Penn State's 33-14 win over in-state rival Pitt was a big win for the Nittany Lions in many ways, but it was Lions head coach James Franklin that made headlines with this quote in his post game press conference.

"There are a lot of individual things I could talk about, but most important is that were 1-0 this week and we were able to get a win. That's what that was for us."I know last year for their win it was like the Super Bowl, but for us this was just like beating Akron."It's easy to see how anyone, including the media, could interpret that statement as passive aggressive dig at Pitt or that it was sour grapes left over from Pitt defeating the Nittany Lions a year ago, which ultimately kept them out of the College Football Playoff. Although some might just see it as Franklin trying to keep his team focused on going 1-0 every week, which will get them back to the Big Ten Championship.Franklin explained the quote more in depth after his opening statement."I've been saying for two years that each win is like the Super Bowl for us. You can interpret it however you want."Last week, we beat Akron and it was a great win. This week, we beat Pittsburgh and it was a great win. This win is no more significant than last week. I've been saying it for two years, each win stands alone."Turnovers are the name of the game to winning a football game and the Nittany Lions defense was able to force three, including two interception and a fumble. Grant Haley intercepted a pass on Pitt's opening possession of the ball game, which setup a quick Trace McSorley touchdown pass to Mike Gesicki to set the tone early for the Nittany Lions.The Penn State defense was impressive throughout the day, stealing momentum from Pitt many times in the game. Pitt actually had some success running the football, not so much statistically, but in grinding the clock.Pitt rushed for 155 yards at just 3.4 yards per rush, but used up 38 minutes of the clock in the game. Not many times does a team score just 14 points after possessing the ball for 38 minutes, which is testament to the depth and toughness of the Nittany Lions defensive unit."Our defense, like you were saying, was on the field a lot, but really was able to hold them to field goals for most of the game, created some turnovers, and we played a lot of guys again," said Franklin. "We played a lot of guys throughout the game which is going to be important to us moving forward."The Penn State offense did struggle at times, especially in sustaining drives and in the passing game, but good field position and a player by the name of Saquon Barkley helped it score a very solid 33 points.Barkley once again made the best of how opportunities, rushing for 88 yards and a score, while catching four balls for 45 yards and a touchdown.Trace McSorley missed some throws on the day, but still managed to throw for three scores and he also was good on the ground rushing for 65 yards on just eight carries."For us, if Saquon is going to have opportunities for a big plays, he's going to get them and if not we're going to throw the ball or pull the ball or whatever it may be," said Franklin. "I am very pleased and very impressed with what we are able to do."I think we were a little off in the passing game. I think Trace [McSorley] missed some throws early in the game that he normally doesn't, but we were able to kind of get him involved in the running game early on, which I think settled us down and we made some plays. I think we were just off and we missed some throws early in the game that we normally hit."Despite the win, the Nittany Lions slipped to No. 5 in the AP and Coaches Poll. Next up, is Georgia State at 7:30 p.m. (BTN) on Saturday at Beaver Stadium.HOME STREAK ... With the win, Penn State extended its home winning streak to nine games, which is tied for the longest active streak in FBS.HIGH SCORING ... Penn State scored 30 or more points for the ninth consecutive game, marking the first time since a string of 15-straight games with 30-plus points from 1993-94.SACK ATTACK ... The five sacks recorded by the Nittany Lions are the most since Penn State had six last season against Ohio State.