Penn State football head coach James Franklin joked that he was ‘envious’ of Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman’s ‘hairline’ before their teams face off in the Orange Bowl

As Penn State's coach, James Franklin owns an abysmal 4-19 record against opponents ranked in the Associated Press top 10 -- and is just 3-10 in such games when his team is also in the top 10. It's a mark that saw a small but significant boost with Penn State's resounding 31-14 College Football Playoff quarterfinal win against No.

Granted, Penn State has had a relatively easy road through the first weeks of the College Football Playoff. The Nittany Lions took on SMU, the last team to earn a spot in the playoff, in the opener, and won, 38-10. And this week, it was on to the Fiesta Bowl, where Penn State beat Boise State of the lightly regarded Mountain West Conference, 31-14.

Boise State was a steady program following that breakthrough game, consistently putting together 10-win seasons and bowl victories under Chris Petersen and Bryan Harsin. The Broncos hit a dip with one bowl game between 2018-21, but have been revitalized under Danielson.

Penn State coach James Franklin said 'everybody should be in a conference' ahead of his team's College Football Playoff semifinal game vs Notre Dame

Enough, Penn State coach James Franklin said. Franklin — who raised some eyebrows last month when he said Nick Saban should become commissioner of college football, a job that doesn't technically exist and an idea that the retired Alabama coach didn't seem to like very much — was at it again Wednesday,