The 2025-26 college football season will kick off this Saturday with a ranked matchup in Dublin, Ireland between Kansas State, ranked 20th in the US LBM Coaches Poll, and Iowa State, ranked 21st. It will be the 10th FBS game played in Ireland since 1988.
Let's go back to 2014, when Penn State and UCF met in Croke Park in Dublin to open up the season. The game, called the Croke Park Classic, lived up to its name with a tight 26-24 final that saw Penn State's Sam Ficken kick the game-winning 36-yard field goal.
Beyond being the Nittany Lions' only international game in program history, it was also the first for new head coach James Franklin. Franklin, who had built Vanderbilt into a competitive program from 2011-2013, was hoping to bring Penn State back to the top of college football.
Franklin's journey started on Aug. 30 against the Knights, who were coming off a 12-1 season that included a 37-34 win over the Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. Franklin inherited former five-star quarterback Christian Hackenberg, and he was the difference-maker in the 2014 game.
The sophomore gunslinger racked up 454 yards passing -- still a single-game program record -- with one touchdown and two interceptions. Wide receivers Geno Lewis had eight receptions for 173 yards, while DaeSean Hamilton had 11 receptions for 165 yards.
The Nittany Lions were in control throughout the game, with a 79-yard touchdown pass to Lewis giving them a 20-10 lead heading into the fourth quarter. UCF backup quarterback Justin Holman led the Knights back, however, with a passing and rushing touchdown to take a 24-23 lead with 1:13 to go.
From there, Hackenberg pulled off a game-winning march with first-down throws to Lewis and running back Bill Belton. He set up Ficken for a chip-shot field goal -- his fourth of the game -- and he hit it to give Penn State its first win in the James Franklin era.
The Nittany Lions would roll to a 4-0 start, but ran into trouble in Big Ten play and finished 6-6. They'd end the year with a win in the Pinstripe Bowl against Boston College, their first bowl win since the 2009 season. Fast-forward to 2025, and Franklin has certainly succeeded in turning the program around. The Nittany Lions, ranked third in the coaches poll and second in the AP poll, have national championship aspirations in Franklin's 12th season at the helm. Penn State's rise under Franklin all started on a Saturday in Dublin.