Subscribe
Follow Us
Penn State football is bracing to be without some key pieces ahead of their Week 4 matchup against the Kent State Golden Flashes. Head coach James Franklin outlined multiple players who are not expected to play, like star safety KJ Winston, who exited early during their contest against Bowling Green. Franklin also mentioned freshman TE Luke Reynolds will play, and redshirt sophomore WR Kaden Saunders is still dealing with a “lingering” injury issue, dating back to the preseason, according to PSU insider Tyler Donohue.
Winston was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week in Week 1 against West Virginia. In that contest, he posted 12 total tackles and a forced fumble.
James Franklin, Penn State football skating by against high expectations
The Nittany Lions barely escaped with a win against Bowling Green. To the point that former PSU star Micah Parsons commented how the team needs to get better fast.
“We struck out, we finished, and we got the win. Understanding that winning at any level is very, very hard. I remember my first game at Penn State. We almost lost to App State. I didn’t even know who App State was, where it was, or who they were, but they came in and played a terrific game. Sometimes, some teams game plan and that’s their Super Bowl. Bowling Green played Penn State like that’s their Super Bowl. And Bowling Green is a really good team; it’s a great university; I know who Bowling Green was, but it’s Penn State.”
Penn State was a 34.5-point favorite in that game, yet it only won by seven points. BGSU held a 17-7 lead partway into the second quarter.
Looking ahead to their game against Kent State, Franklin spoke about what Penn State football focused on during the bye week.
“We’re either stopping drives after we convert first downs, or making more challenging third down situations hard to get into a rhythm on offense and then defensively, letting guys off the hook, you know, in terms of penalties that extend drives or make more manageable third down situations for their offense against our defense. So just some things that we got to get cleaned up, we’re giving yards away and making things more challenging, so that that is a major priority for us.”
This upcoming game against the Golden Flashes will see the No. 10 ranked Penn State football team hosting its final game before the Big Ten conference schedule begins in Week 5 versus the No. 24 ranked Illinois Fighting Illini.
