Penn State intent to not overlook struggling Kent State

It probably would be unfair to say that Penn State coach James Franklin or any of his players underestimated Bowling Green two weekends ago when the Falcons visited State College on Sept. 7, even if fans and members of the media likely did.

While falling to the then-No. 8 Nittany Lions, 34-27, Bowling Green proved its mettle, leading Penn State at halftime in a hard-fought game.

Naturally, that experience should have solidified Franklin’s resolve not to overlook any opponent, regardless of quality, whether they be from the Mid-American Conference or a Big Ten foe.

But coming off a bye, with woeful Kent State set to visit Happy Valley on Saturday, the temptation will be there whether Franklin likes it or not.

“When you schedule these opponents, typically five and seven years out, you don’t know what you’re going to get,” Franklin said Monday in State College. “You schedule a MAC team, and some of the teams have caused people fits. And then you can get to a year where someone’s struggling. That’s unpredictable and challenging.”

Kent State, led by second-year coach Kenni Burns, recently absorbed a beatdown at the hands of No. 7 Tennessee, which moved up to No. 6 this week after a 71-0 rout of the Golden Flashes.

The Volunteers led 37-0 after the first quarter and 65-0 at halftime before pulling starters.

Unfortunately for Burns, that loss was merely a continuation of the program’s struggles since he took over in 2023.

At the end of his first year, Kent State was 1-11.

Still, this year the Golden Flashes put up 24 points against Pitt in Week 1. But they then lost 23-17 to FCS St. Francis (Pa.) the following Saturday.

Regardless of how much outside noise there is downplaying 0-3 Kent State, Franklin doesn’t plan on taking the bait.

“There’s a lot of teams across the country that are sad Saturday night, and you want to do everything you possibly can to make sure you’re not one of them,” he said. “It doesn’t always come from an opponent that the fans, the media and the locker room think it’s going to come from.”

Franklin mentioned a number of Golden Flashes players of whom his team will be aware.

Tailback Ky Thomas, who is taking the majority of handoffs for Kent State, as well as leading receivers Luke Floriea and Crishon McCray, showed up on Franklin’s radar.

“They’re an RPO, tempo offense that tries to base out of the spread, mainly out of 11 personnel, will mix some 12 personnel in, as well,” he said of coordinator Mark Carney’s offense.

Defensively, Franklin singled out Kent State lineman Stephen Daley plus linebackers Khalib Johns and Rocco Nicholl.

Analytics, traditional statistics and common sense suggest Penn State, ranked No. 10 nationally, should win Saturday’s game handily.

As the Nittany Lions prepare to round out their nonconference schedule, Franklin is looking inward and paying no attention to the supposed lesser quality of his upcoming opponent.

“We’re trying to get our staff and our players to approach every week with the same mentality, with the same preparation, with the same approach,” Franklin said. “When you do that, you give yourself the best chance to be consistent, and you give yourself the best chance to get better. That’s really what our focus is.”