James Franklin addresses how hard it is to prepare for a QB like CJ Stroud

The Penn State Nittany Lions face one of the most talented quarterbacks in the country on Saturday in Ohio State Buckeyes star CJ Stroud. James Franklin discussed the difficulty that his team has this week as they attempt to replicate Stroud’s game through the scout team.

“I don’t think you really can (replicate him),” Franklin said on Tuesday. “We do that, when we build the scout teams, you’re literally saying, ‘this guy should play him and this guy should play him.’ There are not too many people in the country that have a quarterback like that, let alone a quarterback like that on the scout team. That’s hard to pull off.

“Trying to replicate it as much as you possibly can in practice and then getting the good-on-good work every single day so they are getting the speed of it, that’s helpful too, but there’s no way to replicate it week-in and week-out.”

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Stroud is the leading candidate for the 2022 Heisman Trophy and his 28 passing touchdowns lead the nation. The third-year QB has a 70% completion rate this season and he’s taken just five sacks. He hasn’t lost a game for the Buckeyes yet this season, though he has thrown an interception in each of the last four games.

The stakes on Saturday are incredibly high for both units. A win would put the Nittany Lions firmly back into the College Football Playoff discussion. According to the ESPN matchup predictor, they have a 20.4% chance of knocking off the No. 2 team in the nation.

Franklin on preparing for Ohio State, Big Ten opponents

The Nittany Lions know they’ll be in for a vastly different challenge than a week ago. They knocked off a run-heavy Minnesota Golden Gophers squad 45-17 in Week 8.

Minnesota ranked 15th in the country in rushing offense but just 98th in passing offense. Ohio State has the nation’s most efficient passing offense, replete with weapons all over the field at wideout.

That’s part of life in the Big Ten, Franklin explained on Tuesday. You have to be ready to drastically alter the game plan each week.

“I think that’s one of the things that maybe frustrates people. And I’m not talking specific to Penn State. I’m saying in general, there are certain weeks where you feel like you match up better. Whether it’s scheme or, there’s certain weeks, whether it’s personnel, better than other weeks,” Franklin said. “There’s no doubt about that. You may have an injury at a position or two and that position is where their strength is — there’s a lot of things that factor into it.”