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Penn State football players, from left, Koa Farmer, Chris Godwin, Garrett Sickels and Brian Gaia are introduced during a welcome ceremony Tuesday in Anaheim, Calif. Coach James Franklin is at front left. Penn State plays Southern California in the Rose Bowl on Monday.
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James Franklin on the Rose Bowl: 'It's a beautiful setting'

Paul Rodriguez/The Orange County Register

James Franklin on the Rose Bowl: 'It's a beautiful setting'

LOS ANGELES — James Franklin came close to coaching in the Rose Bowl 19 years ago, he was just a few weeks too late.

Franklin got his first Football Bowl Subdivision coaching gig as a tight ends coach at Washington State in 1998, starting the month after the Cougars played in “The Granddaddy of Them All.”

“I drove my 1988 Honda Accord with 160,000 miles from Philadelphia to Pullman, Washington,” Franklin said at Rose Bowl media day Friday. “I showed up a month after the Rose Bowl. So up to this point that was the closest I got.”

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That will change Monday, when Franklin leads his Nittany Lions against USC in the latest edition of the classic Big Ten/Pac-12 showdown.

Penn State running back Saquon Barkley tries to fend off Wisconsin's Derrick Tindal in the Big Ten Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Dec. 3. The Nittany Lions haven't played since and are trying to get the rust off before the Rose Bowl Monday.
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“I got a couple coaches in my staff that have been involved in this game in the past,” Franklin said. “We're excited about the opportunity. We had dinner at the stadium last night. It's a beautiful setting.”

And while Franklin is excited about the opportunity ahead of him and his team, he doesn’t anticipate the pressure of trying to win the school’s first Rose Bowl title since 1994 will cause him to lose much sleep in his hotel room Sunday night.

“If you're a nervous wreck the night before the game, you didn't plan, or you weren't organized to get ready,” Franklin said. “By that point, if you're nervous, then that's your problem. So I sleep very well the night before games. Game days I'm pretty relaxed as well. Because, once again, I know we've done everything in our power to be prepared and ready for the game.”

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Sam Werner: swerner@post-gazette.com and Twitter @SWernerPG

First Published: December 30, 2016, 7:37 p.m.

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Penn State football players, from left, Koa Farmer, Chris Godwin, Garrett Sickels and Brian Gaia are introduced during a welcome ceremony Tuesday in Anaheim, Calif. Coach James Franklin is at front left. Penn State plays Southern California in the Rose Bowl on Monday.  (Paul Rodriguez/The Orange County Register)
Paul Rodriguez/The Orange County Register
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