Franklin: Lions not looking past Northwestern

Penn State has one game left before a week off in its schedule but already is exceeding expectations, with a 4-0 start and a chance before long to become the fifth Big Ten team to climb into the national rankings.

After a 48-7 win over Massachusetts, the Nittany Lions finished last weekend still side-by-side with Nebraska as the conference's only two undefeated teams, and just two spots out of the top 25.

However, when asked at his weekly teleconference what a 4-0 start meant, coach James Franklin refused to bite.

"We were 1-0 last week, which is awesome," he said Tuesday. "We're focusing in on being 1-0 this week against Northwestern, and excited about that opportunity to get better and continue to grow, continue to build our chemistry and work on our weaknesses and build on our strengths."

The Lions will meet Northwestern (1-2) on Saturday at Beaver Stadium. After that game, they reach an odd stretch of their schedule with two off weeks over the next three Saturdays. But Franklin, as he has all season, emphasizes that his only focus is on the next opponent. He insists he has no knowledge of what happens after that.

In fact, he was so emphatic about it Tuesday that he mentioned the name of said opponent not once but five times.

"I have no idea what exists after Saturday's game," he said. "I have no idea what happens. After the game they will tell me what's going on the next week and we'll have a plan.

"But our focus is completely on Northwestern. Nothing changes based on what's happened earlier in the season or what may happen later. It's all about Northwestern."

Last week, Penn State established season highs for points and rushing yards (228) and limited UMass to 3 yards on the ground, a performance that enabled the Lions to leap into first place in FBS in defending against the run.

As for the running game, Franklin said none of the Lions' three backs - Bill Belton, Zach Zwinak, and Akeel Lynch - has separated himself over the other two. Lynch led the trio with 81 yards last week and scored a touchdown.

"Basically," he said, "we allow each one of those guys to get a series. Whoever the guy that looks like is being the most effective, then we'll go with them a little bit longer, or maybe even go with them the rest of the game. It just kind of depends."

Franklin called it "a great team win" but added that "the really exciting part . . . is we still have a lot of room for growth and the ability to get better."

He mentioned mistakes in all three areas, such as offensive penalties that are "drive-killers," being more consistent in coordinating pass coverage, and looking to make more big plays on special teams.

The lack of production on punt returns has been glaring. The Nittany Lions are last in the Big Ten in that area, returning six of 23 punts for a mere 21 yards. Their primary punt returner, Jesse Della Valle, has returned four and has fair-caught most of the other 17.

"I'd love for one of those guys, especially Jesse, to start gaining more yardage," Franklin said. "He's been really successful in catching the ball and making great decisions, but we'd like a little more playmaking."

Franklin later added, "I'm not going to give up the consistency of catching the ball for the playmaking."