James Franklin evaluates where Penn State stands at midway point in season
It’s midterm week at Penn State and James Franklin is handing out grades. After the Nittany Lions’ comfortable 63-0 win over UMass on Saturday, the Penn State head coach evaluated his team’s first half of the season.
“More than anything, we want to be 1-0 each week. That’s the obvious thing, and we were able to do that up to this point,” Franklin said. “The other thing that’s important to me is are we getting better each week? And I feel like we’re doing that. Even tonight, we gave up some yards there at the end, but again, my argument is the value of those guys getting in the game [and] playing is going to pay off for us down the road.”
It wasn’t too big of a sacrifice. Penn State held UMass to 109 total yards in the win. The Nittany Lions are now 6-0, winning by an average margin of 36.3 points per game. Despite boasting an undefeated record and a No. 7 national rankings, Franklin believes his team can still improve.
“There’s still things that we got to get cleaned up,” Franklin said. “There’s no team in the country, there’s no team in the NFL, that there’s not areas that you get critiqued about. Constructive criticism, that we’re trying to get better in certain areas. But, overall, I like where we’re at.
“We have found ways to win. We’ve won different ways. We’ve won on the road. We’ve won at home. We’ve won an 11 a.m. We’ve won in the rain. We’ve won in the heat, conference opponents, non-conference opponents and I just think we’re getting better.”
It’s difficult to argue. After another successful outing this past weekend, Penn State now has the No. 1 defense in the country, holding teams 193.7 yards per game. For reference, Michigan, who allows the second-least yards, gives up 40 more yards per outing.
Penn State is built in practice
Penn State’s success on game days isn’t a coincidence. Franklin explained his team’s flashy wins start with grueling work work on the practice field.
“Even from a practice perspective, I challenged them last week and we’re just practicing on a more consistent level at a high level,” Franklin said. “You’re ultimately judged on consistency. How consistent can you be in the things that you’re trying to achieve? And I really like this team from that perspective.
“We talked a lot in the offseason or preseason about leadership and what this team is going to look like from a leadership standpoint. I think that’s probably one of the big best things that we’re doing right now.”
Penn State will need its leaders more than ever this week. On Saturday, the team will face off against No. 3 Ohio State at noon ET. The game will be broadcast on FOX.