James Franklin still isn’t ready to ‘pound his fist’ even as Penn State climbs the polls

A lot has gone right so far this season for Penn State as it prepares for one final nonconference home game against Central Michigan.

An undefeated start (3-0) has the NIttany Lions ranked No. 14 after they started the season unranked. The resume includes two road wins – one against conference foe Purdue in the season opener and then at Auburn last week, sandwiching a home win over Ohio.

Penn State coach James Franklin has been adamant about taking advantage of opportunities to get extra reps for his young corps. It would come as no surprise for the ninth-year coach to look to his bench early as heavy double-digit favorites against the Chippewas. As of Thursday, the Nittany Lions were a 26.5-point favorite.

» READ MORE: Penn State national title odds improving after dominant win over Auburn, 3-0 start

Penn State’s run defense can’t afford to let Central Michigan’s Lew Nichols have a strong performance. The sophomore running back is coming off a 166-yard, two-touchdown outing in a 41-0 win over Bucknell.

The Lions have yet to allow a team to rush for more than 120 yards in a game. Purdue was the only opposing team to find the end zone twice on the ground.

It will be interesting to see the level of defensive coordinator Manny Diaz’s creativity against a Mid-American Conference team that the Lions are projected to beat pretty substantially.

Penn State’s most intriguing formation has been the use of its seven defensive backs. Three of its four forced turnovers against Auburn came with three down linemen, one linebacker, and seven DBs – a mix of cornerbacks and safeties – on the field.

Penn State and Central Michigan have only met once before. Franklin was surprised by that. The Nittany Lions won that game, 40-3, in 2005. Central Michigan rushed for just 14 yards that day.

“I do think this past weekend [against Auburn] with zero sacks and to be able to run the ball the way we ran the ball and handle crowd noise, which can be challenging for an offensive line, I think it was a step in the right direction. But we still have work to do and I’m still not ready to pound the table [vouching] for them. I probably won’t be all year long because as soon as I say something positive, something won’t go well. So, I’m going to hold my thoughts.” –– Penn State head coach James Franklin

The back half of Penn State’s two-game homestand has it matched up with Northwestern to resume Big Ten play Oct. 1 (3:30 p.m., 6abc or ESPN).