James Franklin believes Penn State needs to ‘start faster’ on Saturday’s

On Saturday, the Penn State football team will play one of the season’s most anticipated games against USC. There was more excitement about this game prior to the latest AP Poll ranking that has the Trojans now unranked after they lost to Minnesota last weekend. But regardless James Franklin believes the Nittany Lions need to start faster.

James Franklin and the Penn State football team handled business against UCLA. But once again the Nittany Lions got off to a slow start on offense and defense. An area that Franklin wants to see his team improve in, especially on the road against USC.

“I think really in my time, we’ve been pretty good in the second half in general,” Franklin said. “I think to me, I’m more interested in making sure that we’re starting faster. You know, I think that first quarter, you look at the time of possession, and it’s not what you want. You look at third down on offense and on defense, not what you want. Again, back to the point I have had with you guys earlier about getting enough touches and getting enough plays on offense and getting off the field on defense. So, we have to start faster.”

Franklin on third-quarter dominance

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While the first quarter can be disappointing sometimes, the adjustments made at halftime are always positive. James Franklin explained that after the UCLA win, the new technology helped his team adjust in the second half of the games.

“But defensively, I think, you get a good feel for who they are, you get them settled down, you make some adjustments, Franklin stated. “And I think that’s the biggest reason why we’ve been able to play really good third quarter football. I think the technology has helped with that as well. But overall, getting our guys lined up, getting their cleats in the ground, getting them ready to play. I think we’ve done a nice job of that with both the offensive and defensive staff.”

Franklin will take his team out west on Saturday to play USC at 3:30 on CBS.

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