James Franklin on U-M: ‘The same thing they’ve been doing to everybody’

Michigan handled James Franklin and Penn State, 24-15, pulling away late with a stifling defensive effort minus head coach Jim Harbaugh. The Wolverines gave a bit defensively on the ground but rarely broke, improving to 10-0 on the strength of outstanding pass defense.

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Before the game, Franklin and his coaches took veiled shots at Michigan and its alleged sign stealing operation. But it was the Penn State coach who was booed on his way back to the locker room by PSU fans apparently tired of seeing his teams lose the big games. 

“First of all, you’ve got to give Michigan credit … obviously a very, very good football team,” Franklin said. “We did not play well enough in all three phases to get the win in a great environment. We had a great crowd, great environment, which I think played a factor in the first half and helped us out. 

“But after that — we’ve been really good in the third quarter all year long. Obviously, the turnover in the third quarter was a significant play in the game. 

Up to that point, we were in a heck of a game and a heck of a dog fight between two of the best defenses in college football, and two of the best teams in college football. So … give them credit. We’ve lost to the No. 1 and the No. 3 teams in the country. That’s not good enough. We’ve got to find ways to win those games.”

Michigan defensive tackle Rayshaun Benny made one of the plays of the game in forcing a fumble in the third quarter near midfield, recovered by junior safety Makari Paige. PSU quarterback Drew Allar lost the ball on what was a tough afternoon for him.

“And then on top of that, although there weren’t sacks, there were too many pressures and there were too many times where we were not creating separation,” Franklin continued. “But the second half again, when we turn the ball over and they are grinding — they had a hard time getting things going offensively, as well. They went to their heavy package. (seven offensive linemen). Turning the ball over in that type of game, it’s going to be difficult. They’re going to do a great job at eating the clock, and they did a good job of that in the second half. 

“But about their (defensive coverage) — we made a couple of throws that if the ball’s not delivered right, one ended up being a pass interference on them and one we were fortunate that it wasn’t an interception. Your ball location is critical in these types of games. We had a couple of shots called, but we were waiting for a specific look at a specific defense and weren’t able to do that, so we weren’t able to loosen them up from a coverage standpoint to help with the more consistent higher percentage throws.”

Meanwhile, he noted, Michigan turned quarterback J.J. McCarthy loose on the ground.

“I think you could see they called the game where they put J.J. (McCarthy) in position to make some plays with his feet because they were struggling to move the ball,” Franklin said. “We wanted to stay on schedule on offense. I thought we did that, but then we weren’t able to execute on third down.”

Michigan, though, eventually won it the way they have much of the year — with stifling defense. 

“It’s the same thing they’ve done against everybody all year long. That’s one of the best defenses in college football,” Franklin said. “We’ve got one of the best defenses in college football. They make it challenging up front, their front seven is able to get pressure and to get sacks.”

Not a lot Saturday, he added, but enough pressure to badger Allar and come away with a huge road win.