James Franklin: Penn State down to 41 scholarship players

James Franklin outlined some of the challenges at Penn State in his first season to the Jim Rome Show.

James Franklin went 6-6 his first season at Penn State. (USATSI)

Penn State will take on Boston College on Saturday in its first bowl since the Jerry Sandusky scandal and accompanying NCAA sanctions. Nittany Lions coach James Franklin told the Jim Rome Show on Monday exactly how big a toll those sanctions have taken on the team in 2014.

"What they've persevered [through] is unbelievable," Franklin said of the Nittany Lions veterans. "We ended the season playing with 41 scholarship players.

"We started the season with 65, and then you take the redshirt guys out and the guys who got injured, it was some real challenges."

The NCAA-mandated scholarship limit for FBS football is 85 players, but the unprecedented sanctions handed down by Mark Emmert in the wake of the Sandusky scandal reduced that number to 65 for Penn State. The NCAA did elect to reduce the Nittany Lions' bowl ban and restore scholarships for the 2015 season.

Penn State plays Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 27, at 4:30 p.m. ET.