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Talent everywhere: James Franklin says Ohio State has most explosive, skilled team he’s seen in PSU tenure
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James Franklin is in his sixth year at Penn State, and playing in the B1G East, he’s seen a ton of talented teams take the field. None, however, may compare to the one Ohio State has this season according to the Nittany Lions leader.
Tuesday, Franklin met with the media for his weekly press conference to talk about the colossal showdown between No. 9 Penn State and No. 2 Ohio State in Columbus. Franklin made it pretty clear that he has a ton of respect for the Buckeyes and the amount of talent they have on the roster, top to bottom.
“Ohio State is as explosive as any offense in the country,” Franklin said Tuesday. He also went on to say the Buckeyes may be the best team he’s seen “in our time” at Penn State.
Right now, the Buckeyes ranked first nationally in scoring offense (51.5 points per game) and scoring defense (9.8 points per game allowed). They’ve defeated every team on the schedule by 24 points or more and enter the game with a perfect 10-0 record.
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As if that wasn’t enough, star defensive end Chase Young will be back on the field on Saturday after missing the last two games to Maryland and Rutgers while serving an NCAA suspension. He’s totaled 13.5 sacks, 29 tackles and forced five fumbles in eight games this year.
“Just in time for good old Penn State,” Franklin joked about Young’s return.
Saturday’s game between Ohio State and Penn State will essentially determine the B1G East race, with a trip to Indianapolis and potentially the College Football Playoff in the balance. And, it’s appropriate, because over the last three seasons, nobody has played the Buckeyes as consistently well as the Nittany Lions.
Penn State took down Ohio State in 2016, and dropped the last two games by one point in 2017 and 2018. Now, with so much at stake, Franklin is hoping things are a little bit different this time around.
“We’ve played [Ohio State] as well as probably anybody over that period of time.” Franklin said. “But, obviously, not good enough.”
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB