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What James Franklin said following Penn State’s slide to 0-4 with loss to Nebraska
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Penn State is 0-4 for the first time since 2001.
There’s no denying it has been a brutal stretch for the Nittany Lions. Everything from Micah Parson opting out to the retirement of Journey Brown and injury to Noah Cain has piled up. Still, it is hard to imagine a team as talented as this to be winless in four tries.
Saturday’s loss to Nebraska was just the latest showing of ineptitude as Sean Clifford was benched in favor of Will Levis. Levis did his part in helping jumpstart an offense that rallied and had multiple opportunities to tie the game late in the fourth quarter.
Unfortunately, a combination of questionable playcalling and lack of execution by the Nittany Lions cemented the win for Nebraska. Here’s everything Franklin had to say after falling to the worst start in nearly two decades for the Lions:
Franklin: "We have to be more detailed in the passing game, and we have to better in the red zone on offense."
— Elton Hayes (@EHDC12) November 14, 2020
Franklin on red-zone issues: "Red-zone offense is about running the ball and being detailed in the passing game… We didn't make enough plays."
— Elton Hayes (@EHDC12) November 14, 2020
Franklin: "I thought (the) traditional running game, we were able to get that going today."
Says the team was more physical and consistent up front.
— Elton Hayes (@EHDC12) November 14, 2020
Franklin: "The running game is going to help us, we just have to continue to detail the passing game."
— Elton Hayes (@EHDC12) November 14, 2020
https://twitter.com/audsnyder4/status/1327716541429809152?s=21
https://twitter.com/audsnyder4/status/1327715818168205312?s=21
https://twitter.com/audsnyder4/status/1327715349324816386?s=21
https://twitter.com/audsnyder4/status/1327717023288160257?s=21
Franklin: "I thought we were able to get some sacks in the second half and some turnovers, which is another area that we haven't done a good enough job."
— Elton Hayes (@EHDC12) November 14, 2020
James Franklin didn't commit to Will Levis or Sean Clifford as the starter next week. [He also wasn't going to] Given how the season is going and how Clifford's season has gone, imagine Levis earns the start, but TBD.
— Ben Jones (@Ben_Jones88) November 14, 2020
https://twitter.com/audsnyder4/status/1327717883003080704?s=21
Penn State will now pivot to a Week 5 matchup with Iowa. The Hawkeyes are now 2-2 after starting the season with back-t0-back losses.
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.