Penn State coach James Franklin takes the stage at Big Ten media days at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Thursday. The annual event was held in person after being canceled last year because of the pandemic.
                                 Doug McSchooler | AP photo

Penn State coach James Franklin takes the stage at Big Ten media days at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Thursday. The annual event was held in person after being canceled last year because of the pandemic.

Doug McSchooler | AP photo

Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.
Click here to subscribe today or Login.

Penn State’s countdown clock has been back up and running for awhile now, ticking away toward the Sept. 4 season opener. Nothing new there.

But when that first opponent happens to be Wisconsin, a potential preseason top 10 team, the sight of the clock hits a little differently.

“We have had a countdown clock going on in our facility like we do every single year,” Nittany Lions coach James Franklin said Thursday at Big Ten media days. “But I must admit, having Wisconsin’s logo up there, I think has really kind of raised the standard for our guys. And they understand we better be ready to go, come the first kick of the first game of the season against a tremendous opponent.”

It doesn’t help either that the game is in Madison at intimidating Camp Randall Stadium, which has the green light from state officials to host a full capacity crowd.

According to the very early betting lines for the 2021 season, Penn State is favored in 10 of 12 games. But the Badgers opened as a five-point favorite in some spots against the Lions, who also will be underdogs for their trip to Ohio State.

Perhaps the stakes for the Wisconsin game wouldn’t seem so dramatic if Penn State hadn’t hit a doom spiral a year ago after opening the schedule with a gut-punch overtime loss at Indiana. That ultimately morphed into the worst start in program in history at 0-5, the first time in college football history that a team opened a season ranked in the top 10 and lost its first five games.

This year’s schedule has reigning MAC champion Ball State and a new-look Auburn squad coming to Happy Valley immediately after the trip to Madison.

For the Lions, they can’t afford to think about the prospect of another rough start.

Wide receiver Jahan Dotson — whose star shined the brightest for Penn State last year, even during the 0-5 freefall — said he relishes the chance to face the Badgers right away.

“I love it. You can see what your team is made of early,” Dotson said during Big Ten Network’s coverage of media days from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. “There’s no better feeling than Week 1 going against a team like Wisconsin.

“We know we have to come to work. We know that coming in it’s a big challenge. A big opportunity to grow as a team and show what we’re made of.”

PSU above 70% vaccinated

Franklin is one of the strongest advocates for getting vaccinated against COVID-19. He said Thursday that he finally got to return to normal life reunited with his family last month after essentially 14 months apart in order to protect his youngest daughter, Addison, who has sickle cell disease and is at higher risk for the coronavirus.

He told reporters in Indianapolis that the team is now “above 70%” vaccinated.

But…

“I’m not gonna be happy until it’s 100 percent, staff and players,” Franklin said. ” … I do understand there’s going to be a small number of people who don’t get (a vaccine).”

That doesn’t mean he’s going to stop pushing for as many people as possible to get the shots.

“It’s been something that we take very serious in our home, but also in our community,” Franklin said. “And what I challenge people is, whether you completely agree with it or not, you’re making a sacrifice for others that maybe don’t have that choice. So we will take it very serious at Penn State, and I know the conference will as well.”

The three players that accompanied Franklin to Indianapolis — Dotson, Tariq Castro-Fields and PJ Mustipher — said they were all vaccinated, with Mustipher telling reporters he has encouraged all teammates to get the vaccine as well.

Preseason picks

The Big Ten itself doesn’t hold an official preseason poll with awards like other leagues, choosing to name just five standout “Players to watch” from each division.

Dotson made the cut in the East, joining Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and the Ohio State trio of tackle Thayer Munford and wideouts Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson.

Honorees in the West were Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum, Minnesota running back Mohame Ibrahim, Northwestern safety Brandon Joseph, Purude receiver David Bell and Wisconsin linebacker Jack Sanborn.

As usual, Cleveland.com stepped in to poll media members in Big Ten states for a projected finish in each division.

Unsurprisingly, Ohio State dominated the East, receiving all 34 possible first-place votes for 238 points.

But conference media members have pegged Penn State’s 4-5 finish last year as an aberration, as they picked the Lions to finish second in the division ahead of Indiana, Michigan, Maryland, Rutgers and Michigan State, in that order.

Penn State picked up 23 second-place votes compared to Indiana’s 11.

Wisconsin was installed as a heavy favorite in the West, picking up 29 first-place votes. Iowa received the other five and came in second in the poll.

After that, all but one of the voters picked the Buckeyes to win the Big Ten championship game, with the lone dissenter choosing the Badgers.

The panel included at least one beat writer from all 14 teams in the conference as well as a handful of national and league-wide reporters.

Ohio State has been selected as the preseason favorite in Cleveland.com’s poll in six of the last eight seasons. The Buckeyes have won four straight Big Ten crowns since Penn State pulled off the feat in 2016.

White-Outs set

With two marquee home games this fall — Sept. 18 against Auburn and Nov. 13 against Michigan — there was a question as to which contest would get the full White Out treatment.

The answer, technically, is Auburn. But in effect it could be both.

Penn State announced its gameday themes for each of its seven home dates on Wednesday, with the long-anticipated night game vs. the Tigers getting the official White Out designation.

The Michigan game, which doesn’t have a kickoff time yet, was labeled a “student section” White Out. But hey, the university won’t be stopping everyone from showing up in white.

Penn State is also bringing back the “Stripe Out” for the Oct. 2 game against Indiana in which alternating sections of Beaver Stadium wear all blue and all white, an effect that has popped in the past and seemed to be well-received.

The Lions will be back in their alternate “Generations of Greatness” kits for the Homecoming games against Illinois on Oct. 23. The Nov. 20 finale vs. Rutgers will serve as the annual Military Appreciation game on top of senior day festivities.

The home opener on Sept. 11 against Ball State is being called the “107k Family Reunion” to mark the return of full capacity to the stadium after a 2020 season that was played without fans who weren’t family members of players or staff.

Penn State’s annual Thon fundraiser to support children with cancer will be front and center for the Sept. 25 game against Villanova.