Paul Finebaum Names Major College Football Coach That's Hard to Believe In

Paul Finebaum Names Major College Football Coach That’s Hard to Believe In originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

Last season came close to being a magical one for one of college football’s historic programs as they aimed to return to the top.

The Penn State Nittany Lions made the College Football Playoff for the first time in their history and found themselves in the semifinals against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. With just 38 seconds left in the game, Penn State took over at its 15-yard line.

Instead of kneeling the ball and heading into overtime, the Nittany Lions opted to try to get into field goal range after a 13-yard run. However, on the next play, quarterback Drew Allar threw an interception at their 42-yard line.

Seven plays later, Notre Dame kicked a field goal with seven seconds remaining in the game, sealing the victory. This ended Penn State’s hopes of winning a national championship for the first time since 1986.

On “The Paul Finebaum Show,” SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum shared his thoughts on Penn State’s upcoming season. He expressed optimism about the team but voiced concerns about head coach James Franklin.

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin.Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

“I believe that they have a chance,” Finebaum said. “Now, it’s low-hanging fruit to attack James Franklin, but he’s never had the groceries like he does this year. By the way, he made it to within a second of the championship game last year. So, it’s not like he was slumming it. He’s a hard coach to believe in. But I also said the same thing about Ryan Day and Jim Harbaugh.”

Finebaum may have doubts about Franklin, but he believes in Penn State’s potential this season. Recently, he mentioned that the Nittany Lions are not receiving enough attention as a contender for the national title.

The team’s strength this year is the return of several key players. Allar, running backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton and defensive linemen Dani Dennis-Sutton and Zane Durant are all back. Overall, Penn State returns 63% of its production, ranking it 33rd in the nation.

Allar threw for 3,327 yards, completing 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions, while maintaining a completion rate of 66.5%. This marked his best season as the starter. Additionally, both Allen and Singleton rushed for over 1,000 yards, combining for a total of 20 rushing touchdowns.

Now, most of Penn State’s returning talent is on offense, as it retains 72% of its offensive output, ranking 14th nationally. However, the team will feel the loss of defensive standout Abdul Carter, who recorded 12 sacks and 24 tackles for loss last season. His impressive performance led to his selection as the No. 3 overall pick by the New York Giants in the 2025 NFL Draft.

As the Nittany Lions prepare to kick off the season against the Nevada Wolf Pack on Aug. 30 at 3:30 p.m. ET, they will need to develop a strategy for replacing Carter’s contributions.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 8, 2025, where it first appeared.

Paul Finebaum Names Major College Football Coach That’s Hard to Believe In

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