Partway through his opening statement during a regularly scheduled Monday news conference, Penn State head coach James Franklin made a comment that caught the attention of a local reporter. Franklin, whose team defeated then-No. 19 Illinois at home over the weekend, had already run through the latest injury updates and a statistical recap of the win when the tone seemed to shift, albeit only slightly. He slipped in a quick remark about how important it is for the Nittany Lions to take "a significant step" in their next game — and then quickly veered into an overview of UCLA, whom Penn State will face on Saturday at Beaver Stadium.