Expectations abound for Penn State, but can it handle rivals Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State? | Joe Juliano

Year 6 of the James Franklin era at Penn State is about to begin.

The Bucks County product has led the Nittany Lions to a 45-21 record and appearances in five consecutive bowl games, plus a big prize -- the 2016 Big Ten championship. The Lions’ No. 15 preseason ranking marks their 41st straight week in the Associated Press Top 25, fifth currently among FBS teams. They are one of six teams to be ranked in the Top 15 of the final College Football Playoff standings the last three seasons.

As usual, expectations from the fan base for the new year are high, even for a young team that is talented but doesn’t have much game experience. Franklin’s choice as his next quarterback, Sean Clifford, will be making his first start. If and when the backup, Will Levis, gets in a game, he will take his first varsity snap.

Still, the fans want to see the program take a step or two up. The Lions went 9-4 in 2018 after back-to-back 11-win years and were swept by all three of their chief Big Ten East Division adversaries – Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State. And that begs the question: Will they be looking up at the Buckeyes and the Wolverines yet again this season, and even the Spartans, too?

The division’s Big Three have haunted Nittany Nation. Since Franklin took over, Penn State has gone 3-12 against them – 1-4 versus each team – and has yet to win on the road, going 0-3 in Ann Arbor, and 0-2 in Columbus and East Lansing. This season, the Lions must travel to Michigan State and Ohio State, both games coming after Michigan in the annual Beaver Stadium “White Out” on Oct. 19.

It was difficult to tell which loss hurt the worst last season.

Ohio State visited in late September and, for the second straight year, rallied from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter to win by one point. This game is mostly remembered for the last-ditch, fourth-and-5 rushing call from offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne (more on him later) that did not involve Trace McSorley, who rolled up 461 yards of total offense. It also featured a postgame soliloquy from Franklin passionately urging his team to work harder to move the program to “elite” status.

The Nittany Lions had an off week to regroup, yet returned to Beaver Stadium on Oct. 13 and lost to Michigan State on a touchdown pass with 19 seconds to play. Three weeks later, the Lions traveled to the Big House for the first time since Michigan pummeled them, 49-10, in 2016. This time it was just as bad, a 42-7 rout that saw the visitors gain only 186 total yards.

So can Penn State move to the head of the Big Ten East this season, or will its three nemeses leave their marks again? The annual cleveland.com poll of 34 Big Ten writers gave 20 first-place votes to Michigan and 14 to Ohio State. The Nittany Lions were edged out by Michigan State for third place.

Something else to consider this season is how Rahne, who is in his 11th season on the same staff as Franklin but called offensive plays for the first time in 2018, improves in his second season in the position.

The Nittany Lions averaged 55.5 points and 514.5 total offensive yards in a 4-0 start last season but scored more than 30 points only twice after that. Their averages for the final nine games were 24.1 points and 382.3 yards of total offense. Throw out the Maryland game, the averages were 20.6 points and 314 yards in five of their last six.

Franklin expressed his support of Rahne earlier this month, saying he has "learned a lot over the last 12 months.

“As you know, I’ve got a tremendous amount of belief and faith in Ricky," he said. "I’ve watched him develop and I know how talented he is. I think everybody in our program, within our walls, is extremely excited about the steps that we can take offensively.”

Rahne said he tries not to read the criticism on social media but admits it’s part of the job.

“I understand fans’ frustrations when we don’t win games because – guess what? – as much work as I put into it, I’m pretty frustrated as well,” Rahne said earlier this month in an interview with statecollege.com. “That’s probably what they don’t understand.”

It’s not that fans are asking Rahne to be Joe Moorhead, who helmed a high-powered attack for two seasons before heading to Mississippi State as head coach. But given the young talent at the skill positions, including game-breaking wide receiver and kick returner KJ Hamler, he should have more success with his team moving the football and putting points on the scoreboard.

The 14-week roller coaster – Penn State has two idle weeks – gets underway Saturday. Maybe a national championship is an unrealistic expectation, but a division title with wins over Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State will leave the folks of Happy Valley darned happy.