ESPN’s Heather Dinich took a look at the AP Poll and wondered why Penn State was not the No. 1 team in the country. Of course, these are preseason rankings, so they are subject to change greatly! Still, Dinich saw what Penn State brought back and added and wondered how a team like Texas was […]
ESPN’sHeather Dinich took a look at the AP Poll and wondered why Penn State was not the No. 1 team in the country. Of course, these are preseason rankings, so they are subject to change greatly!
Still, Dinich saw what Penn State brought back and added and wondered how a team like Texas was above them. The preseason AP Poll featured Texas at No. 1, Penn State at No. 2 and defending national champion Ohio State at No. 3.
While responding to Paul Finebaum, Dinich was not one of the many who considered the Longhorns the top team in the country. She’s sticking with the Big Ten favorites.
“Paul made quite the generalization there, when he said that Texas is everybody’s number one, because this person here has Penn State number one,” Dinich said on SportsCenter. “The reason is, when you look at preseason rankings, you should go with what you know. And when you look at seven of those top 10 teams, they have new quarterbacks. Penn State does not. Drew Allar is going to be back with better wide receivers. And James Franklin, the head coach at Penn State, has said and will tell you, this is the best personnel that he has had. That means staff and players.
“So when you look at the hire of Jim Knowles, his defensive coordinator from Ohio State, Andy Kotelnicki coming back as offensive coordinator, and then the NFL talent all over the field with Nicholas Singleton, Kaytron Allen on offense at running back, and then you’ve got Zane Durant on defense. I mean, there’s no reason for Penn State, at least on paper, not to be the number one team going into this season.”
If the AP Poll is any indication, Penn State should be an excellent football team this year. But, head coach James Franklin cares not for any of the preseason hype.
“I think you guys have heard me say this, but I don’t really feel like the expectations have changed,” Franklin said. “The expectations in the last football building are always high. The expectations in Beaver Stadium are always high and the expectations in this community are always really high. That’s a big reason why I came here and it’s a big reason why our players chose here. Are there more conversations and maybe heightened conversations going on nationally? Yes. But I think last year was a perfect example.
“We were a drive away from playing for the National Championship last year and 99% of the programs in the country would be jacked about that season and how it went. I don’t know that that was necessarily the case here. We win 13 games and like I mentioned were a few points and drives for playing for the National Championship and people were pissed. That’s what you sign up for when you come to Penn State, so those expectations are always pretty high.”
Category: General Sports
