Where Penn State stands in 2023 ‘Blue Chip Ratio’; Greg McElroy blasts PSU-Michigan State going indoors, and more

Today’s Penn State football news headlines feature a look at the recruiting prowess of James Franklin and his coaching staff, plus analyst Greg McElroy’s hot take on the Nittany Lions’ road game at Michigan State, which will be played at Detroit’s Ford Field.

Bud Elliott from 247Sports released his annual “Blue Chip Ratio” report, which shows how the rosters of the nation’s top teams are built. The idea is that programs with at least half of its roster being four and five-star talent are far more likely to compete for a national title, and he listed 16 that have a shot. Penn State is on that list with 55 percent of its talent sitting in the blue-chip category, which ranks No. 13 and sits just ahead of Michigan’s 54 percent.

Alabama (90 percent) and Ohio State (85 percent) continue to sit in a league of their own in overall roster talent, while back-to-back national champion Georgia has the third-highest Blue-Chip ratio at 77 percent.

Penn State and Michigan State announced last month that the Nov. 24 regular season finale for both teams would be played on Black Friday, which McElroy said presented no issues to him. Rather, McElroy said on his “Always College Football Podcast” that he takes exception to the game moving out of the elements and indoors to Ford Field. Potential weather issues are part of Big Ten football, he said, adding that those conditions make the Big Ten “awesome.”

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