There were some good anecdotes and also a good bit of news out of the Penn State camp from press conferences held Tuesday. James Franklin, cornerback Joey Porter Jr., running back Noah Cain and safety Ji'Ayir Brown all spoke with the media by Zoom.
Here are the top 10 takeaways from those discussions.
1. Is Ball State a trap game?
Penn State is coming off a huge road win at Wisconsin and now faces a lesser opponent in Ball State. So, inevitably, the trap game possibility will get tossed around this week. Even with the Nittany Lions favored by 22 points.
Franklin was asked if he believes in trap games and gave a well-reasoned answer, diving into his strong desire for consistency and routine.
"I believe in teams playing inconsistent because they either look forward, look back, get caught up in praise, get caught up in criticism, don’t have the correct amount of respect for the opponent or the process," Franklin said. "So that’s why almost to the point where it’s maybe a little crazy, our routine and our process is really important to me.
"I do believe in trap games if you’re sending mixed messages, if you’re inconsistent in your approach," he added.
Ball State returned 21 starters, including 16 super seniors, from a team that went 7-1 and won the MAC title last year. The Cardinals opened with a 31-21 win over Western Illinois.
2. Lions move up big in polls
Penn State made a big move up in the polls this week. The Lions are ranked No. 11 in the AP poll, up from No. 19. They are No. 12 in the coaches poll, up from No. 20.
Iowa moved up eight spots to No. 10 in the AP poll after drubbing Indiana, 34-6. The Hoosiers, meanwhile, tumbled out of the top 25 and all the way to No. 33.
3. Maybe "it was all that Dan Marino's fault"
Laces out. That's how kickers want to kick the ball, as everyone learned with the Dan Marino twist in the plot of "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective."
Jordan Stout doinked a PAT off the left upright for a miss and also missed a 23-yard field goal at Wisconsin, costing PSU four points in a close game. Many were surprised that Stout was handling the short place-kicking duties, as Jake Pinegar did that job last year, while Stout was called upon for long field goal tries.
Franklin said the entire operation has to be right in order to make a kick, and he noted that both times the laces weren't right.
"That’s snap, hold and kick," Franklin said of what all needs to go right. "A couple times there we did not have the laces. It doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, we’ve got to make the kick. But it's more than just the kick."
Penn State keeps meticulous records of everything that happens in practice to determine who plays at every position, and that's certainly true with the place-kicking job. Franklin said the coaches track everything, and Stout won the job with his performance.
"Based on all the numbers of training camp, he won the job," Franklin said.
The issue, though, is that Stout also is the punter and handles kickoffs. It's rare to see one kicker do all three of those jobs.
"Obviously, it's a lot on his plate," Franklin said. "You're talking about all three things. So we spent a lot of time talking to national kicking gurus of how do you handle that?"
Stout was named the Big Ten special teams player of the week for his work punting, averaging 53.9 yards in seven kicks. Franklin said he's proud of Stout for being able to put the missed kicks behind him and still handle his other two duties well.
"Jake Pinegar still has a tremendous future," Franklin said. "We're gonna need him at some point this year, as well."
4. Joey Porter Jr. recalls high school workout against Antonio Brown
The cornerback told a good story about how, when he was in high school, he went one on one with then-Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown. Porter went to North Allegheny High School.
Porter said he did well against AB and that the workout had a big impact on him, but also noted the NFL star probably held back some.
"I feel like he didn't go all the way on all the reps," Porter said.
The Penn State sophomore also talked about the influence of his father, former Steelers standout linebacker Joey Porter.
"He was my main reason for putting on pads," Porter Jr. said. "He taught me a lot of knowledge of the game and just never giving up."
He also said his dad brought him to the Steelers facility so that he could "soak up all the knowledge from other players."
5. A little Twitter birdie told me ...
For those active on Twitter, Franklin has long been known for a weekly tweet where he repeats the upcoming opponent over and over and over -- as many times as he can given the characters allowed. But he has changed things up this year, going with this instead:
1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0 #WeAre
— James Franklin (@coachjfranklin) September 5, 2021
Why did Franklin make the switch? He said Penn State fans and media always understood the intention behind repeating the opponent, but that fans of the opposing team would sometimes think it was some type of slight at them.
"I never mean to seem disrespectful to an opponent," Franklin said.
"I don’t want other people misinterpreting what we're talking about," he added.
6. The targeting issue
Penn State lost linebacker Ellis Brooks when he was ejected for targeting in the second half, which means he also has to sit out the first half this week.
"It was one of those calls that could go either way," Franklin said.
"If I was wearing the official's hat and not being biased as the Penn State football coach, I probably would not have called it," he added.
Franklin also talked about how tackling is different now and that the targeting calls are having a major impact.
"I think there’s just going to come a point where I don’t know what you tell the defensive guys," he said before later adding, "It’s a challenging thing right now for our game."
Franklin also said: "There’s gonna need to be a discussion where we get coaches and officials and the AFCA involved and really just sit down and talk it all through, with the doctors as well, and make a decision."
7. What happened on those hits on the Wisconsin punt returner?
Franklin said A.J. Lytton did exactly what he's taught to do when going down and looking to hit the punt returner. But Lytton was flagged twice for hitting the Wisconsin returner too early.
"I’d make the argument that if you want the protection, then you should call for the fair catch," Franklin said. "Obviously there’s a fine line to that because you don’t want to put the player at risk.
"The way I felt like the way that rule’s been interpreted in the past, you’ve got to give him an opportunity to catch it, and once they catch it you can hit him."
Franklin added that the coaches teach it is "once the hands go up, we want him to shoot."
"AJ did it exactly the way we coach it to be done," Franklin added. "The second one he was clearly blocked into the returner, so that’s why that flagged was picked up."
8. Cain not able to work out with Zeke
Running back Noah Cain told a story of how he had to miss a chance to work out with Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliot during the offseason because he had to take a Spanish test.
"Noah has been a model Penn State student since he's arrived on campus," Franklin said when told of that story.
Franklin then was asked which celebrity he crossed paths with that stood out to him. The coach answered Ron Jaworski, the former Philadelphia Eagles star quarterback.
Back to Cain, he didn't get a lot of action Saturday at Wisconsin, carrying eight times for 48 yards. But he made a big impact in the second half with a 34-yard run and 16-yard reception. He also scored the go-ahead touchdown.
Cain said that the younger version of him would have become impatient with the lack of carries, but he's now grown to understand things better.
9. Speaking of limited carries
Sean Clifford carried the ball just four times Saturday, and also was sacked twice. He finished with 5 yards rushing, but had a 7-yard carry.
The Lions must keep Clifford healthy because of little depth at quarterback, and one way to do that will be to cut back on his carries. He would take off and run quite a bit last season, especially early on, but that is not the best thing for this team.
"The biggest thing … is make sure that you’re going through your progressions and not going progression, run, progression two, run," Franklin said.
Clifford did stand in the pocket and made some nice throws under pressure Saturday.
"The success he’s had has built confidence. ... The challenges and adversity he’s had has built thick skin," Franklin said.
"I don’t think anybody would question his toughness."
10. Personnel update
Running back John Lovett, safety Keaton Ellis and defensive tackle Hakeem Beamon did not make the trip to Wisconsin, despite all three being expected to be part of the rotation at their positions.
"They were not available last week. That will be to be determined this week," Franklin said, without adding further details.