Penn State’s James Franklin highlights differences between Ohio State, Illinois performances

STATE COLLEGE — It was a glaring contrast. One week after Penn State failed to put away Big Ten West bottomfeeder Illinois after nine overtimes, the Nittany Lions pushed Ohio State near the brink in a hostile environment. In a season that has become topsy-turvy for Penn State, the two results, though both losses, were baffling.

After the game Saturday night, Penn State coach James Franklin gave plenty of credit to quarterback Sean Clifford for elevating the Nittany Lions. Clifford wasn’t at full health against Illinois, but he was closer to that at Ohio State, and it was clear in how the redshirt senior played with 361 passing yards with one touchdown and one interception in the 33-24 defeat.

On Tuesday, Franklin offered a little more insight into how he saw his team take steps forward against Ohio State after the ugly result against Illinois. He again emphasized Clifford’s health, but he added that Penn State’s approach gave the team an opportunity to score the upset win.

“I think the biggest thing is we battled,” Franklin said over Zoom on Tuesday afternoon. “We were more physical up front on both sides of the ball. The difference on third down, I thought we made plays in this game. Those didn’t happen the week before, and I thought our guys handled adversity and rose to the occasion against a really good and talented opponent.”

Franklin highlighted a sequence at the beginning of the game as an example. Penn State caught an early break when safety Ji’Ayir Brown stripped Ohio State tight end Jeremy Ruckert, who was fighting for extra yardage on a third down, and recovered the fumble. But running back Noah Cain fumbled on Penn State’s first play to give the ball right back.

The prospect of the high-powered Buckeyes offense on a short field is a daunting one, but five plays later, the Nittany Lions defense forced a punt. Then, Clifford piloted the offense on a 13-play, 89-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass to tight end Brenton Strange to give Penn State an early 7-0 lead.

“A lot of teams against that opponent on the road, that would have been difficult to overcome,” Franklin said. “The momentum would have swung, but our defense stepped right up and made some big plays and gave our offense a chance to pay it forward back to them as well. … Our guys, their confidence just kind of continued to grow, and we just kind of kept battling.”

Ultimately, the Penn State offense couldn’t take advantage of the defense’s adept play in the red zone. Ohio State scored one touchdown on six trips inside the Nittany Lions 20, but Penn State couldn’t muster a response, with Clifford throwing an untimely interception and the lack of a run game rendering the unit one-dimensional.

The inconsistency on offense, especially on the ground, remains a glaring part of Penn State’s struggles. The Nittany Lions have the No. 114 rushing offense nationally, and no running back has exceeded 100 yards in a game. That put the game on Clifford’s shoulders, and he was more able to handle that against Ohio State than he was against Illinois.

Still, Franklin now faces the challenge of getting the level of play from Ohio State to carry over to Maryland. The Nittany Lions played up to the then-No. 5 Buckeyes after playing down to 3-6 Illinois. The 5-3 Terps come in somewhere in between, and entering a tough final stretch of the season, Penn State needs to pick up a win in a matchup where it’s a favorite.

“I asked the coaches to call the game in an aggressive manner. I wanted the players to play in an aggressive manner, and, for the most part, we did that,” Franklin said. “Obviously, every game, you’re going to be able to look back and point out things that you want to get better, but there were some positive signs to build on. And again, we got to correct the issues and the mistakes.”