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Watch James Franklin's press conference following win over UMass

Mug-Shot 4x4by:Ryan Snyder•10/14/23•

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What did James Franklin have to say following his team's win over UMass? (Credit: Steve Manuel | Blue White Illustrated)

Penn State improved to 6-0 Saturday, as the Nittany Lions had no problems against UMass, winning 63-0. If the score didn’t look lopsided enough, the stat sheet wasn’t much better for UMass, as the Nittany Lions outgained the Minutemen 408-109.

As you would expect with Ohio State up next, offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich relied heavily on the ground game, with Penn State totaling 246 yards rushing on 37 carries. Sophomore running back Nicholas Singleton led the team with 15 carries for 79 yards. Kaytron Allen wasn’t far behind, totaling 68 yards on nine carries. He also scored a touchdown midway through the second quarter.

Quarterback Drew Allar didn’t have big numbers but did throw for three touchdowns and 162 yards. Allar has now thrown for 1,092 yards and nine touchdowns for the season. Maybe most impressive is the fact that Allar still hasn’t thrown an interception.

Highs & Lows: Penn State overcomes slow start, crushes UMass

But it wasn’t just the offense who put up points today, as Penn State had two special teams touchdowns, both of which were punt returns by Daequan Hardy. His first return ever opened the scoring in the first quarter, as Hardy went 56 yards up the sideline after making a few players miss early. He followed that up with a 68-yard punt return for a score in the third quarter.

“He and Kaden [Saunders] kind of went into a competition all summer camp catching punts and returning punts. They battled back and forth. Kaden had done a nice job of catching the ball all year long, but we weren’t very explosive. We weren’t making a ton of yardage, and that’s no knock on Kaden. He’s doing a nice job. But we’re looking to try and create more big plays, not just on offense, but special teams as well, kickoff return, punt return. The catch percentage in practice was similar, so we wanted to get [Daequan] some opportunities and some reps, and obviously, he did a phenomenal job with it.”

Of course, Penn State’s defense was also excellent, pitching its second shutout at home in as many games. Linebacker Curtis Jacobs and Dvon Ellies tied with five tackles each. The Nittany Lions also had 14 tackles for loss and six sacks. Adisa Isaac led the team with 3.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, including 2.5 sacks.

Nittany Lion fans can watch James Franklin’s complete press conference above.

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