It’s as if James Franklin knew exactly what the media was thinking — they can sometimes be harsh because negativity sells — during his postgame presser on Saturday. Franklin referred to Penn State’s (3-0, 1-0) 30-13 road win at Illinois (1-2, 0-1) as “beautiful.” Later he added, “Anytime you can win on the road in the Big Ten, especially in an 11 o’clock game in front of a big crowd, it’s pretty.”
You know what? I agree with Franklin. It was a win and it was beautiful.
It wasn’t a super aesthetically pleasing game for Penn State, especially on offense. But the defense showed up, special teams improved a bit, and Drew Allar was again sitting on the bench during most of the fourth quarter.
The die-hards can get lost in the nuance. They can nitpick. That’s okay, too. Sometimes that’s even warranted. But Saturday’s win sets the stage for a primetime White Out against Iowa and that’s ultimately what the goal was from the start.
Still, we learned a bunch during the win. Let’s start this column with our weekly themes, followed by the “Stella Lion,” and we’ll top this off with game reactions!