James Franklin’s postgame comments following Saturday’s 30-23 loss at Nebraska.
“Give Nebraska a lot of credit. I thought they played a consistent game for four quarters, which isn’t what we did. Came out, got down by 21 in the first half. Turnovers continue to be a problem. And not only turnovers, but turnovers for touchdowns.”
“I thought we got our running game going today, not only traditional running game going with the running backs, but also with the quarterback.”
“Will did some really good things.”
“Some of those (throws by Levis) we have to put them in a position where our guys have a chance to go get it.”
“That’s kind of the story is the turnovers.”
“What we did in the second half was obviously good, and we’ve got to build on that.”
On Will Levis performance and is the starting QB his job:
“We’re not gonna name a starting quarterback right after a game before discussing it as a staff and evaluating the tape and watching the tape.”
“Obviously that will be a discussion all week long. and we’ll talk about it later in the week.”
On putting Levis in:
“Where we were at in that game with the turnovers and what’s gone ion in the season so far, we had to make that change.”
On red zone issues last two possessions:
“Red zone offense is about running the ball and being detailed in the passing game. All the windows are shrunk down, so it magnifies it.”
“We didn’t make enough plays, we didn’t put the ball in a position where our guy had a legitimate chance to get it or you’ve got a chance to get the PI (pass interference).”
“Too many times in the red zone we didn’t come away with points.”
On coaching struggles:
“All of us, the head coach and every assistant in the program, obviously we’re not doing a good enough job. That starts with me. In every single area it can be better. We all got to do our jobs.”
On running game:
“Traditional running game, we were able to get that going today.
“A bunch of those young guys — Keyvone Lee, Caziah Holmes — both did some good things. Devyn Ford did some good things.”
“We were more physical up front, we were more consistent up front.”
“The stats kind of tell a different story than how the game turned out, again because of the turnovers.”
On poor starts in first half:
“Early on it was the turnovers and the lack of the running game.”
“It’s hard to get into a rhythm, hard to get in a groove, it’s hard to call (plays) when you don’t have the confidence you’re not gonna turn the ball over.”
On defense slow starts first half:
“If you look back at us in general, opening drives is an area that’s something we need to get better.”
“Today we were able to get some sacks in the second half and some turnovers.”
On Levis playing well late:
“He went in and gave us a spark. He made plays in the passing game. I thought he did a good job managing the game overall, and he made some good throws.”
“We need to be a little more consistent on the details.”
On slow starts first half hurting the program:
“It’s hard for me to say that because for the last four years we’ve been pretty successful.
“We played a winning brand of football here for four years.”
On any differences with this year’s team in the way it starts games:
“Obviously we’re not tackling well enough. We’re not consistent in our tackling. I do know over the last four years that’s always been a conversation that we want to tackle better. But obviously this year with the results it magnifies everything. All of our issues are magnified.”
“The biggest thing for us in my opinion defensively is getting people off schedule and creating turnovers and tackles for losses.”
“We’re not tackling well, and that’s been a discussion from the beginning of the season until now.”
On big personal foul penalties
“All the little extra stuff after every single play, that’s gotta get corrected.”
