James Franklin Talks Hard Fought Win Over U-M
Penn State head coach James Franklin talked about the 28-21 win for his Nittany Lions over the Michigan Wolverines.
Franklin and his team came out of the gate hot, getting up on U-M 21-0 after hitting on some big plays early, including a 17-yard TD pass from junior quarterback Sean Clifford to sophomore tight end Pat Freiermuth and a 25-yard TD pass from Clifford to junior wide receiver KJ Hamler.
U-M fought back and made it a 21-14 game, before a 53-yard TD pass from Clifford to a wide open Hamler widened PSU's lead to 28-14 early in the fourth quarter. Franklin said the game came down to the big plays.
"It really comes back to explosive plays against that defense," Franklin explained. "You got to hit explosive plays.
"[They're] going to overload you in the box and put [the] DBs on islands and you have to win.
"We missed some tonight, but we won enough of them, and I think that was really the difference in the game."
The explosive plays certainly hurt the Wolverines, who out-gained PSU 417 to 283 in total yards on the night. U-M ran 82 plays to PSU's 54. But, PSU was able to capitalize when it mattered most, and that got them the win in primetime over a team that wanted to stay in the Big Ten title race with a win. PSU protected the ball better, not turning it over, while the Wolverines had a crucial interception in the second quarter.
"The best thing we're doing offensively is protecting the football," Franklin said. "We're getting turnovers on defense.
"We're protecting the ball and I think that's the most important thing you can do, is win the turnover battle. Obviously, the other one is the explosive play battle. We were able to win both of them tonight."
U-M had a chance at the end, driving down to PSU's three-yard line before coming up short on a fourth down pass from senior quarterback Shea Patterson intended for sophomore wide receiver Ronnie Bell. If the Wolverines were to have pull it off, it would've tied for the largest comeback in U-M football history, with the game against Minnesota in 2003, when they also trailed by 21.
It didn't happen, though, and Franklin's team was able to walk away with a win. He was asked postgame about his defense possibly getting worn out by a surging U-M offense, but ultimately getting the stop at the end.
"I thought they had a good plan and they're talented," Franklin said of U-M. "I think that stop at the end was obviously critical and guys made plays when they needed to.
"I'm proud of our coaches. We made some adjustments, they made some adjustments. It was a chess match all night long.
"But, at the end of the day, our guys were able to step up, make critical plays in critical moments."
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