There was plenty of respect going out to Rutgers football this weekend from James Franklin. The Penn State head coach praised his Big Ten rival for their performance against his team.
Keeping things tight and close, Rutgers was a frustrating opponent for No. 12 Penn State. The Nittany Lions won 27-6 but were up just 10-6 at halftime.
Rutgers did well to make this game tough and gritty, forcing Penn State to scratch and claw in return. With the win, Penn State is now 9-2 (6-2 Big Ten). Rutgers is 6-5 (3-5 Big Ten).
Following the game, Franklin used the opening statement of his press conference to single out Rutgers and head coach Greg Schiano for playing a tight game.
It was more than just an obligatory remark from Franklin, who really honed in on what made Rutgers tough on the afternoon.
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“I have to give Rutgers credit. They do a nice job,” Franklin told reporters after the game.
“I have a lot of respect for coach Schiano, and I have a lot of respect for Rutgers. They’re a hard-nosed bunch. They’ve played like that against everybody.
“You talk about the areas that we focus on from a statistical perspective: We won the turnover battle. If you look at the stats, with Rutgers and specifically with coach Schiano there, that’s a critical stat. We talked about it all week long. I think winning that stat, if you look at the data, I think they’re 1-17 when they lose that stat, so that was something that was going to be really important for us today.”
Rutgers has lost three straight games, all against ranked opposition. But Saturday’s performance, while hampered by turnovers and penalties, showed an improved offense over a week before.
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Most importantly, quarterback Gavin Wimsatt completed 62.5 percent of his passes, ending a skid of four games where his completion percentage had dropped each week.