What Penn State's James Franklin said at his weekly press conference

Penn State takes on Michigan this Saturday, in case anyone was wondering.

During a normal year – not 2020 – this B1G East matchup would be one of the most watched games of the year. This probably won’t be the case on Saturday, in fact, it will likely not even be close to being one of the most watched on the day.

The Wolverines and the Nittany Lions, two of the most prominent programs in the B1G, both will take the field this weekend with losing records, for the first time ever.

Penn State head coach Mel Tucker has to answer for his team having its worst start, 0-5, in program history. The Nittany Lions had gone 42-11 over its previous four seasons and traditionally looked forward to playing on New Year’s Day around this time of year.

Tucker talked about his team’s need to get better, as well as some of the issues with this difficult season during his weekly press conference on Tuesday.

James Franklin's weekly news conference beginning now.
Does he think he's lost the team at 0-5?

"I guess what I would say is I look at how we've played late in games. We've given ourselves a chance to win some games in the second half."

— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) November 24, 2020

Franklin on OC Kirk Ciarrocca: "What I do know is I get here pretty early in the morning and Kirk is usually in here before me. He's a vet and he's working his tail off to get it fixed and get it better."

Franklin, like last wk, says they need both QBs. No starter named.

— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) November 24, 2020

Franklin on the 4th and 17 punt when down 13 in the fourth qtr with under 4 mins left: "When you're not picking up fourth and shorts it doesn't give you a lot of confidence to try and pick up fourth and longs."

— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) November 24, 2020

“When it comes to Will and Sean, we’re going to need them both.” James Franklin says.

— Ben Jones (@Ben_Jones88) November 24, 2020

Franklin on Jahan Dotson: "Jahan has done a nice job. He's obviously been productive in games…He's got a very steady approach, doesn't get too high or too low."

— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) November 24, 2020

"I'm also seeing him be more verbal…The exciting thing is he's still got room to improve," Franklin added.

— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) November 24, 2020

Franklin: "We just gotta get better today. I think when you look in the past or the future then that becomes a little more challenging. You take it one step at a time. The more days you put together like that, the results will take care of themselves."

— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) November 24, 2020

Franklin: "Take football out of it, this has been a tough year on a lot of people and their families…Stay positive, keep working through, keep loving these guys."

— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) November 24, 2020

Franklin on his players' mental health: "It's a challenging time in general…It's something that I know I'm aware of and our staff is aware of. I'm gonna have a call tonight with all of our parents to keep them informed on how our guys are doing."

— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) November 24, 2020

Franklin: "The interactions have just been different. I usually would have players over to my house for dinner. Can't do that…I'm a relational leader. This COVID and all the policies and procedures have made that more challenging."

— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) November 24, 2020

Franklin on the College Football Playoff: "I am a fan of the Playoff. I do think playoff expansion is important, so that every major power five conference would get an automatic bid. There's some positives, but I do think there's some challenges that have come from that."

— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) November 24, 2020

Franklin on the season setting the program back: "Whenever you have challenges like this it creates work. Coming is this season before all the dynamics changed, things were really going pretty well…There's no other option but to find a way to get better and get back on track."

— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) November 24, 2020