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What James Franklin said following gut-wrenching loss to Iowa
By Paul Harvey
Published:
A 6-0 start was not meant to be for Penn State.
After getting out to a 17-3 lead behind quarterback Sean Clifford, the Nittany Lions watched Iowa slowly chip away at the lead. With Clifford sidelined due to injury, Penn State was unable to generate enough offense as the Hawkeyes scored late and came away with the 23-20 win.
Moving forward, the health of Clifford will be a key to watch for Penn State. The Nittany Lions will get a bye in Week 7 before facing Illinois in Week 8. That game should prove to be a win with or without Clifford, but Week 9 brings with it a road trip to Columbus to face Ohio State.
Here’s a look at everything head coach James Franklin had to say after falling to 5-1 with the hard-fought loss in Kinnick Stadium:
Franklin: “It’s a ‘next man up’ mentality, and we weren’t ready for that.”
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) October 10, 2021
Franklin said the defense played its heart out and Iowa’s punter “could have been MVP.”
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) October 10, 2021
Franklin on Ta’Quan Roberson: “That one drive we did tempo he did a nice job…besides that I’ll have to watch the tape.”
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) October 10, 2021
Franklin said Penn State had no issues with crowd noise until they lost Clifford.
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) October 10, 2021
Franklin said the false start issues were because the offensive line couldn’t hear Roberson.
“He’s not as loud as Sean.”
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) October 10, 2021
Franklin said he has no update on Sean Clifford’s status moving forward.
“I have a hard time with our players getting hurt…and to all the Iowa people out there: that’s not a part of our plan.”
— Onward State (@OnwardState) October 10, 2021
Franklin added he has a “hard time” with his players getting booed after getting injured.
— Onward State (@OnwardState) October 10, 2021
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.