James Franklin sees performance vs. WVU as 'really good starting point' for Penn State's defense

Penn State’s season-opening win over West Virginia over the weekend answered many questions with regard to how smoothly first-year coordinator Andy Kotelnicki would implement the Nittany Lions’ new-look offense against a tough opponent.

Quarterback Drew Allar looked sharp throwing and running, putting together a largely mistake-free game.

Receiver Harrison Wallace, with 117 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns, performed in manner suggestive of a potential breakout campaign this fall.

All told, there was plenty to be pleased with offensively for the Nittany Lions, who cruised to a 34-12 win over the Mountaineers.

Yet Monday in State College, coach James Franklin took time to note how solid he thought his Nittany Lions were on the other side of the ball.

“No one’s really talking about our defense,” he said. “Our defense really played well.”

Saturday’s showdown in Morgantown pitted a vaunted West Virginia ground game against Penn State’s stout front seven.

The Mountaineers returned their three key players — quarterback Garrett Greene plus tailbacks CJ Donaldson and Jahiem White — who helped West Virginia to the third-best rushing attack in the FBS last year.

Greeting them was a defense also led by a first-year coordinator, Tom Allen, but featuring many returning players, especially in the trenches.

In that battle — WVU’s run game vs. Penn State’s run defense — the Nittany Lions won handily, limiting the Mountaineers to 85 net yards. The Nittany Lions forced four fumbles (recovering two) and allowed one touchdown.

Greene, who averaged more than 64 yards per game last year, did next to nothing with his legs Saturday, and Donaldson and White combined for a modest 75 yards on 20 carries.

“That’s a team that prides themselves on running the ball, and they weren’t able to be overly productive against us running the ball,” Franklin said. “I think West Virginia’s offense is going to give people problems. It gave us problems last year, especially running the ball.

“We went into that game with a ton of respect for their O-line, a ton of respect for their quarterback and the two running backs, and we still feel that way.”

Franklin noted a long list of areas from last year’s contest against West Virginia — a 38-15 win in State College — compared to this year’s victory.

In points per possession, total yards allowed, rushing yards, yards per carry, passing yards allowed and yards per attempt, Franklin saw improvements from a year ago.

So is Penn State’s defense, which finished 2023 as one of the best in the nation, off to a better start this year?

“I think it’s a really good starting point,” Franklin said. “It’s a foundation to build on, but we’ve got to build on it, and we’ve got to get better.”

Up next for the Nittany Lions is Bowling Green, which visits Beaver Stadium on Saturday after notching a 41-17 win over Fordham. Franklin expressed respect for Falcons coach Scot Loeffler, who enters his sixth season at the helm.

After going 7-22 over his first three seasons, Loeffler has guided the Falcons to back-to-back bowl appearances the past two seasons.

“They did a really good job of putting up big numbers this past week,” Franklin said. “They’re a run-first offense predominantly, but they do a good job at the quarterback position of taking shots where appropriate.”

The Nittany Lions’ upcoming Mid-American Conference competition might not present the same kind of challenges West Virginia did, but for Franklin, it will be an opportunity to add to the sample size in all three phases of the game for additional review.

“For us, we’ve just got to say, ‘OK, these are the things we did well. These are the things we’ve got to do better,’ and then find a way to work on these things each week and refine and get better,” he said. “… It is a small amount of data, but it’s a really good starting point.”