How Penn State is preparing for Ohio State, CJ Stroud and taking the next step as a program
James Franklin is in his ninth season as head coach at Penn State, and plenty has changed in that time. He has had a few coordinators on each side of the ball, multiple quarterbacks and plenty of stars on the Nittany Lions. But one of the constants has been his emphasis on going 1-0 each week.
The mantra is intended to make sure his team stays on task, while not looking back at previous games or looking forward to others.
Still, Franklin made it clear his team understands the magnitude of big games. Like the one this Saturday at Beaver Stadium against No. 2 Ohio State.
“Like we recognize; the players recognize,” Franklin said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. “We talk about it. They know what it is. It’s not like we are sitting here trying to — it’s not like we are trying to deceive them. You know, trying to send them on a path that’s not real and accurate. OK, let’s recognize what it is and let’s get back to our process and get back to what we need to do to be successful.”
Although the Nittany Lions aren’t fixating on last week’s game or the future, they’re still hoping to use last week to get the ball rolling in a positive direction. Their 45-17 win over Minnesota at Beaver Stadium was important because it came right after a loss to Michigan on the road and right before this week’s game with the Buckeyes.
Utilizing any positives they can take from that win will be helpful in keeping the team on a good track heading into their most difficult game of the season.
“We are playing a really good opponent at home,” Franklin said. “We did some really good things to build on last week that we should have confidence from and momentum from and we need to build on it. We need to get better today in practice. We need to get better all week in terms of our preparation and how we practice and how we coach and same thing with the game on Saturday. We are going to have to play better this Saturday than we did this past week. There’s a ton of stuff to build on from last week. There’s a bunch of stuff watching that tape to be excited about and to show the team and we’ve got to build on it for sure.”
Going from great to elite
It has been just over four years since Franklin and the Nittany Lions narrowly lost to the Buckeyes in Beaver Stadium 27-26 in 2018. More famous than the outcome was what the head coach said about the state of the program following the game.
He discussed how Penn State football was great, but it still needed to take a step forward to being an elite level program. His comments made waves on numerous levels, and four years later, he said things are trending in a positive direction thanks to athletic director Pat Kraft and the Penn State administration.
“Yeah, I think obviously a lot of things have changed since then,” Franklin said. “We talked a lot this off-season about new president in Dr. (Neeli) Bendapudi and new athletic director in Pat Kraft. That factors into all of this, there’s no doubt about it. I think there’s things within our program that you look at, whether it’s from a development standpoint, whether it’s a facility standpoint, whether it’s a nutrition standpoint, whether it’s recruiting. All the things that you talk about in terms of building a program, I think some areas, we have made significant progress in and others we still have work to do.”
Part of going from great to elite is making sure you have the requisite talent on the field, not just from an ability level, but also from a fit standpoint that would allow the team to beat the conference’s elite — Ohio State.
“That’s the challenge, right?” Franklin said. “You’ve got to be able to — you’ve got to be able to feel like you can line up and match up from a skill and athleticism perspective with an Ohio State one week, and then say you make it to the Big 10 Championship and you play Wisconsin, that’s a very different animal that you’re getting ready for, and you have to either have the depth and the diversity within your personnel to do it.”
Sean Clifford and C.J. Stroud
Saturday’s matchup will feature two quarterbacks that have been in the spotlight for very different reasons so far this season. On one sideline is Sean Clifford, Penn State’s starter who has been up and down this year and heard boos when he was introduced as the starter against Minnesota.
He helped silence those doubting fans on some level, bouncing back from a slow start to excel in the game and win Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week — something Franklin made note of before taking a long pause to allow it to sit with those listening.
On the other sideline is one of the best quarterbacks in the country. C.J. Stroud has been dominant for the Buckeyes, racking up 2,023 yards and 28 touchdowns while only throwing four interceptions.
His play has put him firmly in the national spotlight and has opened up the possibility that he might end this season by winning the highest individual honor in college football.
“I think at the end of the day, you know, their trigger man is what makes them go,” Franklin said. “He’s the one that distributes the ball to all those different play-makers and does a really good job doing it. He throws on the run as well as he throws from the pocket, which is somewhat unusual. Again, he’s leading the Heisman race for a reason. A talented guy that we have a ton of respect for.”
All eyes will be on the two quarterbacks who have both had a large impact on their respective programs this season.
Quick Hitters
- While Abdul Carter started over Jonathan Sutherland at linebacker Saturday against Minnesota, Franklin said that will change depending on who the team is playing.
- Franklin said he had no further comment on the Michigan situation where there was an argument at halftime between the Wolverines and Nittany Lions. Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh said yesterday he has “bigger fish to fry” than Franklin’s concerns about the stadium having only one tunnel and called the Penn State head coach the “ringleader” of the situation.
