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What Penn State’s James Franklin said during his weekly press conference
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Penn State is in the win column, finally.
The Nittany Lions avoided making big mistakes and managed to hand Michigan a 27-17 loss at Ann Arbor on Saturday.
After clamping down on Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara, the Lions allowed McNamara to hit only 12 of 25 passes for 91 yards, while his replacement Joe Milton went 1 of 3 for 21 yards in relief.
Penn State did allow 174 yards on the ground, but the running attack wasn’t enough for Michigan to rally back. It marked the first game since last year’s regular-season finale against Rutgers in which Penn State held an opponent below 30 points.
With a 1-5 record, the Nittany Lions still are in a bad place in the standings, but for the first time in quite a bit they are trending up. At his Tueday press conference, Penn State coach James Franklin provided some comments about the game, including how it felt to get the win.
Franklin: "Getting a win on the road in the Big House for the first time in 11 years was significant. Going into that locker room after the game and see the players and the staff have that success was awesome."
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) December 1, 2020
Franklin: "We gotta find a way to be a little more explosive on offense."
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) December 1, 2020
Franklin named Keyvone Lee the offensive player of the game, PJ Mustipher on defense, and Drew Hartlaub on special teams.
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) December 1, 2020
"It can change quickly. We gotta continue to be really on top of every contributing factor that we know makes a difference," Franklin added.
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) December 1, 2020
Franklin on Michigan pausing team activities due to COVID concerns: "We just gotta focus on us. Each week I knock on wood…we'll continue to try to educate and talk about the importance of this. Going into the season my number one goal was to keep everybody healthy."
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) December 1, 2020
Franklin on playing with just three cornerbacks last Saturday: "Those guys take all those reps and still factor in at special teams, that was big. We anticipate having at least four this week, and possibly getting to five."
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) December 1, 2020
Franklin: "We played with tremendous grit. Which is a word that has described us for six years here. That's a great example of our leadership…"
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) December 1, 2020
Franklin: "I will tell you…you'd be amazed at how many positive cards, emails, and packages get sent."
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) December 1, 2020
Franklin on fan feedback on social media: "Besides sending out my Sunday tweet, which always gets a good reaction, I stay off it. I really don't handle my social media all the time. The reality is, that's been the way it's been for six years. When we lose a game, there's anger."
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) December 1, 2020
Franklin: "We need to have more diversity in the red zone, there's no doubt about it."
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) December 1, 2020
Franklin on Keyvone Lee: "He's a 230-pound guy with good feet. He's got really good position. The other thing is he's always falling forward. When you can always fall forward, you're talking about another yard and a half, two yards on each run. We've need that."
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) December 1, 2020
"To be honest with you, he's handled the moments pretty well for a true freshman," Franklin added.
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) December 1, 2020
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Franklin on winning: "Really, the wins are what you work so hard for. For the most part, we've done a really good job of that. The older I get and the longer I've been in the profession, though, the wins are awesome and I love them, but the losses are really painful.
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) December 1, 2020
Franklin: "We have to own this season. But this is not the totality of who we are," Franklin said.
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) December 1, 2020
Scott Schultz covers Michigan State Football, along with Breaking News for B1G Football & Basketball for Saturday Tradition. He also serves as an Automotive News Editor & Writer, and Softball Writer elsewhere on the web. Follow him on Twitter @SRSchultz.