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Several Penn State football players said they lacked urgency, tackled poorly and relaxed in their last game against Bowling Green, a five-touchdown underdog they eventually subdued.
After a bye week, the 10th-ranked Nittany Lions (2-0) are even greater favorites against Kent State (0-3) Saturday at 3:30 (TV-BTN) at Beaver Stadium.
The Golden Flashes are 49-point underdogs after Tennessee pulverized them 71-0 last week and St. Francis (PA), which plays at the FCS level, upset them 23-17 the week before.
Which is why Penn State coach James Franklin is emphasizing focus and self-discipline this week.
“You’ve heard people describe it (point spreads) as rat poison, all types of different things,” he said Monday. “Ultimately, we’re trying to get our staff and our players to approach every week with the same mentality, with the same preparation, with the same approach.”
The Lions were scheduled to play Kent State during the 2020 season, but the game was canceled because of the pandemic and rescheduled the following April. The Flashes went 7-6 in 2019 and 3-1 in 2020 before going 7-7, 5-7 and then 1-11 last season.
Penn State has played at least one Mid-American Conference opponent in every year during Franklin’s tenure except 2020 and last season. The Lions beat Kent State 63-10 in 2018 in their previous meeting and 33-13 in the 2016 opener.
“When you schedule these opponents typically five and seven years out, you don’t know what you’re going to get,” Franklin said. “You schedule a MAC team and some of the teams (like Bowling Green) have caused people fits. And then you can get to a year when someone’s struggling. That’s unpredictable and challenging.”
Kent State, predicted to finish near the bottom of the MAC, lost its opener 55-24 at Pitt and then was stunned by St. Francis. Last week in…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/penn-state-james-franklin-emphasizes-034700552.html
Author : Reading Eagle, Pa.
Publish date : 2024-09-17 03:47:00
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