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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Penn State coach James Franklin blamed a curious call from Saturday's ground, which saw midfielder Miles Sanders crammed with a 2-yard loss with a little over a minute to play, sealing a goal against 27-26. loss at No. 4 Ohio State.
The Nittany Lions squandered a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter to suffer their first loss of the season.
"They changed the look (on the defense), so we called a timeout and discussed," said Franklin, who called two timeouts before the unfortunate game was smothered by Chase Young of Ohio State.
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"We obviously have not made the right call in this situation, and it's up to me, no one else. We did not make the right call and, of course, it did not work. We called something similar in other situations. , and he burst for a big game. But it's on me. "
Quarterback Trace McSorley of Penn State, who set a school record with 461 total offensive yards, agreed with the coaches that based on the defensive lineup in the state of Ohio, there would be a "fallback" in the middle of the field for Sanders, held for 43 yards on 16 carries.
"We went out and tried to get them to jump a bit and see if we could move them," said McSorley, explaining the second timeout. "I know exactly what the coaches saw.I saw the same thing.It was there to be done.We did not play the game.They turned around and managed to quickly get into the backfield, and we were not able to take this turn.They hit right when he got the transfer. "
McSorley, who had 175 yards rushing, said it was easy to guess after the fact.
"It was the coaches' decision, and I agree with the call." We simply did not play, "said McSorley. "We did not think that they would be ready to play and that they could make a hole in the middle and wrinkle them." That's what we thought we were, but we were not able to take the turn. "
Penn State has won 24 of its last 28 games, but these four losses have resulted in a total of eight points. Franklin said it's the little things that cost the Nittany Lions in these losses and that one of the difficulties is that too many program participants are comfortable.
"The reality is that we went from an average football team to a good football team to a great football team and worked very hard to do these things," said Franklin. "We are not yet an elite football team … At the moment, we are comfortable, and I am going to make sure everyone in our program, including me -Even, is very bad at ease you are uncomfortable. "
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