Penn State head coach James Franklin likes to let his players savor wins for a few hours before they turn their focus to the next week’s opponent. He did that again this past Saturday, after the Nittany Lions (5-1, 2-0 Big Ten) defeated Indiana 29-7 to win their fifth straight game.
“And then I did say, ‘Hey, what an unbelievable opportunity we have this week being able to go play at Ohio State against the No. 1 team in the country. What a great opportunity,’” Franklin recalled Tuesday.
“And then after that it won’t be discussed the rest of the week. The rest of the week it’s what are we doing on Monday in our normal preparation, what are we doing on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, so on and so forth, and go from there.”
Franklin’s players echoed that message throughout the day on Tuesday, saying that they’d love to beat the top-ranked Buckeyes in Columbus on Saturday night — only a handful of the current Nittany Lions were on the team, as true freshmen, the last time Penn State beat Ohio State, in 2011 — but that they’re trying to keep the preparation as routine as possible.
“It’s a game. Every game gets our juices flowing,” senior safety Jordan Lucas said. “I love the game of football. Us playing Ohio State versus anybody else, we approach it the same way. We’re 0-0 right now and we approach Saturday wanting to be 1-0.”
Penn State, which has all five of its wins in the friendly confines of Beaver Stadium, practices with loudspeakers pumping noise onto the practice field, whether it’s indoors or outdoors, each week, Franklin said. The Nittany Lions are planning to put a little extra such work in before they play in what should be a pumped-up Ohio Stadium.
As for the noise that will come from elsewhere in what to fans will be Penn State’s most-anticipated game of the season, not to mention the program’s first date with a No. 1 squad since it played Alabama in 2010, the Nittany Lions will try to turn a deaf ear.
“There will be enough of that from the outside,” Franklin said. “We don’t need to do that internally. We want to keep our approach consistent.”
NOTES, QUOTES
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
–LB Jason Cabinda is in the midst of a breakout true sophomore season. The middle linebacker leads the team with 46 tackles, and also has three tackles for loss and five pass breakups. He plays with a physical, downhill style and has taken on a prominent role in setting up the calls and the checks for the defense as well.
–DT Austin Johnson has 36 tackles and 3.5 sacks through six games and has been a disruptive force against both the run and the pass this season. He and the Penn State defense will face arguably their toughest test of the year when they take on running back Ezekiel Elliott and an explosive Ohio State offense.
–WR Brandon Polk has been a threat on sweeps since the season opener, but the Nittany Lions got him involved in the passing game last week against Indiana, when he caught a 39-yard touchdown pass. The speedy 5-foot-9 freshman gives defenses plenty to think about and is valuable as a decoy as well as a ball carrier.