James Franklin explains how Central Michigan stymied Penn State's ground game in first half

An early two-touchdown lead for No. 14 Penn State turned into a tied ballgame until the final two minutes of the first half against Central Michigan. Now leading 21-14, Nittany Lion’s head coach James Franklin gave his two cents on the strong finish to the half, and how his team can improve in the second half to distance themselves even more from the Chippewas.

“They’re playing a lot more Cover 0 here than we anticipated. Obviously, as you know, you’ve got a chance to make big plays against that, or it can be challenging. We got to execute a little bit better in that situation,” Franklin said at halftime. “We’ve got to get the running game going, but again with that many guys in the box, it can be challenging. We’ve just got to be more consistent with everything we’re doing. It’s not all going to be big plays and turnovers. You’ve got to be able to grind it out, too.”

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Offensively, Clifford finished the first half with 153 passing yards for two scores. The Nittany Lions QB has shared the wealth, as Brenton Strange, Parker Washington, Mitchell Tinsley and Harrison WallaceIII all have at least 25 yards receiving respectively.

The rushing game has been put on the back burner, as running back Kaytron Allen has taken just six carries for 39 yards and a touchdown at the break. As a team, Penn State has been held to 52 rushing yards though the first two quarters.

Quarterback Sean Clifford started the game with two first quarter touchdowns, and what seemed like the makings of a Penn State blowout, the Chippewas converted a fourth-and-goal score before marching down the field on their next drive for the equalizer.

Penn State’s defense also saw some early fireworks. Redshirt freshman safety Zakee Wheatley notched his second interception of the season in the first quarter, setting up the second touchdown of the half.

The Nittany Lions would dominate the final four minutes of the half, easily finding the end zone after a few chunk plays for the lead. An interception from Johnny Dixon with just over a minute left in the half would set up a long field goal attempt that eventually missed the mark, and the Nittany Lions left the half with a seven-point lead.

You can watch the second half live on the Big Ten Network.