Penn State is off to its worst start in nearly two decades, and, though the Nittany Lions aren't among the nation's worst offenders when it comes to turnovers, coach James Franklin said it's so bad that the coaching staff is having a hard time calling the offensive sets.
“I think early on it was the turnovers and the lack of the running game,” Franklin said Saturday, after a 30-23 loss at Nebraska dropped PSU to 0-4 for the first time since 2001. “But in my opinion it's the turnovers. It's hard to get into a rhythm. Hard to get in a groove. It's hard to call [plays] when you don't have the confidence you're not going to turn the ball over.”
The Nittany Lions had just two turnovers against the Cornhuskers, losing a fumble and throwing an interception. They've got nine on the season against just three takeaways. Franklin benched incumbent starter Sean Clifford for Will Levis after a pair of early turnovers, and he left open that Levis could take over the offense in the coming week.
Franklin seemed to take exception to a question posed about the Nittany Lions' “slow starts for several years.” PSU has been outscored this season, 93-26, in the first half.
“I guess it's hard for me to say that because for the last four years, we've been pretty successful,” Franklin said. “This year obviously we're not making enough plays, not playing winning football when it comes to turnovers. We've played a winning brand of football here for four years.
“All of us, the head coach and every assistant and every person in the program, obviously we're not doing a good enough job. That's all of us. And it starts with me. It starts with me. Every single area it can be better. We've all gotta do our jobs, over the last seven years here at Penn State but the last 10 years (dating to Vanderbilt), we've played pretty good defense.”
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest coaching information.