Ohio State football is hosting Penn State this Saturday in a night time prime time affair. That means we got to watch and listen in to what Nittany Lions’ head coach James Franklin had to say about OSU leading up to the game.
So, imagine our surprise when we tuned into the presser only to see a bit of a train wreck from Franklin. He has a well-chronicled 1-0 mentality that he makes a part of the DNA of the program, so the focus is always on that week’s opponent. Well, not this week — sort of.
We don’t know if it was the unexpected and offense-lacking loss against Illinois or the rumors circulating surrounding his future at Penn State with opening positions at USC and LSU, but Franklin several times seemed to forget who and where his team played on Saturday.
He first acknowledged the challenge of facing a talented Ohio State but said they’d have to find a way to deal with the environment in “The Big House,” and said on two occasions when pressed about potential distractions in the program with an agent change and the job openings, that his focus was on … “Illinois.”
Aside from that, it was another James Franklin, rah-rah, presser where he did compliment Ohio State when it came to the improving defense, the skill level across the board, the respect he has for coach Day, and the offensive weapons the Buckeyes possess.
In case you missed this curious press conference, you can watch it below thanks to the Facebook page of Penn State athletics.
Truly bizarre. Ohio State and Penn State face each other at 7:30 p.m. EDT Saturday night on ABC. Hopefully, the Nittany Lions show up at the ‘Shoe instead of Ann Arbor expecting to take on Illinois at a neutral Michigan Stadium. At least the Wolverines are on the road in East Lansing this week, so the Big House should be available if Penn State wants to scrimmage itself or something.
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