Penn State took last weekend off after suffering a loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes in Week 6. The idle week came at a great time for Penn State as it allowed for a little more recovery time for a number of players that took a beating against the Hawkeyes. Most notable, of course, has been quarterback Sean Clifford, whose status for this weekend’s game against Illinois is still unconfirmed.
The loss and injuries against Iowa gave head coach James Franklin plenty to work on in the time off. That included getting as many reps in practice in for backup quarterback Ta’Quan Roberson and Christian Veilleux, as Franklin noted he embraced and encouraged a bit of a competition in the event Clifford is unavailable this week (Clifford was seen practicing, but to what extent he is good to go remains a closed-door secret).
But you may be wondering just how successful James Franklin has been after a bye week?
2014: Lost to Michigan (0-1)
James Franklin’s first season with the Nittany Lions was a year still heavily hampered by the sanctions levied against the program and saw a roster not at all ready to make any significant noise. After heading into the bye week with a 29-6 loss to Northwestern at home, Franklin’s Nittany Lions came up short on the road against a Michigan team coached by Brady Hoke. The 18-13 setback was not without some controversy, and it may have been a game Penn State should have gone on to win. But it was nonetheless a loss.
2014: Lost to Ohio State (0-2)
Penn State actually had bye weeks before and after their game with Michigan, but the results after the bye week were similar. Penn State put up a respectable fight with No. 13 Ohio State in Happy Valley with the Nittany Lions taking the eventual national champions into overtime in Beaver Stadium. This was the infamous game where Joey Bosa bulldozed his way to running the Penn State offensive line into Christian Hackenberg for a game-clinching sack.
2015: Lost to Michigan (0-3)
Penn State’s losing ways out of a bye week continued into the 2015 season. Like in 2014, Penn State dropped a game to Northwestern heading into the ideal week only to come out of it with a loss to the Wolverines. Michigan was clearly a better team in 2015 with a No. 14 ranking at the time, and Penn State was appearing to show signs of progress, but their slide at the end of the 2015 season in the loss column continued with pain against Michigan.
2016: Win against Ohio State (1-3)
You know what game this one was. I won’t even waste your time reminding you how a blocked field goal returned by Grant Haley set off a cycle that resulted in a Big Ten championship for the Nittany Lions. I guess I just did.
2017: Win against Michigan (2-3)
Penn State was looking forward for a chance for revenge on Michigan. A season after getting blown out in Ann Arbor, Saquon Barkley and the Nittany Lions had a laugher against the Wolverines.
2018: Lost to Michigan State (2-4)
Penn State let one slip away against Ohio State in the 2018 season, but their hopes of playing in a New Years Six bowl game at the end of the season were officially destroyed two weeks later when the Nittany Lions came out of the bye week and were upset by Michigan State at home. This was a crushing one as the Spartans stunned Penn State in the final 20 seconds of the game with a go-ahead touchdown.
2019: win vs. Maryland (3-4)
Maryland started off the 2019 season feeling pretty good about themselves. Then they hosted Penn State and got a real dose of reality in a 59-0 victory for the Nittany Lions.
2019: Lost to Minnesota (3-5)
Penn State took an undefeated record into a big road game against the upstart Minnesota Golden Gophers, who were also undefeated in early November of 2019. But Penn State was unable to match the intensity of the Gophers and came away with a 31-26 loss to fall out of the top five in the nation.
Penn State did not have a bye week during the condensed 2020 Big Ten season due to the pandemic.
Will Franklin be able to coach Penn State into the win column this weekend against Illinois? Compared to every other matchup after a week off under Franklin, this is Penn State’s most favorable game of the bunch.
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