Penn State Coach James Franklin Previews Indiana Matchup

Penn State football coach James Franklin brings the Nittany Lions to Bloomington, Ind. for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Here's what he said about Indiana.

Penn State coach James Franklin held his weekly press conference on Tuesday to preview the No. 16 Nittany Lions' Week 10 road trip to Indiana.

Penn State is coming off a 44-31 loss at home to No. 2 Ohio State, and came in at No. 15 in the first College Football Playoff rankings with a 6-2 overall record. The Nittany Lions led Ohio State 14-13 on Saturday, but allowed the Buckeye to score 28 points in the fourth quarter. 

Penn State's last trip to Bloomington was on Oct. 24, 2020 when Michael Penix Jr. dove for the pylon and converted a two-point conversion that gave Indiana a 36-35 overtime victory. Last year, Penn State dominated Indiana in a 24-0 win in Happy Valley. 

Heading into this year's matchup, here's what Penn State coach James Franklin said about the Hoosiers. 

Penn State head coach James Franklin high-fives his players after the Nittany Lions scored a touchdown in the second quarter against Ohio State at Beaver Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022, in State College. The Nittany Lions fell to the Buckeyes, 44-31.  :: Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK

On Tom Allen...

Franklin: When you get into Indiana and Tom Allen on the road, got to know Tom really well since he joined the league. Have a ton of respect for him. Good man, good person, good coach. 

On Tom Allen as a defensive play caller...

Franklin: Yeah, I think this is like one of the first years he's gone back to doing it, but I think like defensive coordinators and people with similar philosophies and things like that, he's like a lot of defensive coordinators. It is very important for him to make you one dimensional and stop the run. He's going to use as many resources as he has to to stop the run. Whether that's in recruiting, whether that's in scheme, numbers in the box, whether that's angling or slanting or stunting or however you want to describe it, dropping safeties down the box like we used to do with Marcus Allen, who actually sent me an autographed jersey yesterday, which was really cool. Super proud of him.

A lot of different ways to do it, right? He's committed to doing it and making you one dimensional. When you study all the analytics, that comes true over and over again. Not only this year, but really his career to your point. Really shows up on short-yardage situations. Third and fourth down short yardage situations.

Then they do some good things coverage-wise where they probably have a little bit more diversity coverage-wise through scheme to try to make up for the commitment that they're make to go stop the run, to try to force you into some bad decisions through scheme. So just like we have faced over my time here, those coverages can cause you problems and create some opportunities, but there is weakness in every coverage as well, and hopefully you have the right play call at the right time and the quarterback is seeing it the same you are. It will be a challenge and interesting to see how it thing plays out. 

On what stands out about the Indiana offense...

Franklin: Offensive coordinator, Walt Bell. I know Walt from his time as the head coach at UMass, as well as the offensive coordinator at Florida State and Maryland. High tempo offense, maybe the fastest offense in the country when it comes to tempo. 

Guys that we're impressed with is the Auburn transfer at running back, Shaun Shivers, who we're familiar with. The running back that is giving them juice right now, Jaylin Lucas, as both a return man and running back. The quarterback, Connor Bazelak, who is also a transfer, and then a receiver that we're familiar with, Emery Simmons, is also a transfer. 

On his impressions of the Indiana defense...

Franklin: Defensively from what we understand, Tom is calling the defense, but Chad Wilt is the defensive coordinator. Obviously those two are working together. Chad is from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, but Tom is calling the defense from the way we understand it. Got a lot of respect for Chad. Known him for a long time. Most recently was at Minnesota. He was at Cincinnati before that. 

Guys we are impressed with on the defensive side of the ball, cornerback, No. 23, Jaylin Williams; defensive end, No. [92], Alfred Bryant; Will linebacker, No. 44, Aaron Casey; cornerback, seems like he's been playing there forever, Tiawan Mullen. And then we're not really sure what's going to happen, but make the argument their best player, No. 4, Cam Jones, has been out the last couple weeks and he's week to week, so we're preparing as if he'll be back. 

On Indiana's special teams unit...

Franklin: On special teams, Kasey Teegardin is the special teams coordinator. Been there the last couple years. Jaylin Lucas shows up as kick returner. Their kicker, Charles Campbell, has been pretty consistent: 80% on field goals with a long of 51; 18 for 18 on PATs. And then also James Evans. They got a New Zealand punter who does a nice job. That's where we are. On the road, a challenging situation. Got to get our guys ready, practice well today, and go find a way to be 1-0 this week. 

Related stories on Indiana football:

• AARON CASEY STEPS IN FOR CAM JONES: When Indiana football's leading tackler and captain Cam Jones went down with a foot injury, linebacker Aaron Casey closed in on an opportunity to be a defensive force and an emerging leader who now leads the Hoosiers in total tackles. CLICK HERE
• WEEK 10 DEPTH AND INJURY CHART Heading into Indiana football's matchup with No. 16 Penn State on Saturday, check out a few injury notes to keep an eye on, as well as the Week 10 depth chart. CLICK HERE
• UNCERTAINTY AT QB: Indiana football coach Tom Allen and offensive coordinator Walt Bell are evaluating different options at quarterback heading into a Week 10 matchup against Penn State. CLICK HERE
• CAMPER TEARS ACL: Cam Camper made an immediate impact at Indiana after transferring form Trinity Valley Community College, but he'll miss the rest of the 2022 season with a torn ACL. CLICK HERE