Iron sharpens iron mentality has paid dividends for Penn State

James Franklin starts every weekly press conference on Tuesdays with the same note. Did the team win the turnover battle on Saturday?

Flying high off of a 31-0 White Out victory over No. 24 Iowa, Franklin emphasized No. 6 Penn State’s 11-point turnover margin that not only leads the nation but has assisted the team in its perfect 4-0 start to the season.

The Nittany Lions hold that lead over all of college football as they remain the only team to not turn the ball over this season. Add the five interceptions and six fumbles recovered that the defense has generated to combine to become one of the most complete teams in the country.

“It just creates that spark and gets our offensive going to get them as many opportunities as possible,” cornerback Daequan Hardy said when asked about the nine turnovers generated in the past two games. “At the end of the day, our main goal is to get that ball back to the offense.”

The redshirt senior is one of 10 different players with a turnover in the first four games that has helped Penn State dominate the amount of plays that offense gets over its opponents.

With the opportunities, Drew Allar and the offense have controlled the time of possession of each game to give the defense rest while adding to Penn State’s lead.

While the success has been fought and won on the gridiron, Penn State’s method of winning the turnover battle was built through a long, repetitive process over training camp.

“All through camp and practice going against Drew, giving our best shot at him and him giving his best shot at us,” safety Kevin Winston Jr. said. “It allowed him to come into the game and feel comfortable. We were playing against Drew like it was a championship game every day, trying to get the best out of him.”

By grinding day in and day out, an iron sharpens iron mentality began to spread across Holuba Hall.

Franklin stated that the team had a multitude of intensive battles over the summer because of it, but to him, when KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Kalen King faced off, it was “legendary.”

The duo battling each day has paid immense dividends this campaign. Lambert-Smith leads the team and is fourth in receiving yards in the Big Ten, as King has rarely been targeted by quarterbacks, given his lockdown coverage across the field.

The fight between Lambert-Smith and King is just one of many cases in the team that have led to Penn State’s great discipline with the ball and ability to force turnovers.

Penn State hits the road on Saturday to face its third Big Ten opponent in a row as it looks to head into its bye-week undefeated. To do that, Franklin said that the team cannot get bored of “grinding it out” to prevent and force the turnovers that the blue and white run off of.

“We do ball security on offense and turnover, ball disruption on defense every day,” Franklin said. “My message to them is to not get bored with those periods. Really make sure that we invest in those periods because it’s been a huge part of our success at this point of the season that we want to continue.”

Micheal Bolger is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email mpb6233@psu.edu.