James Franklin talks battling back against OSU, Justin Fields' legs being 'significant'

Penn State went to Columbus, Ohio and tried to pull off a massive upset over what has been a juggernaut of a team on Saturday. It failed. It no longer can win the Big Ten East.

It can’t reach Indianapolis and win the Big Ten. It can’t make the College Football Playoff.

All of that said, Penn State showed real fight in the game. It trailed 21-0 at one point and it could have been worse. The Nittany Lions responded though, with backup quarterback Will Levis (starting QB Sean Clifford suffered an injury).

Levis helped bring Penn State back and at one point, the Nittany Lions only trailed 21-17. Ohio State closed the game with another score in the final quarter, but the fight Penn State gave the Buckeyes was a real one.

Here’s Nittany Lions coach James Franklin after the game, talking about battling back down 21-0 and the difference in the game being Justin Fields’ legs early on:

James Franklin up now in the media room.

"Early on we couldn't get things going offensively, especially with the running game." Franklin adds that Sean Clifford hasn't been healthy the last few weeks, something he mentioned last wk too.

— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) November 23, 2019

"Going down 21-0 to the No. 2 team in the country is not ideal, but we battled," Franklin said. "We just didn't play well enough today. … We did not have enough explosive plays and early on the quarterback's legs were significant."

— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) November 23, 2019

"The biggest difference in the game was the quarterback's legs," Franklin said. "When we needed to swing field position a few times we didn't do that."

— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) November 23, 2019

Penn State will close its regular season with a game at home against Rutgers next week.