At the 30-minute mark of his Tuesday press conference, Penn State head coach James Franklin cut straight to the point.

His Nittany Lions, now the No. 4-ranked team in the country set to face Indiana Saturday night in front of a Beaver Stadium “Stripe Out,” had been the subject of a variety of questions on the afternoon. In a session that included questions about everything from the team’s response to its 38-17 win over Villanova last weekend, the “revenge” factor going into this year’s game against the Hoosiers, and the Lions’ rushing performance through its first four games, Franklin was eventually asked about the broad picture of his program’s standing.

Did he agree with Sean Clifford’s post-game assessment that this team “was the best in the country,” and having previously discussed the notion of making the jump from great to elite, where was the program was in that journey and did his team have the potential to be the best team in the country?

Leaning into the microphone at the Beaver Stadium press room podium, Franklin uttered the words that might have best encapsulated his feelings on the day.

“I just want to beat Indiana,” Franklin said.

Expressing his appreciation for the confidence his starting quarterback had shown in himself, his teammates, and the program as a whole, however, Franklin doubled down on his belief that a fixation on the here-and-now, this week being the Indiana Hoosiers, was what would unlock the best chance for the program to reach its potential.

And, taking that sentiment a step further, he gently suggested the same for the swirling conversation that has gradually enveloped his program as it has progressed from a week one win at Wisconsin, through Ball State, Auburn, and Villanova.

“(I appreciate) the type of support that we’ve gotten from the community and the buzz and excitement that we feel in Happy Valley right now,” Franklin said. “But what I’d prefer is that everybody pours their energy into Indiana, and our players preparing as they’ve never prepared before for a game, and our fans packing Beaver Stadium and making Saturday night one of the toughest environments in all of college football.

“Then Saturday night we can have another discussion about where we sit in the college football hierarchy, and then I’ll probably give you another boring answer. But I just want to find a way to beat Indiana.”

Here’s a look at how Franklin and the Nittany Lions intend to do so with the news, notes, and observations that emerged from Franklin’s 40-minute weekly press conference:

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Having seen firsthand the potency Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr. brings to the field in last year’s 36-35 overtime loss to the Hoosiers, Franklin left little room for misinterpretation when asked about the opposing signal-caller this week.

Coming off a performance in which he’d completed 35 of his 53 passes for 373 yards, helping to lead the Hoosiers to a 33-31 win at Western Kentucky following a three-game stretch to open the season in which his team suffered two losses, twice throwing three interceptions at Iowa and against Cincinnati, Penix’s performance at Beaver Stadium would serve as one of the game’s most crucial elements.

“That's the point. That's the point with all quarterbacks. That's the point with all teams. That turnover ratio is critical. The touchdown to interception ratio is critical,” Franklin said. “We've done a pretty good job of that on both sides of the ball, protecting the football and attacking the football on defense. And obviously, Michael did a good job of that last week. I thought he played really well.”

Having completed 77 of 140 passes for the season through the Hoosiers' first four games (55 percent), for 821 yards, Penix enters Saturday night’s matchup with just four passing touchdowns to his six interceptions.

In the aftermath of a 2020 season in which his completion percentage was only a tick higher (56.4), his 14 touchdowns to just four interceptions while helping to lead Indiana to a 6-2 campaign (earning a second-team All-Big Ten nod along the way) stand in stark contrast to his current numbers.

Still, according to Franklin, the Nittany Lions’ hands will be full.

“Has he improved? Yeah. He's a veteran that's played a lot of football for them right now. Last year, he had a special year. He's had to fight through injuries. I think all that adversity, I think when handled the right way, helps you,” Franklin said. “But that's going to be a key factor in this game, how well he plays and how consistently we can get to him. I think that's going to be a huge factor in this game.”

Penn State finished with three sacks for 19 yards in losses on Penix a season ago. He has taken seven sacks so far this season.

Creating just six sacks for 60 yards in losses through the first four games this season, four of which came against Ball State and Villanova, the Nittany Lions’ ability to get to the quarterback is now somewhat in question.

But when asked about the pass rush from his team’s front four defensively, particularly when aided by the help of a blitz, Franklin noted that the opportunity for sacks is being actively hindered by opponents’ intentionality in getting the ball out of the quarterback’s hands quickly.

“I think you got to look at the whole picture. What are people doing to you? How many times are they dropping back? Or is it like Villanova's game plan which was to go quick game, RPO, cut, sprint out - which was a smart plan. So I think you got to look at it all,” he said. “I would like for us to get more pressure. I'd like for us to get more sacks. That will always be the case because they obviously are momentum and drive-killing plays. They're impactful, there's no doubt about it.

“There's a lot of reasons why it's important, but overall, I think we've been solid. I think we can be better in that area, more pressure, more sacks, but I also think you have to factor in what have people been trying to do against us.”

One of the heavy talking points of the day again centered on Penn State’s performance so far running the football.

Through four games rated as the nation’s 111th-ranked rushing offense, averaging just 113.5 yards per game on the ground (with a high performance of 240 against Ball State) which ranks 13th in the Big Ten, Franklin declined to lay blame at the foot of one singular component of the effort.

Instead, the head coach spent the afternoon painting the picture of slight areas for improvement to be had from the offensive line in its tenacity, from the running backs in their ability to break tackles and make people miss, from the tight ends in their run-blocking, and in giving credit to the approach of the Nittany Lions’ opponents.

“I’d also make the argument one of the reasons why we're throwing the ball so well is because people are committing so many people to the box to stop the run,” Franklin said. “So I think like most things, it's not one thing.

“It's easy to talk just about the O-line. I think overall our O-line is playing pretty good. But it's a combination of all those things. And when we can become just a little bit more efficient in the run game, and a little bit more explosive in the run game, then I think we got a chance to be really difficult to defend.”

As nearly every topic seemed to go Tuesday afternoon, Franklin ultimately made his way back to the notion of intentionality and an approach that he’s sought to have throughout the program.

Noting that he felt as though the Nittany Lions had taken steps through training camp, and in the lead-up to the first, second, and third games of the season, he reiterated that last week’s preparation was “a little bit inconsistent” in its approach and mentality.

However, as became clear throughout his weekly press conference, Franklin brought the focus back to a sticking point that at times he has lamented as lacking through his tenure at Penn State in other lapses along the way.

“I want us to understand what a tremendous opportunity, but also what a challenge we have come Saturday night,” he said. “I want to make sure that I feel like everybody within the organization, the players, the coaches, the trainers, the managers, everybody understands that each one of these days, and each one of these meeting sessions, or each one of these practice sessions, are like gold. And we need to take advantage of them because it could be that rep, it could be that play that is the difference in the game.

“So I just want to see that. I want to see an attention to detail and I want to see a focus, and I want to see us take another step in the right direction.”

His Nittany Lions, he continued, will get that opportunity to demonstrate another step Tuesday when they return to “a workday” session of full pads.

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