Read everything James Franklin said after Penn State beat Northwestern 41-13

Evanston, Ill. — Penn State coach James Franklin spoke with reporters following his team’s 41-13 win over Northwestern. He began with an opening statement.

“Want to give Northwestern a ton of credit,” Franklin said. “That win they had last week, they used that momentum and that confidence from that 21-point point comeback and really had a nice plan for us and played well early in the game. First half, obviously starting with a fumble on kickoff return, not how you want to start the game, but not only that, we put the ball on the ground three times and it just messed with our offensive flow. Defensively, I thought obviously when we were able to get them off schedule on first down they had a hard time with our pass rush. And that really showed up in the second half.

“That was my message to the team. First half is gone. Let’s play really well in the second half. And I think we ended up 31-3 in the second half. Turnover battle was a tie. We won the explosive play battle. We won the third down battle, the sack battle we won convincingly, the field position battle we won, the penalty battle we did not; obviously the unsportsmanlike penalty throwing the ball was ridiculous. It’s ridiculous. So we’ll we’ll get that cleaned up.

“But overall, very pleased with the win. Come on the road in the Big Ten and get a win again after their last game. Going into the bye week, we got some bumps and bruises in this game and in general. So this bye week will be important for us. It’s not an off week. It’s a bye week. We got to use this week to get better in the short term with our program and then the long term for recruiting.”

Here is everything else the leader of the Lions had to say.

On if he can pinpoint reasons for Penn State’s slow start

James Franklin: “Not other than what I’ve already said, 41 to 13. We won. I’m excited about that. And the things that I already mentioned: We had to fumble on the kickoff, and things I already mentioned.”

Is there a reason for not having many explosive runs again?

JF: “Yeah, I think there’s some things that we can do that we’ll work on in the bye week. But again, overall, a 41-13 a win, 1-0. Obviously there’s going to be things that we’re going to need to critique this week, and do some self scouting and some studying. We’d like to be more explosive as well. Although, I thought we did improve this week. I still think there’s an opportunity for some more big plays in both the run game and the pass game. And, that will obviously be something that we’re going to dig into deeply this week.”

On injured Lions JB Nelson and Kaytron Allen

JF: “Yeah, so JB is back in with us. And Katron, I’m not sure. I haven’t aven’t gotten the full medical report. But, obviously, kind of that leads me to talk about Trey Potts. And I think Trey Potts is a great example. Transfers in here as a senior. Didn’t get a whole lot of reps and a whole lot of burn the first couple of games and just kept a great attitude and kept working. And, when he got opportunities, he maximized them. So, it’s great to see him be able to come in and know that we feel like we got three backs that we can win with in this league. But yeah, I’ll know more, but I don’t have those details right now, as you can imagine.”

On the play of Zane Durant and the Penn State defensive line

JF: “Yeah, I think he had three tackles for loss today and a sack if I remember correctly. I’ve been a big fan Zanes really since he arrived on campus. He’s approaching it the right way. It’s not easy to play d-ackle a true freshman. He was able to do that. I thought he had a chance to take a significant step this year and I think he’s doing that. So, he’s a smart guy, he’s a consistent guy, he’s a disciplined guy. We talked about being high production and low maintenance. He’s that. And, I’m proud of him. His parents did a great job raising him. Came from a really good high school program. We need him to continue making his presence felt out there.”

On Drew Allar’s first half compared to his second half

JF: “Yeah, I’m not sure kind of how it finished up. Obviously, he was 18 of 33 for the game. So, our completion percentage has been higher. I think there’s some things that we got to do in terms of separating at the top of our routes, or also being able to run past people. We took some shots, had a chance, thing we dropped one of them that would have been a huge play. But I think the most important thing that he is doing, and that we’re doing, is protecting the football. I think that’s one of those things that, everybody gets excited about the turnovers that we cause, it’s not as sexy to talk about ball security. But I’m really proud about how he’s handled that and manage that aspect of the game.”

On not yet seeing the Penn State offense in stressful situations because the defense is so good

JF: “Obviously you’re going to have to win throughout a season a lot of different ways. We’ve been able to do that the first five weeks of the season. But I think your point is a good one. We got to be more explosive. We got to be more consistent. But again, there’s a bunch of stats that I could throw out there to you that I think a lot of programs around the country would be pretty excited about. You talk about scoring 30 points, we’re leading the country in consecutive games over 30 points. still accurate. It’s your guys job and my job to kind of boil this thing down and critique some of the areas that we got to get better. And there’s going to be some games that we’re going to have to score some more points. There’s no doubt about it. But again, I think we’re playing really good complementary football right now. And we’re happy to be 1-0.”

On Penn State stopping Northwestern’s fake punt

JF: “I think first of all, we talked about that all week long. There was going to be something show up in that game, an onsides kick, a surprise, a fake punt, something to steal a possession or steal seven points. So that was a huge play for us. Zion [Tracy] is a true freshman that showed some really good flashes and played a decent amount of football for us up to this stage. But that was a huge play the game. I talked last week about the three key plays. That was a big play. We talked about it all week long and prepare for. But, it’s one thing to talk about and prepare for. It’s another thing to go out and make the play and especially from a true freshman. So that’s something we got to build on.”

On if the bye week approach is different because of facing a non-conference foe coming out of it or not

JF: “I don’t know if we’re approaching it any different because of what you said. But I think we’ve really kind of studied a lot of things in the offseason. One of the things that we studied in great detail was bye weeks, and what is the best way to handle it that you can find that balance between recovery and getting the guys fresh, but also getting better? This is not this is a bye week. Not an off week.

“We got to get better this week, and that’s the fine line, right? What can we do during the week to allow the guys to recover? The weekend will be huge, especially if it’s handled the right way. And then obviously being able to dig into our self scout, offense, defense and special teams, and then as I won’t talk about, but we’re also going to get ahead. The coaches will get ahead on the schedule as well during this by week. But, next week will be totally, obviously, on our next opponent. So those are the things that we’re looking at pretty hard, pretty heavy. I think some of the positions that Pat [Kraft] has llowed us to hire has helped with that as well. We just got more people to do more things.”

On the job first-year Penn State defensive line coach Deion Barnes has done

JF: “You never want to speak too soon, right? But Deion played here at Penn State, and takes ton of pride in the university, in the community, and in the football program. And not only that, Deion was on our staff for I think three years as a graduate assistant. So kind of understood the culture and how we work and what the expectations and standards are. His players absolutely love him. That was a big part in hiring him. They pounded the table hard for him.

“But at the end of the day, it’s about coaching those guys, it’s about developing them both on and off the field. I think Deion’s got a very, very bright future. I’m glad he’s with us. It’s like anything else, right? You make decisions. And then you look back a couple months later and you want to be pleased with the decisions you’ve made. And Deion has done all the things necessary to make Manny and myself feel like we made the right decision.

“But there’s still a ton of work. I still think we can get better at that position. The exciting thing about Deion is his futures ahead of him. The things that he does well, he’s elite at, but just like anybody early in his career, there’s a ton of areas for growth. So, it’s exciting from a potential standpoint.”