James Franklin praises Minnesota effort, looks ahead: Notebook

Penn State head coach James Franklin returned to the Beaver Stadium podium on Tuesday afternoon. Coming off a 45-17 win over Minnesota in the White Out, the Nittany Lions have turned the page toward another Top 5 showdown.

This time, that will come in the form of No. 2 Ohio State visiting Beaver Stadium on Saturday (noon, FOX). 

What will it take for Penn State to come out on top against the Buckeyes? 

Franklin discussed this weekend’s matchup, Penn State’s trajectory since its loss at Michigan, his starting quarterback, and more.

And, for dessert, his thoughts on Jim Harbaugh’s comments on Monday. 

Here is a look at some of the news, notes, and observations to emerge from Franklin’s weekly press conference:

James Franklin press conference news and notes

1) The dramatic pauses

Two moments at the beginning and near the end of the press conference spoke volumes for Franklin. And, in both, they were about what he didn’t say.

On the front end, Franklin went through the team’s players of the week, beginning with offense. In this case, it was Sean Clifford, the embattled quarterback coming off a four-touchdown performance against Minnesota.

Making the announcement, Franklin followed with the conference recognition the sixth-year quarterback had earned.

“Players of the game on offense, we had quarterback Sean Clifford,” Franklin said. “Clifford was also the Big Ten offensive Player of the Week.”

Then, he stopped. Dramatic effect intended to draw attention to the performance, which came in the ensuing hours after Clifford had been booed during pregame warmups at Beaver Stadium, Franklin left it at that. 

On the other end of the press conference, Franklin was asked if he had heard the comment, or heard about the comment, made by Jim Harbaugh on Monday. And, more importantly, if he’d had any reaction to it. 

The exchange went like this:

Q. I know I have tunnel vision, but did you see the comment or hear about the comment that Harbaugh made yesterday about you and do you have any reaction to it?

JAMES FRANKLIN: No, I don’t. No. Ohio State.

Q. I wanted to go back to what Mark asked you about —

JAMES FRANKLIN: Just so you know, I was saying no, I don’t have a comment.

Spicy.

2) The bounce back

Franklin made a point, once prompted and once not, to bring up how he felt the program had bounced back from the loss at Michigan. A notable setback, not just for this year, or for the way the game unfolded, that Penn State was able to put it away to produce a fairly dominant win against Minnesota was significant.

“I just was pleased with the entire organization and how we responded, players, staff, coaches,” Franklin said, highlighting P.J. Mustipher’s leadership. 

Saying Penn State had played fast and aggressive, unlike the performance against the Wolverines, Franklin added that the program was determined to use the effort as a springboard into this weekend’s matchup with Ohio State.

“We are playing a really good opponent at home. We did some really good things to build on last week that we should have confidence from, and momentum from, and we need to build on it,” Franklin said. “And we need to get better today in practice. We need to get better all week in terms of our preparation and how we practice and how we coach and the same thing with the game on Saturday. We are going to have to play better this Saturday than we did this past week. 

“There’s a ton of stuff to build on from last week. There’s a bunch of stuff watching that tape to be excited about and to show the team and we’ve got to build on it.”

3) Scouting Ohio State

Franklin was asked about his confidence going into the matchup, given that Ohio State’s electric passing game happens to align with Penn State’s secondary. 

Calling the unit “a strength” of the defense, with confidence to go with it, Franklin warned against the reality of what the Buckeyes can do offensively. 

“I also know that these guys are talented enough up front, and at tight end, and at running back, that if you put too much of an emphasis on that, they can beat you the other way, too, by running the ball,” Franklin said. “They do a good job of being balanced. 

“I think at the end of the day, their trigger-man is what makes them go. He’s the one that distributes the ball to all those different play-makers and does a really good job doing it. He throws on the run as well as he throws from the pocket, which is somewhat unusual. Again, he’s leading the Heisman race for a reason. A talented guy that we have a ton of respect for.”

Odds and ends

– Penn State might have to burn the redshirt of Vega Ioane, which had not anticipated doing. This suggests strongly that whatever has been keeping Landon Tengwall out, and kept Sal Wormley out for most of the game Saturday, is of concern.

– Penn State’s offense was the version James Franklin wants to be against Minnesota.  

“I thought one of the things that we did best on Saturday was just mixing, mixing tempo, mixing cadence, mixing scheme, whether it’s moving the pocket, whether it’s run, whether it’s play-action pass, whether it’s misdirection, you know, whether it’s trick plays,” Franklin said. “I thought we had a really good mix of keeping them kind of off balance and uncomfortable.”