James Franklin Has Problem With Notre Dame Being Independent

01/08/2025 09:46 AM

The Orange Bowl between Notre Dame and Penn State is a little over 24 hours away from kicking off. On Wednesday morning, James Franklin spoke to the media about this epic matchup. 

Notre Dame punched its ticket to the College Football Playoff semifinals by taking down Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Penn State, meanwhile, dismantled Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. Even though neither program received a first-round bye, they've looked incredibly fresh down the stretch. That may change this Thursday though since Jeremiyah Love and Abdul Carter are banged up for the Fighting Irish and Nittany Lions, respectively. 

After providing updates on Penn State's health for Thursday's game, Franklin talked about the current landscape of college football. He thinks it's a bit unfair that Notre Dame is still operating as an independent. 

Although there's no real way of enforcing it right now, Franklin believes every team should be in a conference.

"This is no knock at Coach Freeman or Notre Dame, but I think everybody should be in a conference," Franklin told reporters. "Everybody should play a conference championship game or no one should play a conference championship game." 

Franklin pointed out that Penn State has played one more game than Notre Dame because the program belongs to the Big Ten. That could be viewed as a disadvantage. 

Notre Dame has benefitted financially from remaining an independent. The school earned $14 million just for making the College Football Playoff. Conferences like the Big Ten and SEC had to divide their winnings by the amount of members in the field. 

Maybe, just maybe, Notre Dame's players will use Franklin's comments as bulletin-board material for Thursday's game. 

ESPN's computer model gives Notre Dame a 58.5 percent chance of taking down Penn State. The winner will advance to the national title game. 

The Orange Bowl will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. 

Related: ESPN Analyst: Steve Sarkisian Has More At Stake In Cotton Bowl Than Ryan Day