College football season is rapidly approaching, and I could not be more excited! The greatest sport known to mankind is about to be back in our lives in only a few short weeks.

While everyone in FBS has a chance to compete for the College Football Playoff, there are only a handful of locks heading into this season.

As expected, the Penn State Nittany Lions are among the short list of said locks.

In my estimation, there are seven bona-fide playoff locks heading in.

That would be Clemson, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State and Texas in alphabetical order, with serious contenders like Arizona State and Boise State in that next group of teams.

While I would have Penn State as a top-five team in the land heading into this season, I would not have them No. 1 either, just like Brett McMurphy.

Here is McMurphy’s AP Top 25 ballot heading into the preseason. The first AP Poll will be out Monday.

Georgia Bulldogs
Penn State Nittany Lions
Texas Longhorns
Clemson Tigers
Alabama Crimson Tide
Ohio State Buckeyes
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Oregon Ducks
Miami Hurricanes
LSU Tigers
Michigan Wolverines
Texas A&M Aggies
Kansas State Wildcats
SMU Mustangs
Florida Gators
Illinois Fighting Illini
Utah Utes
Oklahoma Sooners
Tennessee Volunteers
Arizona Sun Devils
Ole Miss Rebels
USC Trojans
Texas Tech Red Raiders
Indiana Hoosiers
Louisville Cardinals

The newest big name for On3 told Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman why he has Penn State at No. 2.

“It wasn’t necessarily ‘Wow! Georgia’s been really good the last few years, so they’re gonna continue this year.’ It’s kind of more of what Andy said. They’ve stockpiled all of this talent. And again, until James Franklin shows he can win a big game, I can’t pull the trigger and put them at No. 1, when everything else says they probably should be No. 1 with the talent and the acquisition at defensive coordinator.”

McMurphy’s first AP Top 25 ballot heading into the new year is all over the place, but he has a point.

Until we are proven otherwise, the James Franklin of it all is going to be what holds Penn State back.

Brett McMurphy cannot put Penn State No. 1 because of James Franklin

Although I do not have a vote when it comes to putting forth a top 25 rankings as a part of the Associated Press, I would not have had Penn State at No. 1 either.

The Nittany Lions would be a top-five team for sure; I would probably have them No. 5 behind Ohio State, Texas, Georgia and Clemson, in that order.

A big reason for it is I like all four of those other head coaches way more than I do Franklin.

Ohio State, Georgia and Clemson are led by the only three active head coaches who have won a College Football Playoff title before in Ryan Day, Kirby Smart and Dabo Swinney, respectively.

Day is coming off his first from last season, while Smart went back-to-back in 2021 and 2022. Swinney won a pair nearly a decade ago in 2016 and 2018. I would argue Texas’ Steve Sarkisian might be next up.

And that is really where I cannot get there with Penn State, either. How many coaches are coming off the board before Franklin’s name is called in a theoretical Power Four coaching draft?

For the sake of argument, some combination of Day, Sarkisian, Smart and Swinney are your first four picks.

I like Marcus Freeman, Dan Lanning, Kalen DeBoer, Brian Kelly and Kenny Dillingham more than Franklin.

So even if Penn State has the best running back tandem in college football in Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton, the best quarterback in the Big Ten in Drew Allar, an emerging star at offensive coordinator in Andy Kotelnicki and the best defensive coordinator in the business in Jim Knowles, Franklin keeps coming up short! It is why he struggles to beat Ohio State, or any top-five team, ever.

Penn State can technically win a national title, but I think they will bow out in the quarter or semifinals.