Read what Penn State coach James Franklin said following Lions' win over Central Michigan

Penn State improved to 4-0 on the season Saturday, defeating Central Michigan, 33-14. Following the game, head coach James Franklin made it clear that while he’s happy with the win, there’s plenty to clean up following a win that was closer than many expected.

Nittany Lion fans, read his complete postgame press conference below.

James Franklin’s Opening Statement

Like always, I want to thank you guys for coming out and covering Penn State Football. I thought we had another great crowd, which is awesome for our community and for our athletic department and really for the entire state. So we appreciate the type of support that we get.

We don’t take it for granted, having 106,000 fans in there, having another whatever the number is out there tailgating, we appreciate that and don’t take it for granted. You know it’s interesting looking at our stat sheet that we use in terms of the critical areas. I wouldn’t necessarily say it felt like this, but we won all of them. Drive start we won, turnover battle, that’s been huge for us so far this season. Four to zero. Again, a penalty battle.

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I wouldn’t have thought we won that, but we won that as well. And then the explosive play battle, I wouldn’t necessarily felt like it felt that way during the game but we won that we both our offense and our defense met our goal. You know, same thing with middle eight. Didn’t necessarily feel like we won the middle eight because we had a chance to score at the end of the half and didn’t, but we won that too.

So, obviously, a lot to be proud of and a big reason why we’re 1-0 today. But there’s things that we have to get cleaned up and corrected. Overall, we’re happy to be 1-0, we’ll enjoy it for the night. We need to get better next week, starting on Sunday. This film will be really important to watch and evaluate and critique, but again, I’m pleased and happy to be 1-0 and well go from there. 

Q: How would you describe the performance by the offense? Do you think it was a step forward or a step back, or the same? 

Franklin: I thought they did a good job. They played very aggressive, cover zero a ton. What happens in cover zero, you obviously have no safeties. When you do that, and it’s a passive situation, you’re always going to have a free blitz or you’re bringing more than the offense can block. And, you’re going to have two extra guys down in the box, and they played that a ton today. We have to be able to hurt people when they line up in that defense.

Although we were effective, we didn’t hurt people. When people play cover zero, you should be excited on offense and you should create huge, explosive plays because if you break one tackle or make one guy miss, there’s no one left. We didn’t do that today, and that made it harder than it needed to be in the run game and the pass game. I give them credit, because a lot of people will play cover zero as a changeup and if they have success, they’ll do it again. Most people won’t play as much as they played it today. So, you have to give them credit. 

Q: I never thought I’d see the day, but just in the last couple of years a lot of coaches have begun playing pre prescribed series’ with their young, prodigious quarterbacks. You obviously do not necessarily agree with that. What was your thinking today? 

Franklin: Our thinking today was just like it had been earlier in the season, the same plan that we had against Ohio University, which was to try and get them a series in the second quarter, try to get them a series in the third quarter. That did not happen in the second quarter, just like it didn’t happen in the Ohio University game. But we have played our true freshman backup quarterback [Allar] in all four games that we’ve played this year. And that’s, to me, somewhat unusual based on the schedule we have played, opening the conference game on the road and going to the SEC. That is a part of our plan, and we’ve done it in all four games. 

Q: Can you address the impact Barney (Amor) had on this game and, on the flip side, do you still feel you have a lot of things to figure out with that place kicking unit? I know one of them was a fifty-yarder, but having an extra point blocked and then missing a relatively manageable one. 

Franklin: So, kickoff is not where I want it to be. We’re very inconsistent. One time we’ll kick it eighty yards deep in the corner, and the next time were leaving it at the five-yard line in the middle of the field. So that is not where it needs to be whatsoever. We ran the same protection the last couple of years, and we’ve had no issues with it. We’ve made some personnel changes, which I thought got better, but then today it reared its ugly head again and then missed the field goal and the extra point. One was blocked and one was missed. Not where we need it to be at all. 

Related: Assessing the Penn State offense, and big days for Kaytron Allen and Brenton Strange, in Lions’ latest win

Q: Where do you feel like some areas of growth are at this point? Where are some areas of strength that you are excited about or are further along than you thought it would be? 

Franklin: Defensively we must be better on third and long. We have done a good job of getting people into third and long situations, but we are letting them out of it or giving up too many yards to create manageable fourth down situations. That is an area that we clearly have to get better on. Special teams is what we just talked about. Offensively I have not seen the numbers yet for today, but we must be able to be more efficient and effective on third down. That has to be a strength for us. And then we have to be able to consistently run the ball. That is through scheme.

That is through development. That is through all of it. We are going to need to do that and when we have been at our best so far this season, we have been able to do both. We have been able to throw the ball and run the ball effectively. So, we will continue to emphasize it, continue to coach it and continue to develop it. I am saying all this, and we had a running back rush for 100 yards. We have multiple guys that have the ability to do that, and we have guys that can make big plays. There will be a bunch off of this tape that we will feel good about and there will be a decent amount that we need the correct.

Q: What kind of step did Kaytron Allen take today with his involvement? 

Franklin: That is who he is and who he has been. You guys are starting to see it now. I mean that in terms of we have seen it in the spring and seen it in the summer. A lot more than you have had the opportunity to see. I do not think there is anybody in that locker room that is surprised with Kaytron ‘s success. I do think they are good complementary pieces. We have two young backs that do good things to build on. He has good vision. He has good contact balance, and he has a good understanding of how to set blocks. When you are able to do that, and you have the toughness that he has as well then, he can consistently get eight to 12 yards which obviously is what we need.

Key Takeaways: Penn State showcase areas for growth in latest win

Q: How do you think the team responded throughout the week (to a significant victory emotionally the week before)? And then today in terms of focus, the 1-0 mentality and making sure they bring it for every opponent?

Franklin: I think most importantly, we are 1-0. I did not see some of the things that you talked about today. We had a good week of practice and preparation, but the game left you sitting there. Whether it was our focus, whether it was seeing, whether it was big play potential. When you look again at the statistics sheet, you feel good about it, but it did not necessarily always feel that way during the game. We were not as consistent as we need to be with some of the things that we are doing in all three phases, offense, defense and special teams. I thought we had a good week of practice. We did enough to be 1-0 this week and we will celebrate that. But to your point, there is a lot that we still must get corrected between now and next Saturday.

Q: Sean Clifford started and ended the game well but struggled in the middle. How would evaluate his play today? 

Franklin: I think for us on offense, we have to be able to run and pass effectively. When we get out of whack and do one too much compared to the other, that is where we are not at our best. We have to continue to mix in the run. Our screen game has been effective for us as well as movement in the pockets. We need to continue doing all those things, but it is not specific to one position or one guy, it is all of it. We must make sure that we can consistently run the ball against whoever we play, whether it is on the road in the SEC, or whether it is home non-conference. We have to find a way to consistently be able to run the ball to stay on schedule, be as efficient as we can and explosive as an offense.