Franklin: Penn State can be “more aggressive,” Barkley “awesome,” at practice”

“That’s where we are”. Barkley leads the Big Ten, and ranks fourth nationally, in yards per carry (8.9). The defense allowed 517 yards, 272 on the ground.

“I think a big factor in [the 4-1 record] is turnover margin”, Franklin said. “A lot of it goes when you practice today how do they react?” They’re going to force you to be aggressive. “We’ve got to be able to do both”. “He understands the offense way more than he did a year ago”.

Saquon Barkley broke a long run during a training-camp practice, triggering a round of applause from his teammates. If nothing else, Penn State will be well served to spread out the big plays in the backfield throughout the game. Chambers said he won’t just hand any highly-touted prospect a starting role and by the sounds of it Reaves has no issue putting in the extra work. Having him open up the middle of the field could take pressure off a wide receiving corps that has struggled to get separation this season. Iowa takes on No. 23 Michigan on Wednesday, October 7, before hosting Michigan State on October 10. Even before leaving Penn State’s win over San Diego State with an injury, Barkley rushed eight times for 62 yards and had a 22-yard receiving touchdown. His year is representative of the offense as a whole, which is one of the most inefficient in the country and now getting by on its explosiveness in the run game and excellent special teams (2nd in average field position). The teams have met every year since Penn State began Big Ten competition in 1993. “He’s a very, very efficient passer”, Zettel said. This week Penn State will celebrate Homecoming with a conference battle with the Indiana Hoosiers. The Huskers also notched their first true road win against a No. 1 team in school history, and snapped Penn State’s 33-match win streak. First-year kicker Joey Julius has been reliable on field goals (8-of-10) but his kickoffs have occasionally led to long returns.

Which quarterback plays will affect Penn State’s defensive backs, too. Despite constant double-teams, he’s been productive this season, though not as dominant as he was in 2014. Twelve of his 42 carries have been for 10 yards or more. “At this point in the season, we always say by the fifth game of the year, those guys need to take that step, and that’s what’s happening”.

Barkley, a Whitehall High graduate, missed last week’s game against Army West Point with an apparent ankle injury. He’s solid in coverage but needs to be more consistent with his tackling. Any evaluation of Penn State ranges from “not good” to “kind of fine” depending on what data you use.

During the five days I spent in State College last week, at least two Sandusky-related stories made the front page of the local paper, The Centre Daily Times: one about Sandusky’s ongoing attempts to appeal his conviction, and one about a former board member of Sandusky’s children’s charity, The Second Mile. The Nittany Lions have just two sacks in the third quarter, seven in the first half all season. It also doesn’t help that tackle Andrew Nelson (knee) has missed the last three-and-a-half games and now the only senior, center Angelo Mangiro, is banged-up as well.

Coach James Franklin said Tuesday that he’s “hopeful” Barkley will play against the Hoosiers, who bring the Big Ten’s highest-scoring offense to Beaver Stadium.

Penn State’s offensive line play has been better since the Temple meltdown, in part because Franklin and offensive coordinator John Donovan have (according to Franklin) begun “call(ing) the game in a style to allow us to be successful”. Saw Zander come up the other night and just got to keep playing.

There was a few consternation from fans on Monday when Penn State’s latest depth chart didn’t list Barkley, Lynch, linebacker Brandon Bell (ankle) or free safety Marcus Allen (shoulder), all of whom sat out against Army.