Penn State football coach James Franklin was asked Tuesday about the mindset of the Nittany Lions after another close loss dropped them to 6-4 going into the final two games of the regular season.
And for one of the few times during his Penn State tenure, Franklin didn’t recite his 1-0 mantra.
“We’re not robots, right?” he said. “We have emotions and feelings. …I think our guys are motivated, but obviously there’s frustration. There’s no doubt about it.
“Our guys want to be successful for the fans. Our guys want to be successful for their families. They want to be successful for themselves as well. It’s all of it.”
The Lions (3-4 Big Ten) will play their final home game in 2021 against Rutgers (2-5, 5-5) Saturday at noon at Beaver Stadium (TV-BTN).
It will be Senior Day for defensive tackle Derrick Tangelo, cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields and safety Jaquan Brisker, whose eligibility expires at the end of this season. It could be the final home game for many other seniors who can return in 2022 but have yet to declare their intentions.
No matter who stays or leaves, Penn State wants to get back on track after dropping four of its previous five games by a total of 18 points. The Lions held the lead in the fourth quarter or overtime against No. 18 Iowa, Illinois and No. 8 Michigan last weekend. They trailed No. 5 Ohio State by three points with eight minutes to go.
“You’re talking about a team that has been very, very close,” Franklin said, “and had some significant battles and challenges to work through. I’m proud of our guys. I want to have a really good practice today and really good meetings today to give us the best chance to be successful on Saturday.”
Penn State’s struggles stem from its offense, which is tied for 82nd nationally in scoring (26.0), tied for 84th in total yards (378.9) and is 119th in rushing (106.7). Under new offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich, the Lions are on pace to finish with their lowest output in points and yards since 2015 and with the second-worst rushing average in school history.
Penn State also is tied for 93rd in sacks allowed (27), including 18 in the last four games. The offensive line and position coach Phil Trautwein have become easy targets for fans’ criticism.
“There’s nobody that works harder at it than coach Trautwein, all offseason, all in-season,” Franklin said. “The players as well. I think at times we’ve done some pretty good things against some of the better defenses in college football. But we’ve got to be better. I get it.”
Despite the line’s subpar performance, tackles Caedan Wallace and Rasheed Walker, center Mike Miranda and right guard Juice Scruggs have started every game. Eric Wilson, a transfer from Harvard, has started the last nine games at left guard.
Franklin was asked Tuesday if the coaches have come close to making changes on the line and if he planned to use five-star prospect Landon Tengwall, a freshman lineman, in the final three games.
“We’d like to get Landon some playing time, there’s no doubt about it,” Franklin said. “You guys have seen that (Bryce) Effner has played. We’d like to get him more experience as well. Olu (Fashanu) is another guy we’re very high on.
“Some games we planned on doing that and an injury has not allowed us to do that, whether it’s with our starting five or with one of the backups that we planned to get in.”
The Lions have scored more than 28 points in only three games: Ball State, Villanova and Maryland. They’ve yet to have a back rush for 100 yards. They’ve topped 109 yards as a team just twice.
Now they’re facing Rutgers, which ranks 73rd nationally and 11th in the Big Ten in rushing defense (154.3).
“We’re just trying to get better every week, no matter what point of the season we’re in,” Franklin said. “We’re gonna try to do that again on Saturday against a team that does a really good job of defending the run and prides themselves on it.”
If Penn State players are frustrated, they’re not saying.
“As a team, we’re still motivated,” Wallace said. “We have a season we have to finish out. Everyone is pretty locked in. We obviously made mistakes in the past. We lost games that we’d want back, but we can’t change anything. Our best mindset is to apply what we learned from our losses and move forward the best we can.”
