Three-Point Stance: Penn State springboard, ND issues, the struggle bus

Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell’s thought-provoking Three-Point Stance is here with some thoughts on James Franklin, Brian Kelly and surprise teams on the struggle bus.

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Want to shut up the critics who don't think you’re the right man for the job? Want to get your name off any hot seats out there? Finally, do you want to take recruiting up a notch? Then all you need to do is what James Franklin did on Saturday night and notch a signature win over the No. 2 team in the country.

It wasn’t pretty and it definitely wasn’t easy, but Penn State’s 24-21 win over Ohio State in front of 107,000-plus was exactly what was needed in Happy Valley. Recruits that attended the game are raving about the atmosphere, the critics have been silenced for now and anyone wanting to use hot seat talk against Franklin on the recruiting trail will have to spin a tale of fiction.

People ask me all the time: Can one win make a difference in recruiting? Generally my answer is no as I’ve seen kids commit to programs coming off horrendous losses and spurn other programs who have just had a signature win. But, in this case, my answer is yes. There is still plenty of work to be done at Penn State when it comes to adding talent and depth to the roster overall, but that help will start coming with more regularity as Franklin and his staff can point to this win.

I mentioned earlier this year how important it was for Penn State to beat back Maryland as the Terps try to open doors in Pennsylvania while at the same time protecting their borders from the Nittany Lions. But I never expected to be writing about Penn State opening recruiting doors and helping to keep its borders more secure with a win over the Buckeyes. No, Penn State won’t be marching into Ohio and landing the studs after one win, but the Nittany Lions sure have a better shot at keeping the Buckeyes and others out of Pennsylvania for the time being with this massive win.

Recruiting is often about perception and nowhere was that more evident this past week than with the decommitment of Pennsylvania defensive tackle Donovan Jeter.

The four-star from Beaver Falls, decommitted from Notre Dame early last week following yet another Irish loss that dropped Brian Kelly and company to 2-5 overall on the season. Five days later, and following an official visit to Michigan, Jeter is now a Wolverine. Not so crazy, right? Kids flip all the time, especially from a team struggling through a losing year to an undefeated program jockeying for national title position. But it was what Jeter said afterward that had many raising eyebrows.

The talented defensive tackle told Mike White at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Jim Harbaugh “might be the coolest dude I ever met in my life.” He went on to say, “(Harbaugh) doesn’t act like he’s important. … He’s real down to earth and humble. He’s easy to talk to. Talking to Brian Kelly wasn’t fun. It wasn’t cool. You have to make an appointment just to go to his office. Coach Harbaugh has an open-door policy.”

I’ve been critical of some of Harbaugh’s recruiting antics -- e.g. sleepovers -- but one thing is unquestioned: He gets how to connect with the recruits of today. And, based on what Jeter said, Kelly isn’t connecting in the same way. Jeter since tweeted this apology for his comments:

But was that apology sincere or just something to stop the backlash generated by his comments?

Either way, the 2016 season has been a nightmare for Notre Dame on the field and this is just added fuel to the fire for Kelly to deal with in recruiting.

The term New Year’s Six was coined when the college football playoff started in 2014 and it’s amazing how quickly some teams have fallen on hard times since. Teams like Ole Miss, TCU, Arizona, Georgia Tech, Mississippi State, Michigan State and Oregon have all taken big falls since joining Alabama, Ohio State, Florida State, Baylor and Boise State as the first 12 to participate.

Here’s why each of the first seven have struggled this year:

Ole Miss (3-4) – The Rebels, who got hammered that first year 42-3 by TCU, have been dubbed as the best two-loss team in the country and then the best three-loss team in the country after losses to Florida State, Alabama and Arkansas. After a double-digit loss to LSU, it’s clear that the Ole Miss defense can’t help out the team's potent passing attack.

TCU (4-3) – The Horned Frogs, as mentioned, took their anger at being snubbed for the playoffs out on Ole Miss a few years ago but now they have a losing record in a weak Big 12 and are coming off a blowout loss to West Virginia. The defense has been awful, but it’s the lack of explosion on offense, something they relied on when winning big, that has really let them down.

Arizona (2-5) – The Wildcats lost to Boise State that first year and haven’t sniffed going back since. In fact, they seem to be getting worse with each outing. The open date this past weekend was the only time the defense hasn’t imploded in a month and the quarterback play has been bad.

Georgia Tech (4-3) – Georgia Tech beat Mississippi State that year and is the only team with a winning record on this list. But the Jackets are still just 1-3 in their division and haven’t beaten a good team yet. The triple-option is getting stale and this is a team that can’t come from behind when the defense gives up more than 20 points.

Mississippi State (2-5) – Dak Prescott happened to the Bulldogs. He graduated. Not much more can be said about that.

Michigan State (2-5) – You could say that Ohio State and Michigan happened to the Spartans, who beat Baylor 42-41 that year, but they haven’t played either team yet. This comes down to the Spartans having to deal with a young roster. I keep thinking it will get better, but it hasn’t.

Oregon (2-5) – Oregon went to the title game and lost to Ohio State in that first year and now the Ducks are winless in the Pac-12. You could say they lost Marcus Mariota the same way Mississippi State lost Prescott, but this was a program that has been good for nearly a decade. Recruiting slipped when Chip Kelly left and it has hurt everything, especially an awful defense that used to play with speed and aggression.