Franklin wary of Buffalo’s offensive line
James Franklin didn’t attempt to list the names of the Buffalo offensive linemen this week because he was uncertain how to pronounce them.
Franklin, though, was sure of one thing – that the Bulls blockers are very good.
“We’re impressed with their offensive line,” he said. “They are physical on the o-line and at tight end. I’m not going to list their last names because some of them are difficult to pronounce and I don’t want to disrespect any of those guys.
“But we love how they play on film. They are tough. They are physical. They play hard.”
With four returning starters up front, Buffalo (1-0) likely will try to establish its ground game against No. 15 Penn State (1-0) tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Beaver Stadium (TV-FOX; WEEUAM/830). Seniors Evin Ksiezarczyk (left tackle), Paul Nosworthy (left guard) and Tomas Jack-Kurdyla (right guard) and junior Kayode Awosika (right tackle) have combined for 92 career starts and are the most experienced unit on the team. They helped Buffalo average 189.1 rushing yards a game last season, its highest since 1998.
They’ve been responsible for opening holes for sophomore Jaret Patterson, who rushed for 1,013 yards and 14 touchdowns last season when he was named the Mid-American Conference Freshman Player of the Year.
“I like the depth of our offensive line and what we’ve been able to recruit,” said Bulls coach Lance Leipold. “I like the way we’re developing our team to be competitive in the Mid-American Conference. We know stepping into this thing is going to
be a huge challenge for us.”
Penn State held Idaho, a Football Championship Subdivision opponent, to 4 net rushing yards last week in a season-opening 79-7 blowout. The Nittany Lions, however, struggled to stop the run last year, allowing 169.0 yards a game, their worst average since 2003.
Playing with gap discipline has been a point of emphasis for the linemen and linebackers since last season.
“Everybody knows the better the defensive line is, the easier it is to play linebacker,” middle linebacker Ellis Brooks said. “It gives us an opportunity to do some really special things. With their ability to play to get great penetration, it just makes everybody’s jobs easier and allows everyone to make plays.”
Buffalo redshirt freshman Matt Myers, making his first start at quarterback, completed 5 of only 10 passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns to tight end Zac Lefebvre in a seasonopening win over Robert Morris. If Myers is unsuccessful throwing the football, it will make the Penn State defense’s job easier.
“Last year with a veteran quarterback, they did some really good things in the passing game,” Franklin said. “So we’re really not sure if they did that (attempt 10 passes) because it was the first game and they didn’t feel they needed to or because they have a firstyear redshirt freshman starting quarterback and they just did not want to put too much on his plate.”
Penn State used at least 70 players last week, including three at several positions as early as the first half against Idaho. Its deeper roster is one reason why the Lions are favored by about 30 points against the Bulls.
“I don’t think we’re going to change our approach,” safety Jonathan Sutherland said. “We approach each week the same. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing. We take pride and try to rise to the occasion. We try to play to our standards.”