Penn State head coach Bill O'Brien met with the media following Saturday's win over Temple. Get the rundown of the finer points here.
Penn State improved to 2-2 on the season.
- I felt like we had a productive day, but we left a lot of points off the board. We've got to clean that up. When we have a chance to score inside the 10, we have to do that. That starts with coaching. Give credit to Temple, they did a great job with a diverse blitz scheme. We have to improve in the overall offensive game.
- Just like a lot of units on our team, our offense has improved. We had Ty Howle back this week, which was big because anytime you add depth it's a good thing. We're rotating at tackle which helps. They're a great group to go around.
- I was disappointed in the penalties in our end. We have to coach that up better and make sure our players… that's something we pride ourselves on. We have to do a better job with that.
- I'll have to look at the tape for the penalties. Maybe in the first three weeks we did a better job keeping our hands inside, maybe it's a lack in focus. We have to do better with that.
- I got an explanation on Kyle Carter's penalty, they said he was blocking with the ball in the air. Good call? Whatever. I don't have an update on Zordich. He's a tough kid, he'll spit on it and be all right.
- Curtis Dukes had a thigh deal coming out of the last game. We decided to rest him and we felt good about Zordich and Zwinak.
- The thing about Mike is that he plays with great intensity and great effort, so even when they miss, he makes plays because he's hustling. Can he improve? Of course. They spark our team because of the effort in which they play.
- Sean Stanley will be back next week, he needed a week off with a back issue. I thought CJ made some good plays. CJ is a guy who worked extremely hard in practice. He had the tipped ball on the second to last drive. He played a tough, solid ballgame today.
- Mike Zordich is a football player. He came in and learned the package, not just fullback just in case this would happen. He's been a guy that's really worked at it. He ran hard today and it was fun to watch he and Zach run the ball today.
- If this was any other year, then I would tell you that there is letdown at times in football. But this year, we've got 12 games, we've got a special senior class. These guys know they only have eight games left to play. It's a fun way to get around some of the things they've dealt with. It's like some good teams I've been around. I think we left a lot of points off the board, overall though the effort was good. The meetings were good, the guys were into it. That's what I've seen every week.
- Winning is huge. Winning takes care of a lot of things, makes people feel good, especially when you do things and are well-coached. I think that Temple is a good football team. They gave us a lot of problems with their blitzing scheme. Now we just have to get back for Illinois next week.
- Billy Belton is coming along, it was a significant ankle sprain. I just feel bad for him, hopefully he'll get back in there this week. It will be a running back by committee. These guys have run well, hopefully one of them will get hot.
- The coaches did a great job of alerting me when to use the time outs at the end of the first half. We got a short field, a decent return. We only had 45 yards or so to go. Matt did a great job on the touchdown, we weren't aligned properly.
- I don't know about Adrian Amos and whether he was hurt. I don't get those updates before I got in here.
- Della Valle is a solid guy, a football player. He fields the punt, is a solid returner, decent speed, good vision and he's another great kid. I thought Evan Lewis did a good job with catching the ball. Good role players for us.
- The identity of this team to me is a bunch of guys who are going to play very hard, with great effort. I believe it's a close locker room with a strong senior class. It's not really about identity on offense or defense, we're going to do what it takes to win. The identity is a bunch of resilient, tough kids who love to play football and love to attend Penn State.
- I like that defensively we held them when we had to. I loved the drive at the end of the game that ended with the field goal. That was an 11 or 12 play drive that basically sealed the game. A lot of time that's the mark of a solid football team.
- Allen Robinson is a really good, young player who works hard. He's a smart guy, he can run, he can catch. Always has a smile on his face. He has a huge future.
