COLUMBUS – Penn State head coach James Franklin met with the media following the Nittany Lions’ 38-25 loss to Ohio State.
Here’s a summary of what was said.
James Franklin
+ Sean [Clifford] was getting hit way too much and had people in his face way too often. But for the amount of times he hit and was pressured his toughness was on display.
+ His team wasn’t able to run the ball early on.
+ They weren’t able to get Ohio State off schedule. “With a quarterback like that and their offensive personnel, not getting them off schedule was challenging.”
+ They have a lot to clean up and correct.
+ They didn’t win the battles at the line of scrimmage tonight, both offensively and defensively.
+ Early on the defense was doing good and the offense struggled to get the ball out and in second half that flipped. Not having a running game with a defensive line like that makes it challenging to throw and it makes it too challenging on the offensive line and the quarterback. They were never able to play complimentary football.
+ It was good to see Jahan Dotson stepping up. They need to build on that.
+ The end of the first half was strange, he wasn’t going to argue how they officiated it at the end because it benefited them and they got points out of it, but it was definitely strange.
+ The opening play was a big play but that happens and you have to be mentally tough and bounce back from it. It got them on their heels and they were never able to get Ohio State off schedule.
+ On Ohio State, Franklin said “That’s a talented team, there’s no doubt about it.” It’s not just Justin Fields who is talented, it’s everyone around him. All of the things that they knew and respected about Ohio State coming into the game.
+ Penn State wasn’t able to make any big plays and capitalize.
[Photo is from 2019 game]
