Penn State coach James Franklin happy to be '1-0'

Penn State football coach James Franklin has a different way at looking at his team’s record, no matter how well or — as has been the case for much of this season — poorly it is playing.

His team isn’t 2-5.

It’s 1-0.

At least when only considering Saturday’s 23-7 road win against Rutgers.

It also went 1-0 thanks to a 27-17 victory Nov. 28 at Michigan.

Franklin credited his defensive line’s stout play with helping his team go undefeated at Rutgers.

Penn State limited Rutgers to 205 yards of total offense: 122 passing and 83 rushing.

“I thought we did a really good job of playing in the box, making sure our front seven handled the box to get our perimeter players to handle the speed sweeps and things like that,” Franklin said during a video conference with media after Saturday’s contest.

“We were able to come off and be disruptive. We thought we had a chance with our defensive line on their offensive line. That’s two weeks in a row in critical times our defense was able to make significant stops.”

Franklin suggested his defense is starting to resemble what a typical Penn State defense looks like.

“We’ve gotten back to playing how we played for the last six years, which is making sure to limit explosive plays, make people earn it, run to the ball, gang tackle, the basic fundamentals of defense which we’ve done a pretty good job of here for a long time,” Franklin said.

“And we got back to that. I think a lot of it deals with our defensive line and our front being explosive and being able to handle the run or get penetration. I still think we can be a little bit better when it comes to pressuring the quarterback and sacks, but overall it’s hard to argue with what we’ve done the last two weeks, specifically on the defensive side of the ball.”

On offense, turnovers continue to be a source of frustration. Running back Devyn Ford fumbled twice, losing one in the second quarter, and quarterback Sean Clifford threw an interception midway through the third quarter.

“The fumbles, it’s ball security, technique, understanding that people will go for the ball,” Franklin said. “We’ve done a good job of it in previous years, but it’s been an issue for us this year.

“It has had the biggest impact on our season, the turnovers. No doubt about it. We have to be able to push the ball up the field more. Not just this game, but in general.”

Clifford, who went 15 of 22 for 133 yards and a touchdown Saturday, leads the Big Ten with 10 interceptions this season.

“I thought early on, (Clifford) played really well,” Franklin said. “Obviously, the turnovers, we can’t have them. When he missed today, he missed high, which puts you in jeopardy of tipped passes and things like that. Early on, he looked very confident and comfortable in managing the game.”

Being more secure with the ball could again lead to Penn State going 1-0 when it hosts Michigan State this Saturday.

“We are 1-0 this week on the road, we’re going to enjoy this trip back to Happy Valley,” Franklin said.