Following arguably the most surprising result of the college football season, Penn State head coach James Franklin met with the media in Beaver Stadium for a highly anticipated press conference.
Franklin shared his final thoughts and evaluation from a 42-37 loss to UCLA, including addressing several areas of criticism.
Here’s what he had to say during an abbreviated Monday afternoon availability.
Feeding Fatman
Through five games, Penn State has inexplicably continued to favor running back Nick Singleton over Kaytron Allen in touches. When asked about the usage rate after the Villanova game, Franklin denied any intent to do so.
“I know sometimes when the numbers play out that way, it may seem like that or feel like that … It’s not like (offensive coordinator) Andy (Kotelnicki) when he’s calling the game is looking to see who the running back is … That was not a plan coming into the game; it’s just how those drives played out.”
Yet the trend continued, with Singleton holding a 22-20 advantage in carries over the last two games despite Allen leading in yards 104-60. Singleton also leads in total snaps played, 172-146 this season.
Franklin was once again asked about their workload, saying it was “obviously a discussion” after the game, but it was also a discussion before the game.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that Kaytron’s having a good year,” Franklin said. “He’s been very productive, and that’s kind of what we look at each week, is, how are we getting him touches? And then also, it’s not necessarily play count, but it’s also opportunities that he’s getting to touch the ball.”
Replacing Rojas
Another major issue that popped up during the Nittany Lions’ loss to the Bruins was poor linebacker play in the wake of Tony Rojas’ long-term injury.
In his place, Dom DeLuca stepped into a starting role alongside Amare Campbell and played poorly, missing gap assignments and receiving one of the lowest PFF grades on the team. The only other linebackers to get snaps were Keon Wylie (5), freshman Cam Smith (1) and DaKaari Nelson (1).
“Whenever you lose one of your better players on your team at a position we were already lacking depth, that’s going to create some challenges for us,” Franklin said. “So yeah, that’s going to be a point of attention all week long, with our coaching staff, with the players, and we’re going to have to rotate those guys in.”
Franklin said Smith and Anthony Speca will be relied upon more heavily down the stretch, but they need to perform better in games to earn the staff’s trust.
“There’s times we did some some really nice things,” Franklin said. “There’s other times where we had some mistakes, had some missed assignments, and, most importantly, (not) playing with confidence right now. So that’s a challenge.”
Offensive output
Penn State’s offensive struggles extend far beyond the running back usage. The team has consistently gotten off to slow starts, with just 68 first-half points compared to 118 second-half points.
“Myself and Andy share that responsibility, and we have not been productive enough at this point of the season,” Franklin said.
Franklin consistently used the word “inconsistent” to describe his offense. A big part of that comes from the offensive line, which performed admirably during the team’s run to the College Football Playoff semifinals last season but has regressed through the early stages of 2025 despite returning four starters.
Right guard Anthony Donkoh, who got dinged against Oregon before returning to action, was listed as questionable last Saturday and only saw 14 snaps. Franklin attributed some of the struggles to that, but said it’s not the only factor.
“We’ve done some really good things at times,” Franklin said. “We have not dominated the line of scrimmage the way I think we’re capable of dominating the line of scrimmage and not playing as fast and as aggressive as I think we anticipated.”
