James Franklin stared at a stat sheet as he rattled off his opening statement, giving Jim Harbaugh’s crew credit and admitting that the Wolverine defense “kicked our butts” in a 42-7 loss. Then, still looking at the final box score, the Nittany Lions head coach made an astute observation.
“Our defense has been on the field for way too many reps the last couple of weeks.”
Bingo.
Brent Pry’s unit — which performed admirably for three quarters on Saturday — got run down. The Wolverines logged 69 plays, 52 of which were rushing attempts by Karan Higdon and company.