Tuesday Noteworthy Quotes: Penn State vs. Indiana
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – After collecting a 33-28 victory over the Indiana Hoosiers, Penn State (5-2, 2-2) welcomes the Iowa Hawkeyes (6-1, 3-1) to Beaver Stadium. The game is slated for 3:30 p.m. (ET) on ESPN or the Penn State Sports Network (2 p.m. pregame show). Here's what we learned from Tuesday's media availability.
1. Focus on winning the important battles. After having time to evaluate last weekend's game, head coach James Franklin highlighted the battles won by his program. "We won the turnover battle, which was significant," Franklin said. "Penalties, I think that was a big factor in the game. We were able to win that battle. The drive start battle, we were able to win that. The sack battle, we were able to win that. So, I think that was really kind of the story of the game."
Players of the week were Miles Sanders on offense, Shaka Toney on defense and Johnathan Thomas on special teams.
2. The Hawkeyes bring forth a defensive front seven who are among the best in the nation. "They're really good on defense. I think they've got one of the top passing defenses in the Big Ten," Trace McSorley said. "Their front seven is extremely impressive, kind of how they play with their size, strength and ability."
Added head coach James Franklin: "I think it's by far the best front that we have faced in two years. They are long. They are physical. They are stout. They are big, they are strong, and they do a really good job of not only being able to stop the run, but also being able to rush the passer in obvious passing situations, and then also batting balls down. So that will be a real challenge for our front."
3. The Hawkeye offense, led by junior quarterback Nate Stanley, bring a unique tight end dynamic to Saturday's game. "After studying them for a while on Sunday, we just noticed they're big, physical tight ends, old school, Big Ten-type tight ends," Amani Oruwariye said. "They're physical and athletic to go out and catch the ball. We're going to prepare for them, game plan just like any other week, and I think we'll be ready come Saturday."
James Franklin on the Iowa tight ends: "Both [T.J] Hockenson and [Noah] Fant are really nice complementary pieces for each other. Fant may be the best receiving tight end in the country," Franklin stated. "Hockenson does a really good job, as well. Hockenson does a really good job at both [receiving and blocking]. He's extremely physical. He's nasty but makes a bunch of plays for them and brings the mentality to their offense."
4. Trace McSorley has developed confidence and chemistry with his freshman wide receivers. "Seeing the plays that they're able to make and paying attention to the kind of work that they put in, seeing them after practice getting reps, staying and wanting to get extra film and early on in the summer they were reaching out to me wanting to get work," McSorley stated.
Added McSorley: "I think that stuff, and even though I wasn't throwing with them and getting a ton of chemistry with them during the year up until this point, I think those are the type of things that when you get a guy like Jahan [Dotson] who gets only so many opportunities in a game, where I feel completely comfortable being able to go to him and know that he's going to make the play because I've seen him do it."
