Nick Singleton saw the hole and took off. He burst through Minnesota’s defense and dove into the end zone, giving Penn State its first lead near the end of the third quarter of a 26-25 win on Saturday. Singleton finished the day with 13 carries for 63 yards, his highest tally in either category in nearly two months.
The reality, James Franklin said on Monday, is that Singleton is “healthy again.” That’s a promising sign for an offense that entered the year with high hopes for its running back corps of Singleton and Kaytron Allen, but had not received the optimal consistent production from either player over a five-game stretch.
“Nick is looking closer to full speed and 100% than he’s been in a couple weeks, and we need that,” Franklin said. “He’s an explosive player, and I think when the defensive coordinators see that, when the defensive players see that, it changes how they defend him and how they defend us. Because if you make one mistake, it could go for 80.”
In a season that has seen more quality competition week in and out from an expanded Big Ten and a season that could go longer than the typical 12 or 13 games, Franklin said there are “very few people” who will be completely healthy all year. Singleton did the “best he could under the circumstances,” Franklin said, “but he was not 100%.”
Singleton said postgame in Minneapolis that he’s returned to full health.
“I felt good. I’m 100%,” Singleton said. “I’m good for the rest of the season.”
What else did Franklin discuss during his weekly press conference on Monday?
BIG TEN TITLE BID REMAINS POSSIBLE
With one more regular season game to play, the Nittany Lions remain in the mix for a Big Ten Championship appearance. If Penn State beats Maryland and Ohio State falls to Michigan on Saturday, that would almost certainly send Franklin to his first conference title game since 2016 due to the Nittany Lions possessing a higher cumulative winning percentage among conference opponents than Indiana.
Franklin is obviously focused on knocking off the Terrapins, but he’s also aware of the opportunities that could present themselves in the postseason, even before the College Football Playoff gets underway.
“After that game, there’s a lot of other things I think that have to happen, but that is a possibility for us,” Franklin said. “We want an opportunity to compete as many times as we possibly can this year, and if that includes a conference championship game, we would be very, very excited about that opportunity.”
WHAT IF THE FAKE PUNT DIDN’T WORK?
It was arguably the gutsiest play call of Franklin’s coaching career. With just under four minutes remaining against the Golden Gophers, the Nittany Lions ran a fake punt on fourth-and-1 that saw tight end Luke Reynolds race for 32 yards and all but set up a victory. If it didn’t work, Minnesota would’ve needed just over 30 yards to find the end zone or kick a field goal to win the game.
Luckily for Franklin, the call was executed to perfection. Backup center Dominic Rulli fluently read the Golden Gophers’ scheme, Tyler Duzansky snapped a beautiful ball into the hands of Reynolds and linebacker DaKaari Nelson made a perfect block to create an ideal running lane. All is well and Franklin has been praised for his courageous decision.
“After the case, when everybody is sending messages and saying, ‘Wow, great decision.’ That was awesome. I love it. Why? Because it worked,” Franklin said. “If it didn’t work, you wouldn’t be having fun with me, talking about the fried turkey or the roasted turkey; you would be roasting James Franklin. And I totally get that.”
THE FIERY SIDE OF DREW ALLAR
Franklin wanted to set the record straight. Drew Allar wasn’t upset at the play call that had tight end Tyler Warren kick a pooch punt on fourth-and-9, midway through the third quarter. Allar was frustrated that his snap call was offset by the defense and center Nick Dawkins couldn’t hear his cadence.
Allar then marched off the field in frustration as Warren punted the ball 16 yards. He shared some words with Franklin, angrily took his helmet off and yelled toward the turf. Franklin then spoke to Allar, seemingly calming him down before Allar led a touchdown drive and ultimately completed a comeback win up to the final whistle.
“I expect there to be fire, and I expect there to be emotion, and I’m totally OK with that and I encourage that. We work too hard, we sacrifice way too much,” Franklin said. “I think Drew’s a great example of that and I’m glad he’s showing that side of his personality. We’ve seen it, but I don’t know if necessarily everybody else has seen it.”
