Inside the Den: Tuesday News & Notes

Following a competitive first half, Penn State unloaded a 42-point second half to upend Illinois on the road Friday night, 63-24.

The first win of the Big Ten season, the throttling improved the Nittany Lions to 4-0 on the season, leaving them as the No. 9-ranked team in college football and setting up a primetime date with No. 4-ranked Ohio State this weekend. In advance of the showdown, Penn State head coach James Franklin met with the media Tuesday afternoon at the site of the nationally televised game, Beaver Stadium, for his weekly press conference.

What’d Franklin have to say about his team, the matchup with the Buckeyes, and more? Let’s dive right into the primary takeaways, news, notes, and observations, here:

1) By the time Franklin wrapped his introductory comments, a process that usually includes a summary of the previous game and a look ahead to the Nittany Lions’ next opponent, he dropped what is likely the biggest news item to come out of the entire press conference.

Mark Allen, the Nittany Lions’ second-string, fifth-year senior running back, had been lost for the season due to an unspecified injury to his left leg.

“I probably do want to mention one of the changes that you guys probably saw on the depth chart is Mark Allen not being listed. Mark has suffered a season-ending injury and will be done,” said Franklin. “I don't typically get into injuries a whole lot, but with Mark being a senior and with this being a season-ending type injury, I talked to Mark about this and made sure I'm handling it the way he wanted me to. He talked to the team about it yesterday. He's in great spirits.”

Allen’s final season as a Nittany Lion included 24 carried for 99 yards and a pair of touchdowns in three games, including a career-high 62-yard, 11 carry effort in Penn State’s win against Kent State week three.

Given Franklin’s public announcement of the injury, teammates were similarly offered the opportunity to talk about the loss of their friend and teammate from the field for the rest of the 2018 season.

“Yeah, I was kind of pretty sad about that because Mark's a great friend of mine, and over the years I see the work and the things he did to help this team,” said Nittany Lion redshirt junior defensive end Shareef Miller.

2) With Allen’s absence, and as indicated on the official depth chart release for the program Monday night, the second-string show now belongs solely to true freshman running back Ricky Slade.

Coming off his best outing yet as a Nittany Lion, posting 94 yards and two touchdowns rushing, including a 61-yarder, on 10 carries, Slade drew heavy interest from reporters as he prepares to step into the bigger role.

“Yeah, Ricky is doing some really nice things for us as a true freshman, is getting better every single practice. His attitude, his work ethic, his demeanor has been really good,” said Franklin. “He's working hard in pass protection, which is typically a challenge for young backs, but he's been really good in those areas as well.”

Adding that the performances of Miles Sanders, Journey Brown and Johnathan Thomas, who has produced 84 yards on his three carries and a touchdown, have inspired confidence within the program, Franklin said the future continues to be bright for the position.

“We're going to miss Mark, but we still feel really good about those four guys as well,” said Franklin.

3) Maybe as relevant as anything to come from Franklin’s press conference occurred on the Big Ten coaches teleconference minutes after he concluded his session.

Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer, asked to describe the differences of Penn State’s offense with Miles Sanders and K.J. Hamler breaking out, gave high praise to the entire Nittany Lion unit.

“Yeah, you have to give them credit because Miles Sanders pops right in there and he has an outstanding player. We kind of saw glimpses of that last year. A lot of respect for him,” said Meyer. “But the quarterback is the guy that gets this thing going. It is a good scheme for what his skill set is. And I did an interview earlier, and the thing that makes him so amazing is his competitive spirit, that is what makes their offense so good. And their offensive line, I was just visiting with our defensive staff and they said this is one of the better offensive lines that they have seen.”

Earlier at his own press conference, Franklin offered up his own strong praise for the Nittany Lion offensive line that has evolved so completely in his time with the program.

Crediting the unit with having six starters in Ryan Bates, Steven Gonzalez, Michal Menet, Connor McGovern, Will Fries, and Chasz Wright, Franklin said that the differences are clear.

“We've gotten bigger. We've gotten stronger. We've gained a lot of experience over the last couple of years,” he said, acknowledging the challenges the group will face this weekend. “But we also know we're going to be playing one of the better D lines in college football. Their whole scheme is built around their D line. They play predominantly press coverage so the quarterback has to hold on to the ball, and they're expecting those four D linemen to be able to get to the quarterback or cause the quarterback discomfort in the pocket, and that's kind of how they're built.

“So it's going to be a challenge, but again, I think we're in a much different position than we've been in the past with our offensive line, not only from protecting our quarterback, but also more consistently being able to run the ball.”

4) Nick Bosa will not be able to participate in this weekend’s showdown, but Franklin still had considerable praise for the injured defensive end through the course of the press conference.

But beyond Bosa, Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins probably garnered the next-most amount of admiration from the Nittany Lion head coach.

Like Meyer’s own assessment of Penn State’s offense, Franklin delivered his opinion on what has led the Buckeyes to the No. 2-overall scoring offense in college football this season, trailing Penn State’s 55.5 points per game average by a single point.

“Well, I think it starts with obviously Haskins, and I think with the athletes and the weapons that they have, he's able to make you account for all 53-and-a-third of the field because of his arm strength and because of the athleticism that they have,” said Franklin. “So that helps their running game. That helps their passing game, that he's able to really distribute the ball to so many weapons that they've been able to recruit and develop. So I think that's what makes them different, where in the past they were probably more of a heavy running game as well as quarterback running game was such a big part of what they did.

“Both were challenging. Both are problematic. You know, quarterback running game is always a challenge. And the other thing I would say is obviously a quarterback that's able to distribute the ball all over the field and be able to be accurate enough that receivers are able to run after the catch with it is challenging. So you got really two different animals. Obviously (backup Tate Martell) factors into that as well. But he's obviously a different style when he comes in the game.”

5) In what is likely to be one of the biggest talking points of the week leading up to the game, Franklin was asked about his own defensive line and its ability to get pressure on Haskins Saturday night.

“Being able to get pressure on the quarterback is not something that people have necessarily consistently been able to do against them, for a couple of reasons. Number one, I think the quarterback does a good job of getting the ball out of his hands quickly, and I think they've done a good job with their scheme and the talent that they have at wideout that typically his first or second progression is open because of the scheme and because of the talent, that he's not holding on to the ball very long as well. So I think it's a combination of those two things,” said Franklin. “We're going to have to make him uncomfortable in the pocket and get to him, and some of that will have to be through pressure, but some of that's going to have to be with four down. And that'll be a challenge, because I do think this O-line, like I mentioned earlier, is probably the better -- probably the best O line we've seen since I got here in terms of playing Ohio State.”