James Franklin's opening statement in his weekly press conference on Monday distributed immediate praise to all three phases of Ohio State's team.
"What they've been doing and what they've done and Ryan Day and his career there and the program in general, obviously a ton of respect for what they've been able to do for a long period of time under a number of different coaches," Franklin said. "Then obviously how they're playing again this year. You look at them statistically, (they're) playing really good football pretty much across the board.
As No. 4 Ohio State travels to No. 3 Penn State for a top-five showdown that could prove a Big Ten Championship Game play-in, there's a lot of respect from the side of Franklin's squad, as there should be with seven straight Buckeye wins in their series. Will Howard, TreVeyon Henderson, Jeremiah Smith, Caleb Downs, Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau are among the players Franklin sees as the biggest threats.
Franklin also provided injury updates for his squad and said he expects star quarterback Drew Allar to be a game-time decision.
"Offensively, Chip Kelly there, I think Chip kind of has a reputation of a guy with a spread background and throwing the ball around, and I get that. But if you really study Chip, he's always had a strong running game, and you see that this year. It's a big part of what they're doing, 11 personnel and 12 personnel."
"TreVeyon Henderson is explosive, one of the most explosive running backs in the country, who we recruited out of high school and are very, very familiar (with). Quinshon Judkins, who we're also familiar with as well, two really good running backs."
Even after some offensive line disorientation and a meager 2.1 yards per carry for the Buckeyes in their 21-17 win over Nebraska on Saturday, Franklin still fears Ohio State's rushing attack. OSU is now 35th nationally in rushing yards per game (188) and 18th in yards per carry (5.4).
"Their quarterback, Will Howard, who transferred from Kansas State, is a big guy and playing really good football for them. Touchdown to interception ratio, QBR, all those things, doing some really good things. Obviously a young man from Pennsylvania, so he'll have a bunch of support here from his family and friends."
"Obviously there's a bunch of receivers you could talk about. The guy that's getting a lot of buzz right now is Jeremiah Smith, the freshman. But there's a number of receivers that we could be talking about."
Ohio State's passing attack has been a consistent weapon even as its run game has declined its last two games, with Will Howard a combined 41-of-51 throwing the ball against Oregon and Nebraska. That's 80.4%, and he's pushed the rock downfield with 10.7 yards per attempt. He accrued five touchdowns and only one interception.
Penn State will, of course, have to account for his weapons out wide, not the least of which is Jeremiah Smith, set up to potentially break all three of Cris Carter's freshman receiving records on Saturday. He needs seven receptions, 26 yards and one touchdown to break each of those single-season freshman marks, respectively.
"Defensively, Jim Knowles, who's also a PA guy, is doing a really good job with their defense and has now for the last couple years. Multiple, multiple scheme defense. Really probably the thing that gets talked about the most is their three safeties that they play with, how they do it. He's been doing that in some form all the way back to his time at Oklahoma State, but he's really doing a nice job."
"Their safety, Caleb Downs, who they got out of the transfer portal, is playing very well. Cornerback Denzel Burke, number 10. And then obviously two defensive ends that are challenging in Jack Sawyer as well as Tuimoloau."
Outside of one game against the Ducks where it didn't get the stops it needed, the Buckeyes' defense has played great in 2024. It's no surprise that Franklin would note Tuimoloau as a threat given he posted one of the best defensive performance in Ohio State history the last time OSU traveled to State College, but Downs, Denzel Burke and Sawyer also stand out on tape to Franklin.
"And then on special teams, we think they do it by committee, which some programs do do that. Their kickoff coverage team has been really impressive. They've only allowed five returns this year. Lorenzo Styles really stands out on that unit. And then when you talk about their punt coverage team, that's another thing that kind of stood out to us. They've only had three returns on the year, doing a really good job."
Franklin even felt the Buckeyes' kick and punt coverage teams worth of praise, calling out nickel Lorenzo Styles Jr. specifically in that regard. Ohio State is No. 9 in the country with just 10 punt return yards allowed and No. 6 with 69 nice kick return yards allowed.
"He's played enough football for us that that timeline will go all the way up to the game, really. I do think from a practice perspective, we're going to have to, no matter where we're at on Tuesday, we're going to have to get both of those guys reps Tuesday and Wednesday. But it's too early to tell at this point."
Backup quarterback Beau Pribula went 11-of-13 for 98 yards and a touchdown filling in for Allar after he exited Penn State's 28-13 win at Wisconsin with a first-half injury over the weekend. The Nittany Lions will split reps between Allar and Pribula during practice this week while evaluating whether Allar will play.
"I think since Coach Knowles has been there, he's taken them to a whole other level. And then offensively this year, like I mentioned in my opening statement, when you talk about Chip, there's a commitment to running the ball. I don't think there's any doubt about that. And I think that's always been the case if you look back at Chip over his history. And I think Chip has the experience and the ability to play to the strengths of his team. And I think he is clearly doing that right now."
When asked if Ohio State's transitioned to being a more physical team over the past few years, Franklin said he wasn't aware of the narratives in the Buckeyes' media. But while he implied that OSU has always been a team with toughness, he did point out how the team's coordinators have amplified those traits.
"They're as talented of a roster as anybody in the country, and they're that way every single year. They are as well this year."
"We're excited about the opportunity. And that's what we're focused on, is the Ohio State team from this year and the Penn State team for this year and what we have to do to find a way to get a win. And what I'm excited about is this team has showed all of our fans, all of our lettermen, our alumni, the students, everybody, that they're going to find ways to get the job done."
Part of Franklin's reputation is a 3-17 record against top-10 opponents at Penn State, earning him the nickname "Big Game James." Ryan Day might share a similar reputation in top-five tilts, but seven of those 17 losses in Franklin's top 10 record have come the last seven times he's faced Ohio State. He's not focused on those past trends, however, rather how to beat this year's Buckeye squad.
"I think it's been impactful. I was told for a long time it wasn't, that it all levels out in the end. But I think we all know that that's not necessarily the case. ... I think some programs in the east are probably happy about the changes. Some programs in the west probably aren't happy about some of the changes."
Franklin, unsurprisingly, was in favor of the Big Ten's move away from divisions this year. Given there's been seasons where Penn State (formerly coupled with the Buckeyes and Michigan in the Big Ten East) would have been in the Big Ten Championship Game if there were no divisions, the Nittany Lions are one of the "programs in the East" he referenced.
"Whenever you play an opponent that a member of our team came from that school, then for me to sit here and say that it's not a big moment and a big game for that individual, it is. Obviously, we don't want to spend time on that. I want Julian and our team to approach it like we do every single week, which every week, it's the most important game we play."
"Julian is a super mature guy. He's been really good in our locker room. I'm very, very proud of him. I'm very glad he's here. But for us, I don't want Julian to treat this game any different than how he treated Wisconsin, and when I watch Julian, he prepares as hard as well as anybody, and I want him to do that again."
Julian Fleming's seen inconsistent usage in Penn State's offense after he transferred to his hometown school following four years at Ohio State, but no doubt there will be a lot of emotion tied up for the wide receiver on Saturday. He has 10 receptions for 148 yards in 2024, both sixth-most for the Nittany Lions.
