James Franklin sees an exciting opportunity for his offense based on how defenses are strategizing to slow down the Nittany Lions.

Last season, Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton became the first pair of true freshman teammates in B1G history to record 700 or more rushing yards each in a single season. This season, defenses are determined to keep Allen and Singleton from beating them on the ground.

In his Tuesday press conference, Franklin was asked about being held to just 2 runs of 20 yards or more. The Penn State coach prefers to focus on the opportunity to move the ball through the air.

“Right now I think it’s been very obvious that over the first 3 weeks, people are saying their defensive game plan is going to be based on stopping our running game,” Franklin told reporters. “That is a combination of wide receivers, quarterbacks, tight ends, o-line protection, running back protection. That’s all of it. So that we can show that we can consistently be in the passing game and cause real significant problems if you choose to play that way.

“To me, that’s an exciting thing. That’s an opportunity for us in the passing game. We’ve shown signs of it. We got to do it more consistently.”

For the Nittany Lions, adapting the scheme to the opposing defense extends to how personnel groups are used. Franklin cited tight ends and running backs when explaining that touches will vary based on matchups.

“A perfect example is not just the running backs but the tight ends. We had that one week where they didn’t get many touches,” Franklin said. “I didn’t hear a word out of the tight ends. They know if we do our jobs, those opportunities will come.

“There’s going to be some weeks where they have 20 catches, and some weeks where the running backs have 30 carries. It really just depends on the week and how the game plays out.”

More from Franklin can be heard below, via the Big Ten Network: