prior to a college football game between the Washington Huskies and Indiana Hoosiers on October 26, 2024 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, IN (Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire)
โIt just depends on which side that youโre on. I think both coaches have a lot to proveโฆ both have really bad records against top five teams. Thereโs no hiding that. So I think both have a lot to prove. I would say that thereโs a lot of pressure on Ryan Day. It seems as though this administration went all in this offseason. Itโs no secret that they spent more than 20 million dollars to put together a roster to win the national championship. Penn State didnโt do that (laughs). (Ohio State) went out and got Chip Kelly, who left his head-coaching job at UCLA to become Ohio Stateโs offensive coordinator. So it seems like they pushed all the chips to the middle of the table during the offseason which I said on Instagram that it was unfair for them to do this because now youโre telling your coach โthis is do or die.โ
WHAT RECE DAVIS SAID
BLOOMINGTON, IN – OCTOBER 26: ESPN College GameDay host Rece Davis on set prior to a college football game between the Washington Huskies and Indiana Hoosiers on October 26, 2024 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, IN (Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire)
โWhoever loses. I mean, I know thatโs a silly answer but think about it. I mean whoever wins the game, then all of a sudden the pressure moves in another direction. Now you have to win a national championship, right? So whoever loses the game, the narrative that you mentioned, which is real, Iโm not diminishing it, itโs a real thing. If you are at Ohio State and Penn State, youโre supposed to winโฆ so whoever loses is going to hear about it.โ
Penn State and Ohio State are scheduled to kickoff at noon on Fox.
