James Franklin understands the questions surrounding Penn State’s kicking situation after Week 5. After all, the Nittany Lions had a pair of missed field goals, and those missed opportunities allowed Illinois to hang around longer than necessary during the 21-7 win.

Sander Sahaydak is the player behind those missed kicks, and Franklin was asked at his Monday press conference if things have looked different in practice. Franklin wasted no time, saying things “obviously” have been better in practice with Sahaydak earning the starting job.

“Yeah, obviously we decide who the starter is at every position based on practice. So yeah, Sander had won the job,” said Franklin. “He won the job during training camp, he won the job during the season. All the data and the statistics backed that up. During the spring, it was a closer battle and then Sander just slowly but surely took the lead.”

While Sahaydak did not miss an extra point attempt, Ryan Barker was later called on for a PAT in the game. It is not the first time Sahaydak has struggled but Franklin reiterated the staff felt it was the right decision at the time.

Now, with game data to add to the equation, Franklin says the starting kicker spot is a competition moving forward.

“I think everybody felt comfortable that that was the right decision. We’ll factor all of that into this week and making a decision. It will be a competition, but it won’t be a competition based on practice data alone,” said Franklin. “You have to factor in the game data as well. We’ll go from there. Obviously he was the starting kicker for a reason.”

Saturday’s game was actually the 2nd of Sahaydak career with 2 missed kicks. It is also his 3rd missed FG of the season, and he is now just 3-for-9 on field goals in his career while going 25-of-25 on PATs.

For a team with a roster looking to reach the College Football Playoff, the Nittany Lions need to find more consistency from the kicker moving forward.