Penn State Kicker Addresses Teammates After Tough Game
Before getting into the weekly Penn State football update, a word from coach James Franklin about winning. Colorado beat TCU, Florida State took down LSU and Duke stunned Clemson in Week 1 of the college football season, so Franklin wants everyone to realize just how difficult winning can be.
"One of the things that we're going to talk about with the team is this week of football, Thursday through Sunday, shows our staff and our players that you'd better appreciate winning and what winning takes," Franklin said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. "You'd better respect it, and you'd better appreciate it and what winning takes, because it's hard to do."
Agreed? Now, on to the Penn State news.
A kicker stands up
Kicker Sander Sahaydak missed two field goals against West Virginia, attempts from 38 and 34 yards that Franklin didn't believe were terribly difficult. After that, Franklin replaced Sahaydak with Columbia transfer Alex Felkins, who made a 25-yarder in the second half. As he loves to do, Franklin took the occasion to remind people of the Sam Ficken success story. He also told an interesting story about Sahaydak.
"Sander Sahaydak got up in front of the team on Sunday without me talking to him, without anybody talking to him," Franklin said. "I usually end practice and I say something, and he said, 'Coach, I've got something to say,' and got up and just handled himself really well. I was really proud of him as a young man, like if it was my son, very proud of him. As a member of this team, as a teammate, I just thought he conducted himself really well. I think he's earned everybody's respect. I thought what he did right there and what he said did it even more."
Remember that Ficken rebounded from the 2012 Virginia loss, in which he missed four field goals and had an extra point blocked, to set the school's single-season record (24 field goals) two years later. Franklin often retells Ficken's story as teaching moment for all players, not just kickers. Sayahdak, at least, got to hear the story after a win.
Starting with a good stop rate
West Virginia rushed for 146 yards (same as the Lions) and made some savvy plays with quarterback Garrett Greene and running back CJ Donaldson. But ultimately, the Mountaineers scored twice on 11 possessions, once against Penn State's second-team defense (while two of those were one-play possessions to end the half and game). That's a strong stop-rate start for the Lions, whose first-team defense allowed just seven points.
"I thought defensively what stood out to me is we played our best when it was needed most," Franklin said. "There's some things that we've got to get cleaned up for sure. But when we needed to make plays on defense, we did. That was important."
RELATED: James Franklin 'comfortable' with late touchdown vs. West Virginia
An award for Drew Allar
The Penn State quarterback turned his first career start into the Big Ten's offensive player-of-the-week award. Allar was Pro Football Focus' No. 4 quarterback of Week 1 after throwing for 325 yards and three touchdowns. Allar has not thrown an interception in the first 89 attempts of his career.
"I wouldn’t say I surprised myself just because of the prep that the whole team puts in throughout the week," Allar said. "We prepare very hard and very diligently, and I think the coaching staff does a great job of getting us ready to play."
Availability updates
This is as much as you'll get from Franklin regarding player availability. The coach said that defensive tackle Coziah Izzard, cornerback Daequan Hardy and defensive end Amin Vanover "are not out for the year." None played Saturday against West Virginia. Neither did receiver Omari Evans, who was listed as "questionable" in the pregame availability report. Further, Franklin said that center Hunter Nourzad is playing through some "bumps and bruises."
Good start for Nelson
Left guard JB Nelson won the offensive line's "finisher" award for his play against the Mountaineers. Nelson delivered at least one pancake block and made his presence known at the second level. Starting in place of Landon Tengwall, who announced his medical retirement before the opener, Nelson continued drawing praise from Franklin for his strength and presence.
"I thought JB played really well," Franklin said. "He is a physical guy. We talked about it all training camp. Our defensive line talked about it all training camp. He is a physical dude who can play guard and tackle, so there's flexibility there. There's still a lot of areas where he can grow and get better, but he gives us a presence out there that I think we need."
Welcome back
After honoring former assistant coach Tom Bradley last week, the Lions will recognize more of their history Saturday against Delaware. Members of Penn State's 1973 team will reunite at Beaver Stadium to commemorate the first 12-0 season in program history. The Lions capped that season with a 16-9 win over LSU in the Orange Bowl and finished fifth in the final AP rankings. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of John Cappelletti's Heisman Trophy season. Cappelletti is Penn State's only Heisman winner, and the program retired his No. 22 in 2013.
In the polls
Penn State remained at No. 7 in both the AP Top 25 and the USA Today Coaches Poll after its 38-15 win over Wet Virginia.
Up next
Penn State hosts Delaware for the first time in a noon ET kickoff at Beaver Stadium. Peacock, NBC's streaming-only service, has exclusive rights to the game. Here's how to watch.
More on Penn State
First Look: Penn State vs. Delaware
James Franklin winds up bettors with late touchdown against West Virginia
'That's just the beginning,' Penn State receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith says
Week 1 takeaways: How Drew Allar changed the offense
Penn State 38, West Virginia 15: Rapid reaction from Beaver Stadium
The Penn State-West Virginia report card
AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.
