A bad Penn State trend under James Franklin; Mike Yurcich should take a look in the mirror: What they're saying

The Penn State football program is being crushed by local and national media members, and its own fan base, following an embarrassing 41-17 loss to Michigan at ‘The Big House’ on Saturday. Despite coming out of a bye week with positive vibes, the Lions were overmatched in all three phases during their first loss of the season.

“You learn from it,” head coach James Franklin said. “You make the adjustments, you make the corrections, and get back to do what you got to do to be 1-0 next week. This game can’t linger. Talking about games in the future doesn’t matter. We got to find a way to be 1-0 next week. We’re going to need everybody in that locker room, everybody in Happy Valley, and in the Penn State community, to stick with us and rally around us.

“We’re 5-1. That’s what we are. Very clearly that’s where we are. We own it. We’re 5-1. That’s what we are. The losses aren’t bigger than what they are and the wins aren’t bigger than what they are.”

Here’s a sampling of what’s being said about the loss in Pa., and around the country.

Only James Franklin didn’t see this coming

We start with the words of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist Ron Cook, who took a pointed look at Franklin following the setback.

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Penn State is 2-14 under Franklin against top-10 teams. The loss Saturday was the 10th in a row against such competition. He writes:

“I’m surprised that we didn’t play well,” Franklin said.

“That makes one of us.

“Franklin has done a nice job recruiting skill players. Freshman running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen are the latest, although they had nowhere to run Saturday. Freshman Drew Allar is considered can’t-miss and is Penn State’s quarterback of the future.

“But Franklin has not been able to lure offensive linemen. They looked OK against the weak early part of the schedule, but they were overmatched by the Michigan front. Singleton and Allen combined for just 35 rushing yards on 12 carries. Quarterback Sean Clifford accounted for 74 of Penn State’s 111 rushing yards, 62 coming off a play-fake in the second quarter.“

Read the full story here.

Penn State isn’t for real

That’s the take from Cory Giger of DKPittsburghSports. Penn State was the No. 10 team in the country entering the game. It will no longer be part of the top-10 come Sunday afternoon.

“This is where the rubber meets the road for Penn State, against the opponents that really matter, such as Michigan and Ohio State,” Giger writes.

“It’s all about the trenches, and right now, the Lions are way, way behind those two powers, which are the two teams Penn State has to compare itself against in all aspects.”

Read the full story here.

A bad trend for the Lions under James Franklin

In his weekly heroes and zeroes column, James Parker of Sports Illustrated thinks that Penn State must go back to the drawing board. And, he highlighted a consistent problem for the program under James Franklin.

“Coming into this week, you could argue that PSU had the stuff to test Michigan and make a push in the Big Ten East, thanks in large part to what looked like an elite rush defense,” Parker writers. “But after watching this unit get run over by the Wolverines’ elite rushing attack – for more yards (418) than it allowed in its first four games combined – you can’t say that anymore.

“James Franklin has certainly produced a trend during his tenure at Happy Valley: fast early starts followed by second-half season collapses. This year’s schedule may be more favorable, but there’s still a date with the Buckeyes coming in two weeks. This team is getting rocked in the trenches and needs to get more physical to really make a run in this conference.”

Read the full story here.

Mike Yurcich must take a look in the mirror

That’s how PennLive’s Johnny McGonigal sees it after the Penn State offense struggled in predictable ways on Saturday in the loss. He focused on the goal line fades while also noting that Sean Clifford doesn’t deserve all of the blame for the loss.

“Nothing around him was working,” McGonigal writes. “His pass protection failed him. He didn’t have a running game. His coordinator was dialing up fades at the goal line. It was a total mess, and if Drew Allar was in, it probably would’ve been the same.

“We know what Clifford is, and perhaps that’s the root of the frustration around the sixth-year senior. He certainly deserves some of the blame. But not all of it.”

Read the full story here.

Penn State still lacks identity on offense

That was the take of Blue-White Illustrated publisher Sean Fitz, who used his first impressions piece to also take a critical look at Yurcich and the offense.

“Penn State is in the process of moving back toward more of a pro-style look with Drew Allar set to — but not quite ready to — take the reins,” Fitz writes.

“Clifford provides a different skill set than we’ll see in the future, yet the offense continues to try to be a mix of the two. Clifford was once again gritty today, using his experience to step out of several would-be sacks and busting off the Nittany Lions’ biggest run play with a 62-yard keeper that was, once again for fear of pointing out a positive, really good. But that’s where we’re at six years in. Latching on to grit and determination instead of flat-out production is a frustrating microcosm of the whole state of affairs.”

Read the full story here.