Who are true Big Ten contenders? Uncovering truths about Penn State, Nebraska, more

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. 

"One of the things I talked to the team about is the importance of us taking a significant step this week," Franklin said. "And not having to be one of those teams you see all over the country that has to have a setback first before they make a wake-up call and take a significant step. So we need to do that this week. Very, very important for us."

Toward the end of Franklin's interview session, a local reporter followed up on the idea of Penn State needing to take a significant step against the Bruins this week. He asked for a bit more specificity about Franklin's choice of words and wanted to know if there were things that didn't happen against Illinois that were concerning to the coach and his staff. 

"In general, we've got to get better," Franklin said. "We shouldn't have to have a setback. We've got to just make sure we're not getting complacent and get better every week, individually and collectively. Also, the areas that are obvious we need to get cleaned up — like penalties — we can't just keep talking about it. You guys don't want to hear it, the fans don't want to hear me keep talking