Penn State head coach James Franklin Preview Boise State and the Fiesta Bowl
The Penn State Nittany Lions football team is on to the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Eve against Boise State. The Broncos earned a first-round bye in the playoff as the Group of Five seed and the fourth-highest-ranked conference champion. Head coach James Franklin and his team face superstar running back Ashton Jeanty next Tuesday, and he discussed that matchup at his weekly press conference before the game. You can hear Franklin’s comments on the Blue White Illustrated YouTube Channel or embedded in the article below.
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Penn State preparing for a different challenge
After facing a passing attack that wanted to play fast and throw the ball in SMU, Franklin and his Penn State team know they’re in for a different challenge this week with Jeanty. Franklin says that starting quarterback Maddux Madsen’s athleticism adds an additoinal wrinkle to the problem.
“The quarterback is athletic as well. You know, he reminds me a little bit of the quarterback that we faced from West Virginia,” he said.
“They’re a problem and you know, but I think it starts and ends with the running back, and I think they do a really good job of not only getting him the ball in the run game, but also in the pass game, but then also using him in play action pass to create some opportunities to get some explosive plays down the field in the passing game. So it’ll be, it’ll be a definite challenge for us, but they’re kind of a two headed monster, both athletic guys.”
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Franklin emphasized several times the importance of getting Jeanty on the ground. Jeanty has broken 135 tackles this year, which is the most by nearly 50 among college football running backs. The Penn State defense will have to be sure to rally to the football.
“I think I saw or read it somewhere, like 1300 yards of his rushing yards are after contact, which is like a ridiculous stat. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that before, but his ability to make people miss, break tackles, finish runs, you know, is really impressive.”
Holiday plans and practice schedule
Franklin also discussed Penn State’s holiday plans for the week of Christmas.
“So for us, we always take whenever the game is and count back seven days, and that’s our normal game week. And we try to stick to that routine as much as we possibly can. It’s been good to us, and our players and coaches believe in it. So after that, we’re kind of back to things as normal, except obviously, we don’t have school and those things,” he said.
That means Penn State will be practicing during the afternoon of Christmas. We’ll provide updates about the rest of the team’s schedule, including open practice, once they’re released.
