How Penn State is preparing for Michigan’s run game and physicality coming off a bye week
Penn State is 5-0 and traveling to face a top-five opponent for the second year in a row, with eyes on a very different outcome. Last time around, the program was set to roll into its bye week following the game — which was against Iowa — and get some much needed rest after what was sure to be a physical matchup.
This time, they’ll travel with the bye week just behind them and that same physicality looming in the form of the Michigan Wolverines.
The time off can be helpful for a team to recover from injuries, but can also add some difficulty because the first game back will come against a team ready to punch their opponents in the mouth with a strong running game.
Penn State head coach James Franklin said that’s where his team’s experience will come into play.
“That’s where having a mature football team is really important,” he said Tuesday. “... Having a mature football team, doing enough (practicing with pads) on Tuesdays and Wednesdays is really important. And there’s that fine line between understanding how physical we’re gonna have to be to win this game but also putting our players in the best position to be as fresh as they possibly can be so we can be explosive and fast and violent as well. That’s where the experience matters and that’s where having some experts on our staff that can weigh in on those things are important, too.”
The emphasis on the run will also put stress on a group that was projected to be Penn State’s weakest on defense heading into the season. The linebacker room entered the year with a sure thing in Curtis Jacobs and another veteran starter in Jonathan Sutherland but not much else known about who would be playing and how they would fare.
That has changed drastically just six weeks into the season. Freshman Abdul Carter has established himself as major positive at the position while Tyler Elsdon and Kobe King have locked down the inside linebacker spot with their physicality and intelligence.
Those players will be tested against the Wolverines and the team will know much more about what they have.
“We felt pretty good from an experience and from a production standpoint about the two outside linebacker positions,” he said. “But I think we probably feel even better because the depth that we’ve been able to create with Abdul behind Curtis has helped us. I think most people would agree we’re in a better position from that standpoint than we were coming into the season. ... They will be challenged in this game. ... Those guys continue to gain confidence and gain experience and we’re gonna need those guys to play really well on Saturday based on what we’ve all seen on film.”
Maintaining overall health and cultivating depth
One of the biggest benefits to the team not playing last week is it can guarantee a higher level of health than it would otherwise have. The Nittany Lions were able to control the amount of reps everyone had, and even did so while adding an extra practice. Those extra reps came in the form of a jog-through but still allowed for more preparation.
Franklin said the team is in a good spot when it comes to its overall health.
“We’re in a pretty good place,” he said. “And I think part of that is how we have managed practice. I think part is how our guys have done a really good job of taking care of their body — hydration, nutrition, all of those things. We’ve had a bunch of discussions about nutrition as well and how that factors in.”
The team is in that position because of how it was able to handle the first five games of the year. The Nittany Lions were able to pull their starters in three of those games — serving multiple purposes in the process. It allowed the starters to stay healthy, while also cultivating depth behind those players and enabling the team to rotate more without seeing a major drop-off in talent or production.
Franklin said that is different from what was expected in August.
“I think how we have played our guys since the beginning of the season, our depth is in a better position, not only than it has been in the past but also how it’s been from the beginning of the season,” he said. “I think there’s less question marks that you guys have as media and that we have as coaches of our depth overall and at specific positions that you guys had a ton of questions about at the beginning of the season.”
OL improvement
One of the most important facets of Penn State’s undefeated start is how much better the team’s offensive line is currently playing. The group has been the team’s Achilles’ heel for the length of Franklin’s tenure but that is far from the case in 2022. Olu Fashanu is leading the room at left tackle, but the entire line has been a positive.
That is part of the reason the Nittany Lions are better positioned to handle Michigan’s pass rush than they were last year when the team racked up seven sacks, in part because they’re calling plays to avoid obvious passing situations.
“I think we’re better equipped to do it from a personnel standpoint,” Franklin said. “But I also think we’re better equipped to do it in terms of not getting away from the run and being one dimensional — kind of sticking with the plan.”
Franklin said the O-line has been better overall but still has work to get where he wants it to be by the end of the season.
“I think it’s like every position, it’s consistency,” he said. “There’s been flashes of really good things that everybody has been excited about. ... I think there’s been times where we’ve been really happy with how it’s looked and how productive we’ve been. There’s been times where we gotta be more consistent and clean some things up.”
Quick hitters
Penn State is hopeful KeAndre Lambert-Smith will play on Saturday. The wide receiver had a boot on his right foot after the win over Northwestern.
The Nittany Lions’ bye week came at a good time according to Franklin, something he said hasn’t always been the case in the past.
Franklin opened his press conference wishing by wishing well for Michigan running backs coach Mike Hart. Hart had a medical incident during the Wolverines’ last game and was taken off the field on a stretcher before being hospitalized for one night.
