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What they said after Penn State’s victory over Washington

Pabio November 10, 2024

Penn State coach James Franklin made his final speech for Tyler Warren to win every award after his do-it-all performance against Washington. The tight end threw two touchdowns, caught eight passes, attempted two passes (neither of which he completed) and generally wreaked havoc in the game. Nittany Lions win 35-6 against Huskies. Warren also lost a fumble, but we’ll let that slide.

After the game, Franklin praised Warren, his team’s first half and the overall nature of its resilience. And Washington coach Jedd Fisch explained why he changed quarterbacks at halftime. Here’s what the coaches said after White Out Saturday night at Beaver Stadium.

Penn State coach James Franklin

On victory: In my opinion, the game was won on the third try. We were 77 percent in third place compared to 30 percent. I think we were 7 of 7 in the first half to start the game. … The sack battle was a dominant aspect of the game (Penn State had five sacks and allowed none). I thought our O-line, we didn’t give up any sacks in the game. Part of that was Drew (Allar) extending plays, but then our defense was able to get five sacks in the game.

Tyler Warren continues to play in different ways and I’m proud of him there. Jaylen Reed continues to play for us. Abdul Carter continues to make big plays in critical moments. So that was really cool. And then the last thing I would say is that their defense was one of the best pass defenses in the country. I think they were the second-ranked pass defense in the country, and we threw for over 220 yards. They allowed 142 per game this season. And then obviously, we were able to protect football. I think that’s one of the things that Drew has done a phenomenal job of over the last couple of years. He doesn’t get enough credit for that, but being able to protect the football, make good decisions and be accurate is impressive.

About Tyler Warren: So here I have a list of about 35 records that Tyler Warren has broken. I’m not going to cover them all, but he’s a very good football player. I don’t see how this guy wouldn’t win the Mackey Award and the Paul Hornung Award. I don’t see why he wouldn’t. And they would be proud of this guy for being their reward because he does everything right, on and off the field. He’s been doing this since the day he arrived on campus. So he’s just a great example of what a Penn State football player is.

On his team’s resilience after its loss to Ohio State: In our locker room, at the Lasch Center and on our training grounds, we have many reasons to be proud and we are focused on that. We’re focused on corrections and I’m proud of my guys. I am proud of my staff and the way we conduct our business. We value winning, and if you look at college football across the country, it’s hard to win consistently. You see it every week, upsets and things like that. So we value victory. We respect victory and what it requires. And we get back to work on Sunday, in the Lasch building and on the Lasch training grounds.

On the status of running back Nicholas Singleton: As you know, I don’t get into that sort of thing. You know, you’ll find out when you come to practice (Wednesday). I don’t have much more. Usually, I come back after that, I shower, everyone is gone. I’m done with the shower and (head coach) Andy Mutnan is waiting for me, and he’s talking about how we got out of the game and what the injuries were. We usually don’t have much information until the next morning. But as you can imagine, I’m not used to sharing this information with you.

On Penn State’s execution: I think the most important thing on offense and defense is that we were able to control the first down. On offense, we averaged seven yards per play in the first half. Defensively, we were able to stay ahead of the sticks all night, allowing us to be in advantageous third-down situations. This allows you to push the ball down the field. This allows you to be aggressive on defense to attack the quarterback. So, I think the first down was a big factor in this game and how it went.

On defensive end Abdul Carter: He is a disruptive footballer. He was like that when he played linebacker. He is disruptive when he plays defensive end. I still think there’s been an evolution for him there, in terms of playing the run game consistently, rushing the passer consistently, getting good at his start. He’s just getting better. For me, that’s what’s exciting. He has a lot of football ahead of him. He finds a multitude of different ways to disrupt the game.

To further engage recipients: Yeah, it’s great to get these guys involved. We want to do this every week. It’s really good to see Julian (Flelming) doing some things. Trey (Wallace) did some good things today, and we need more of that. We will continue to invest in it throughout the week. But I’m really proud of our guys. I thought they played well tonight; I thought Trey’s catch on the sideline was a huge catch. We need those guys, so we’ll continue to invest in that.

Washington coach Jeff Fisch

On the decision to change quarterbacks at halftime: We had (71) yards of offense, (59) yards of passing. It was 28-0, and we hadn’t done anything other than the first drive. I thought it was an opportunity to give Demond (Williams Jr.) a chance to play a full half of football that he didn’t get a chance to do. I think he did some really good things in the second half.

On Washington’s offensive line: We kind of saw that early in the season because we didn’t have any offensive linemen active in spring ball and we weren’t available to bring in players from the portal. In recruiting guys, we only had seven (offensive linemen) on the roster and two of them were coming off ACL injuries and on top of that, they were teaching a new system. A lot of these guys haven’t had access to the weight room due to injuries and inexperience and I think this year and the upcoming offseason is a big weightlifting year for them, like Drew Azzopardi, a big year of bodybuilding for these guys.

On the move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten: Yes, this team was recruited primarily as a Pac-12 team. It’s a huge adjustment. The Big Ten is a lot of big, physical guards and defenders. As we continue to move east and play these games, as you can see, the offensive and defensive lines are about 1,100 pounds heavier than ours. It’s hard, you just have to be more physical.