James Franklin Takes a Shot at Notre Dame Ahead of Orange Bowl Matchup: ‘Everyone Should Be in a Conference’

In a move that may prove unwise, Penn State head coach James Franklin took a shot at Notre Dame by calling for “consistency” in college football and stressing that “everyone should be in a conference.”

Speaking to reporters at a press conference with his counterpart, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman, Franklin made his opinions on Notre Dame’s status as an independent football program.

“It should be consistent across college football,” Franklin explained. “This is no knock at [Freeman] or Notre Dame, but I think everybody should be in a conference. I think everybody should play a conference championship game, or nobody should play a conference champion championship game. I think everybody should play the same number of conference games.”

There are three independent teams in FBS: Notre Dame, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

Notre Dame competes in the ACC in every sport except football. The Fighting Irish have enjoyed a lucrative broadcast relationship with NBC Sports since 1991. That relationship and the independent status it affords Notre Dame has given the Irish the flexibility with scheduling that allows them to play teams from every conference.

More importantly, Notre Dame makes $50 million a year with NBC, in addition to the $17.4 million they make with the ACC. That wealth has made Notre Dame one of the richest athletic departments in the country. It also means, much to Franklin’s apparent chagrin, that Notre Dame never plays a conference championship game.

However, it also means that no matter how highly ranked the Irish are at the end of the season, they will never have a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff because they’re not in a conference.

It’s also rich for Franklin to complain about someone else’s path to the CFP. Penn State lost its conference championship game against Oregon and then somehow ended up with the easiest route to a national championship via two gimme games against SMU and Boise State.

Meanwhile, Notre Dame had to play Georgia, which was a tougher draw than either of the Nittany Lions’ first two games. One could reasonably argue that at least Penn State’s first game against SMU counted as a bye.

In any event, the 20th all-time meeting between Penn State and Notre Dame on Thursday night should be spicy.