James Franklin: Penn State did not have ‘right energy’ coming off Oregon loss

After coming into the season ranked No. 2 in the country, the Penn State Nittany Lions have lost two games in a row and are unranked by the AP Poll. Now, head coach James Franklin is looking for answers to turn things around.

Two weeks ago, Penn State lost the White Out game against Oregon in a dramatic double overtime game. That wasn’t ideal, but forgivable. What’s less forgivable was following that up with a loss to a previously winless UCLA team that had already fired its head coach.

After the loss to UCLA, Franklin did his best to evaluate what went wrong. That included not handling the Oregon loss well, which led to a slow start against UCLA. With the slow start, the Bruins gained momentum and belief, while the Nittany Lions needed to find a way to play from behind.

“Obviously, we did not handle last week’s loss well,” James Franklin said. “We also lost some players in that game, during the week, and then everything else. Everything else — travel, everything else — we did not come out with the right energy to start the game. And before you know it, obviously, they get a touchdown drive and an onside kick, and now you’re fighting. They gain confidence, and we’re fighting for the next three quarters. So, that’s my responsibility, and I didn’t get it done.”

With the loss, Penn State fell to 3-2 on the season and 0-2 in Big Ten play. They don’t yet have a win against a Power Four opponent. In the process, they’ve had their season derailed. Now unranked, it looks like Penn State is on the outside looking in at the College Football Playoff race. That’s one season removed from making it to the semifinal.

There is still a path for Penn State in the 12-team CFP. However, it would likely take the Nittany Lions being perfect from here on out or getting a lot of help around the country. Either way, and regardless of where Penn State is heading this season, James Franklin knows his team needs to handle this loss better and bounce back.

“We’ve got to tune out all the outside noise. I thought our guys worked hard at doing that last week, but obviously not well enough. Not well enough. So, we’ve got to stick together — the coaches, the players in the locker room, offense, defense, the special teams. The reality is we did not play well enough in all three phases to win the game. There’s going to be a lot out there to divide, divide, divide,” Franklin said. “And we’ve got to tune all that out and stick together. I think we will do that. It’s not going to be easy, but I think we’ll do that.”

Next up, Penn State returns to Happy Valley. There, Franklin and the Nittany Lions are set to host Northwestern, another game they’re expected to win and one that they need to win to get back on track.