Read everything Penn State coach James Franklin said after the Lions knocked off Indiana

Penn State blasted Indiana 45-14 on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. The Nittany Lions were impressive in all three phases en route to their seventh win of the season.

“You got to value every win that you can get,” Penn State coach James Franklin said “So, obviously we did some good things. When we talk about the field position battle, we won that. The turnover battle, we won that. I think that’s really been a story for our season and something that I’m really going to emphasize on Sunday with the guys that we’re able to create turnovers on defense and limit them on offense. And then the explosive play battle, we won it. We did not meet our goal on offense, but we did win it in terms of ours compared to theirs.

“Obviously, the 16 tackles for loss, the most that we’ve had since they started keeping the statistic from an NCAA perspective. Our red zone defense has been tremendous all year long. And then Nick and and Kaytron both tied to the freshman record of touchdowns. Obviously that those things are big for us. The last thing I’ll say, is Jake Pinegar is playing really well.”

Here is the rest of what the Penn State coach had to say.

On the play of the shuffled Penn State offensive line

James Franklin: “Yeah, I can’t have it both ways, right? I can’t say I’m not going to talk about injuries and expect you guys to understand how challenging that was. [Drew] Shelton as a true freshman, starting at left tackle in the Big Ten, in this type of game on the road, has not played a whole lot. We’re to trying to redshirt him if we could. Not only did he play, but he played well. JB Nelson, who we’re trying to redshirt as well, played a ton of reps. You also see Sal [Wormely], he’s banged up and bruised and he battled. Hunter [Nourzad], banged up and bruised, and he battled.

“Really, really proud of those guys of what they did, and how did, and sacrifices their making for the team. I’m proud of those guys, and how they played with toughness and getting ready to be able to play, and guys did a good job of helping those guys get ready to play this game.”

On sticking with Sean Clifford at quarterback and evaluating how Drew Allar played

“I had a discussion with members of staff. But from our perspective, everybody still saw it the same way. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t too close to the decision. Literally, to a man, everyone saw it the same way. Obviously, we would have loved to get Drew in this game. That was part of the plan. But it really; I mean, I know you guys asked. I think the last time I got my first seven questions were about the quarterback position. And, for us it really wasn’t dialogue. One discussion that we had.

“Sean was 15 for 23 with one interception. Drew was nine for 12 for two touchdowns. Obviously Sean, the one interception, obviously, we got to get rid of that one that. It’s one thing when the defender makes the big-time play. That wasn’t the case there. We have to get rid of that. But overall, he does what he always does, which is a great job of managing protection. Great job, all the checks that we’re using in the run game or the motions, and things like that, that we do to account for guys.

“And then, Drew got in for a couple of series with the ones against the one defense, and late in the game, it was a bunch of twos in there against the two defesnse. So it’s kind of hard, not really comparing apples to apples, but I also understand that you guys don’t get to see it as much at all. Everybody’s got strong opinions on what we should do. And, it’s not their fault, but with probably less than one percent of the information where we get to watch these guys in practice every single day and in the games, they’re both doing really good things.”

On Kaytron Allen’s impact on the team

JF: “I think it’s really important. We got two really good backs that obviously we we’re excited about. They’re getting a ton of reps and a ton of experience. What we have to is not only develop and recruit that quarterback position, but then we also need to make sure that we surround those guys with as much talent as possible so that we get ourselves the best chance to win week in and week out no matter who the competition. To be able to take a check down and hit a Kaytron Allen for 30 or 50 yards, they’re big time plays.

“To be able to hand the ball off to Nick Singleton and he’s a threat score at any point in the game, those things are obviously really valuable. The tight end group we’ve developed, the offensive line that we’re startng to develop; but that’s the challenge, right? How do you get all the pieces of the puzzle there at the same time? Sometimes we’re really strong at one position and inexperienced at another. We’re trying to be the program that we’re hitting on all cylinders at every position.”

On if the weather was a factor

JF: “The wind was bad. It probably wasn’t as bad as I thought. Or some some of the reports that I got. I also thought we were going to get rain maybe for the game and just up to the game. Maybe in the first quarter that didn’t happen. But that really didn’t factor in because if anything bad weather they may run the ball.”

On where the Penn State freshmen class is

JF: “I think it’s one thing to say you’re determined to create depth by playing guys early on and things like that. But, there’s also just a factor that, I felt we had more guys that were in this freshmen class that could contribute. So that helps, right? It obviously helps when you got a guy like Dani, who does not look like a freshman. He’s 265 pounds. He’s also one of the fastest guys in out program. He’s productive and he’s smart. We got a bunch of guys like that.

“The combination of guys that have been in the program and earned their opportunity to play, in the freshman class; we have one of the better freshman classes we have brought in, and I’m not talking recruiting rankings, I’m just talking about production on the field. I’m happy with the win.I’m happy with how we played. It’s something to build on. Looking forward to getting on the bus and watching tape, and get on the plane watch tape, and I’ll get together with you guys Tuesday. I can’t wait to see what subject matter can get back to the quarterback.”