Penn State's James Franklin jabs at Notre Dame ahead of CFP matchup: 'Everybody should be in a conference'

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Before his Nittany Lions take on the Fighting Irish for a spot in the national title game, Penn State head coach James Franklin was blunt about Notre Dame not playing in a conference. 

Notre Dame is one of three teams that play an independent schedule in the FBS, but the College Football Playoff expansion has led Franklin to believe every team should be in a conference. 

It didn't matter that Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman was right next to him during a joint press conference Wednesday. Franklin let his thoughts known. 

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Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin against the Boise State Broncos in the Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)

"It should be consistent across college football," Franklin explained, via ESPN. "This is no knock at [Freeman] or Notre Dame, but I think everybody should be in a conference. I think everybody should play a conference championship game, or nobody should play a conference championship game. I think everybody should play the same number of conference games."

To Franklin’s point, the Nittany Lions made the Big Ten championship game, where they lost to the Oregon Ducks, who were named the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. The Ducks fell to Ohio State, who will take on Texas for the other spot in the national title game. 

Penn State played one more game than Notre Dame, which made the CFP as an at-large team with the No. 7 seed. 

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So, with more teams entering the playoff, Franklin is calling for