How has Franklin fared in big games? About what you'd expect taken in Altoona, Pa. (Penn State)

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James Franklin and Jim Harbaugh chat after a game between Penn State and Michigan at Beaver Stadium.

ALTOONA, Pa. -- Jim Harbaugh says a lot of wacky things that you'll never hear the more conservative James Franklin say, but there was also this no-brainer from Harbaugh on Monday that was absolutely spot on.

"Big, big, big game," Harbaugh said of this week's showdown between No. 10 Penn State and No. 4 Michigan.

Of course it's a big game.

"If anybody was watching football (Sunday) on television, the pro games, seems like every commercial break there was an advertisement for the Michigan-Penn State game," Harbaugh said. "So, if anybody wasn't realizing that this is a big game, there were constant reminders."

Franklin knows it's a big game. But he will never say that.

Not ever.

Franklin is consistent in his approach week in and week out, trying to treat every opponent the same so that his players don't get too high or too low against anybody. And in a lot of ways, that is exactly how you have to treat things with 18- to 22-year-old kids so they don't overlook any opponent.

Still, it is refreshing to hear other coaches actually refer to these as big games, since that concept is blatantly obvious.

"It's a big-time matchup. We’re super excited about it," Harbaugh said.

Even though Franklin won't call any game a big game, there's no doubt he has coached in a bunch of them in his nine seasons at Penn State.

One big knock on the coach is that he just hasn't won enough of them.

Is that fair?

Well ... yeah.

Here's the tale of the tape:

vs. Top 25 teams: 11-17
vs. Top 10 teams: 2-13
vs. Ohio State: 1-7
vs. Michigan: 3-5
vs. Michigan State: 3-5
in bowl games: 3-4

Obviously, those numbers speak for themselves. Penn State will always be judged on how it does against Ohio State, and then also Michigan and Michigan State in the Big Ten East, and certainly Franklin's overall record leaves plenty to be desired.

In fairness to Franklin, there have been other big games during his Penn State tenure, albeit it of the lesser variety. If you count matchups against Pitt, key non-conference games against the likes of Auburn (which wasn't ranked this season), some Big Ten games against Wisconsin, Iowa or Minnesota when they were good, and two wins from 2014 against UCF and the Pinstripe Bowl over Boston College, then the number isn't so bad.

All told, using my personal criteria for what should count as a big game, Franklin has gone 14-7 against all teams other than the Big Ten East big three of Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State.

So, the scoreboard:

The big three: 7-17
Everybody else: 14-7

That's an overall tally of 21-24 in big games.

So hey, he has won some big games. But obviously, the 1-7 mark against Ohio State and 7-17 record against the divisional powers is what most people will point to.

Franklin falls into the category of being the kind of coach who usually wins the games he's supposed to win -- with some exceptions -- but struggles in games against teams that are equal to or better than Penn State.

The coach was asked an intriguing question Tuesday by Ben Jones from StateCollege.com about just that -- winning enough to be able to play in a lot of big games, and yet then being judged primarily on how the team fares in those big games.

"That's a good question," Franklin said. "And that's where it's not just the science, it's also kind of the art. Because I think your point is a good one. We know that these types of games each year are critical, and we're not the only program in this conference or in this country that is in this situation. But I think your point that you made is also a good one is, if you put all your eggs in these games/baskets, then you can put yourself in a situation where you don't handle the ones before that you need to that everybody wants to look past.

"So, that's kind of the fine line of managing those two things -- doing everything you possibly can to get yourself to this position, and then also being strategic as you possibly can to take advantage of these opportunities when they come. ... That's where not only is this Saturday critical in terms of how we manage the game and how our players go out there with the confidence and swagger to make the plays when they're needed. But it's also the thing that we've talked about in the past, is it's all of the progress that you can make the other 364 days a year that add up. All those all those little wins add up all year long to put your team in the best position to be successful consistently on Saturdays, in both games that you've described."

Franklin was talking there, of course, about the same thing he's talked a lot about in recent years, which is getting a full commitment from everyone at the university to be able to strengthen the program in every way possible off the field.

Because, in theory, if Penn State can do all of that, then the Lions can be in better position to win more games on the field.

"That's where I'm pretty excited, which I think you guys know," Franklin said. (New AD Pat Kraft) has been great with those types of things. He's been really good at recognizing those things without me even having to say anything about it. And that's been great. I would say even all the way up to the president and the chair of the board, as well. ... I think that alignment that you've heard about is critical.

"Now, again, that's all great. Nobody wants to talk about that. Want to talk about Saturday. So, at the end of the day, we gotta do everything we possibly can to put ourselves in a position to get to this point where we are 5-0 with a top-10 matchup on the road in a tough venue. And we got to have an unbelievable week of preparation. We gotta make sure that our our players are approaching it the right way. I gotta make sure that the staff is approaching in the right way to put ourselves in the best position to be successful on Saturday. And it's gonna be a challenge.

"But this is why you come to a place like Penn State -- to play in these types of games."

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