James Franklin rebuts fan concerns of looking ahead to Ohio State

On Saturday afternoon, Penn State returns to action off the bye to face UMass inside Beaver Stadium. But, everyone knows that the Nittany Lions have a potentially colossal matchup next weekend against No. 3 Ohio State in Columbus. That is, evidently, everyone but James Franklin. During his weekly radio show on Thursday night, the Penn State football coach had some fun with fans while reaffirming his team’s focus for Saturday’s game against the Minutemen.

Ohio State preparations have been ongoing for months

Everyone has had Penn State’s epic showdown with Ohio State circled on their calendars for quite some time. James Franklin noted the importance of year-round preparation for opponents like Ohio State and Michigan in the offseason.

“We are getting ready for West Virginia, and we have done our first four opponents,” Franklin said back in May. “But then we will get a head start on Michigan, and we will get a head start on Ohio State. Obviously, we understand the importance of those two games.”

The October 21 matchup has been making headlines for weeks now as Penn State rolled off its 41-13 win over Northwestern into the bye week. Of course, comments from Manny Diaz went viral when the defensive coordinator noted that he had developed some “very strong” opinions on Ohio State during early scouting over the bye.

But, much to the dismay of Buckeyes fans, Diaz will be keeping those opinions to himself, at least until next weekend.

James Franklin says Penn State is completely focused on UMass

It’s hard for outsiders to not look ahead to next week’s showdown in Columbus. The matchup features two of the best teams in college football in a battle that almost certainly will help decide the Big Ten title race and College Football Playoff picture.

Further still, Penn State football is expected to roll against UMass. The Nittany Lions are nearly a six-score favorite over the 1-6 Minutemen. Even with poor weather conditions in the forecast, Penn State should handle its business without issue on Saturday.

But internally, James Franklin insists his program is laser-focused on UMass, so much so that the Penn State football coach appears to have developed some selective amnesia.

“You mentioned some location next week. I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” Franklin said jokingly to a fan on his weekly radio show who asked how the team handles the look-ahead spot with the game in Columbus next week.

On a serious note, Franklin expressed his deep respect for head coach Don Brown and the UMass program.

“We’re completely focused on UMass and the Minutemen coming to town. I got a ton of respect for Coach Brown,” Franklin said. “Coach Brown was the defensive coordinator at the University of Maryland when I was the offensive coordinator. We used to battle against each other every day at practice. He’s got a lot of history back at that school and has done a really nice job. So our complete focus and attention is on UMass.”

Ultimately, Franklin acknowledged that upsets happen every week in college football. As a result, he and the coaching staff routinely stress the importance of remaining focused to the team.

“We talk about that all the time [importance of staying focused] and making sure that we respect all, but fear none, when it comes to our opponents.”

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