Maryland coach Mike Locksley talks Penn State; Lions get first CFP ranking: Newsstand
Penn State news, notes, and updates for Nov. 1 include Maryland coach Mike Locksley on the Nittany Lions, plus new CFP rankings and more.
It’s time to dive into Wednesday’s top tweets and headlines about the Nittany Lions and college athletics.
Penn State tweets of the day
We start with a view from the other side. Locksley met with reporters on Tuesday to discuss the Terrapins and preview Saturday’s meeting with the Lions.
“We got Penn State coming into The Shell this week, a team that has all of our attention,” Locksley said. “I look at this week as a great opportunity for us here at home. Very familiar with their program. They’re very familiar with us. Their defense is one of those top-tier defenses. They play a lot of man coverage, which we have to be able to defeat. Their front seven is one of the best we will face. If you look at them on offense, it starts with the run game. Our goal will be to take the run away from them on the defensive side of the ball.
“They’re a fast defense. When you look at the six sacks at the Northwestern game, I’d say we gave up three, and three of them were scrambles where we have to throw the ball away. It’s going to be important that we’re really sound on our assignments. We’re going to have a bunch of one-on-one battles where we have to compete.”
In other news, the first College Football Playoff rankings are out. Penn State slots in at No. 11. It was No. 9 in this week’s USA Today Coaches Poll and Associated Press top-25.
Headlines of the day
James Franklin coaching against familiar face in former Penn State assistant, Maryland OC Josh Gattis: McGonigal, PennLive
James Franklin, Penn State value close-call lessons: Press conference recap: Bauer, BWI
Penn State Injury Updates Ahead of Maryland Game: Wogenrich, SI
An early look at Penn State’s in-state priorities in 2025: Fitz, BWI
James Franklin searching for corrections before Maryland tilt: Allen, Daily Collegian
Penn State coach James Franklin has no update on injured receiver Harrison “Trey” Wallace III: Pickel, BWI
With Trey Wallace Return Uncertain, Nittany Lions Could Look to Tight Ends for More in Passing Game: Jones, Statecollege.com
Quote of the day
“I think for the most part, I feel good. Obviously we’ll dig into all these things after the season. I’m not in the business of mid-season or three quarters of the season getting into evaluations of the staff. I don’t think that’s appropriate. I don’t think that’s the right thing when we’re focused on Maryland this week. Again, when you take all the things into consideration, there are some metrics that we feel really good about and that you guys say nice things about, and there are some metrics that aren’t, that we have to continue to work on.
“When I talk about metrics, it’s always metrics based on how they lead to winning. It’s all about winning. To be clear, it’s not like it’s just the wins and the metrics don’t matter. It’s a combination of the both together. Just to be totally clear.”
–PSU coach James Franklin in response to a question about offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich’s work so far in 2023.
