Rigor Mortis: Unpacking Penn State Football's 2024

Now that the dust has settled.

There is value in instant reactions. There’s also value in waiting.

I have always been interested in the idea of what we really remember about any given season with the benefit of time. Fans might be emotional in the moment, but what sticks with you 10 years from now?

I’m not going to wait 10 years, but I did wait a few months, and here are the things that stuck with me following Penn State’s 2024-25 season at the start of spring practice for 2025-26.

Pot Hole Maneuvering:

One of the unsung storylines of Penn State’s season was how many times it could have all gone sideways. Opening at West Virginia wasn’t easy on paper, Bowling Green was feisty, Illinois was a plodding reflection of its oversized coach, USC was overtime across the country, Wisconsin was a challenge, Minnesota was Minnesota at home. The whole schedule was full of these quirky pain-in-the-ass games that Penn State won. All of them.

I know Penn State has long gotten to the point where “beat a lesser team” is no longer anything but assumed, but James Franklin and company have pretty well mastered the art of not running head first into the first available wall. This season was an exploration into that as much as any. You could argue this was Franklin’s best coached season at Penn State for this reason alone.