Turnovers cost Penn State frustration, not outcome, against Northwestern

James Franklin praised Penn State fans for staying at Beaver Stadium Saturday afternoon. Drenched in rain, miserable faces extended from the stands to the sidelines to the field itself, sloppiness a defining element in the Nittany Lions’ 17-7 win over Northwestern.

Olu Fashanu wasn’t one of them.

Acknowledging some of the increased difficulty of playing through steady rain, footwork becoming a particular area of focus for an offensive lineman, Penn State’s starting left tackle wasn’t concerned about the rain or frustrated by its impact on the game. Just the opposite, Fashanu said of his approach, and that of his offensive line teammates, to the opportunity.

“Going into the game, we were all excited when we saw it was gonna rain,” he said. “If it’s gonna rain, we know that both teams aren’t going to be passing the ball a lot. We like the aspect of the team relying on us just to run the ball solely. So, we were all excited coming into the game.”

Penn State/Northwestern Instant Analysis

In large part, Fashanu’s attitude proved itself warranted against Northwestern. With Penn State’s defense crippling the Wildcats’ offense, the Nittany Lions demonstrated steady success on the ground in the first half. 

Were it not for a series of costly fumbles, interceptions, and a handful of near-misses, that success on offense might have translated into more points. Instead, with five possessions ending due to turnovers, on 13 non-garbage chances in the game, Penn State’s offense was kept off the scoreboard. 

And, even understanding the conditions and their impact on the game, Northwestern also succumbed to three turnovers, Franklin insisted the snafus couldn’t use bad weather as an excuse.

“No, I’m never going to allow the weather to be an excuse. We’ve got to protect the football now,” Franklin said. “You have to take all shots with the top of your pads. You can’t take on a helmet with the ball that won’t end well. 

“The weather will never be an excuse for us. We need to continue working there.”

Both Fashanu and receiver Parker Washington agreed with the assessment. 

Next steps

Though admittedly frustrated by the changes of possessions, Fashanu offered that a bright side existed. Confident in the ability of Penn State’s defense to overcome whatever is thrown its way, the missteps didn’t cost the Nittany Lions dearly.

“We were frustrated with those turnovers,” Fashanu said. “Weather is never an excuse. We still need to get better with protecting the football. But luckily the defense came and saved us.”

Meanwhile, despite finishing with four receptions for 73 yards, including a crucial 43-yard grab to set up a second-half field goal, Washington said the sideline and the players trudging through the difficulties worked to keep spirits up.

“You just got to keep everything positive and keep a next play mindset going on. Make sure everybody’s focused for the next series or the next play when we get an opportunity,” Washington said. 

Needing to shake off the performance, running backs Nicholas Singleton (two lost fumbles), Keyvone Lee (one), and Kaytron Allen (one), will have the next two weeks to improve in the department. According to Franklin, it will be an area of emphasis again moving forward despite staying clear of the issue through the Nittany Lions’ 5-0 start to the season. 

“Just coming up this week, (it’ll be a) big focus on ball security and make sure we’re on top of that for when we play next time,” Washington said.