james franklin: SEC analyst vows to never trust James Franklin or Brian Kelly again if 2025 prediction falls apart

As some college football fans have witnessed in the past, attaching their hopes to a James Franklin or Brian Kelly team can be risky. College football insider Cole Thompson paid no attention to that in his post-spring transfer portal CFP predictions on Friday.

The "SEC Unfiltered" host trusts LSU and Penn State enough to not only make the College Football Playoff but also manage a run that would put both teams a couple of wins away from a national title. He shared his complete CFP bracket on his X account.

"I’m ready for the comments: And I will never believe in Brian Kelly or James Franklin again if I’m wrong…. My post-spring CFB transfer portal CFB Playoff projection." Thompson wrote.

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While Thompson had had Brian Kelly's Tigers making a run to the CFP semifinals, he was more bullish about the Nittany Lions, having them reach the CFP National Championship Game only to lose to Steve Sarkisian's Texas Longhorns.

In three years at Baton Rouge, Kelly has failed to win an SEC tile or take the Tigers to the College Football Playoff. If LSU again fails to make a run at the title, the seat could get hot for the former Notre Dame head coach.

Franklin has had better results at Penn State. The Nittany Lions went 13-3 last year, losing only once in the regular season before falling against the Oregon Ducks in the Big 10 title game and against Notre Dame in the CFP semifinals.

James Franklin's Penn State ranked first by ESPN

Expectations are high for James Franklin and Penn State this year. ESPN may have added some more pressure to Franklin's squad after ranking the Nittany Lions as the top team in the nation in their way-too-early top 25, released on Thursday.

The Nittany Lions are bringing back quarterback Drew Allar with running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. Franklin was also able to land three solid receivers in Kyron Hudson, Trebor Pena and Devonte Ross.

The defense has enough pieces and will be run by former Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.

As for LSU, Brian Kelly's squad is ranked No. 6 by ESPN. The Tigers will be led by Garrett Nussmeier, considered by some draft analysts as the top quarterback prospect ahead of next year's NFL Draft. The biggest question is if the Tigers' offensive line can withstand the loss of four starters from 2024.

About the author

Allan Wolburg Robles is a College Sports journalist at Sportskeeda with over 17 years of experience in the field writing for publications including Reforma, Yahoo! OddsShark and Apuesta. Allan studied Communications at Anáhuac University, where he learned what would become the basis of a trade that was already a dream of his before starting college.

His favorite team is Army West Point as when he was young, Allan lived in West Point for a couple of years, went to pretty much every home game, a couple of Army-Navy games and even got to meet some of the players.

Allan's favorite players of all time include Tommie Frazier, who was unbelievable during the Nebraska dynasty of the early 90's. Tim Tebow was also a favorite, mainly because of his leadership skills, although he was also awesome on the football field. As a fan of defensive football, (or what's left of it), Sean Taylor could take over a game for Miami.

Allan has always considered himself a student of the game more than a fan of it. So the historical part and evolution of the game, as well as the ins and outs of what happens on the field, and being able to put it into words for the audience, are his biggest strengths.

Besides sports, Allan enjoys reading books, watching movies and spending time with his dogs.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash