Every Tuesday the Big Ten holds its weekly coaches teleconference, and this week Penn State’s James Franklin and Ohio State’s Urban Meyer took their requisite eight minutes to preview their upcoming game against each other this week. Meyer went second and answered a series of questions about his team and the challenges that Penn State will present. Here are the highlights.
+ Give Penn State credit because RB Miles Sanders has stepped right in and been outstanding, but it’s the quarterback that gets everything going.
+ The Penn State offensive line is one of the better OLs that the Buckeye defensive coaches have seen.
+ The Whiteout is always a difficult environment. “We’ve had great games with Penn State over the years.”
+ PSU defense has a bunch of new starters, but they are very good and active. Schematically they are what they’ve always been. They can rush both sides and the entire defense understands their scheme very well. The new starters look like old starters.
+ The running game has to keep the offense on schedule. PSU’s defense takes great pride in getting the offense off schedule.
+ Asked about the College Football Playoff decision making process, Meyer said that question is out of right field and hasn’t thought about it because he’s busy coaching football. There are no issues keeping his players from thinking about the playoffs either.
+ Asked what he is most pleased with and what needs to improve most this weekend, Meyer said they can’t give up big plays this week. This is a big-play offense, so it will be tough. What he is most pleased with is that they have survived a couple of injuries and came back from Texas with a win.
+ Dwayne Haskins hasn’t necessarily exceeded expectations because they had high expectations. He has done a great job of managing the offense.
+ Tuf Borland is “playing good.” He is full go now and is no longer limited. “He’s tough as steel.”
+ Trace McSorley has always impressed Meyer with his competitive spirit. He’s a great player.
+ Meyer asked the defensive coaches if there have been any major changes with Penn State’s new offensive coordinators and he was told it’s very similar in terms of aggression and play calling.