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2 0 1 7 K I C K O F F S P E C I A L seasons and national championship runs with some regularity, the truth is that it hasn't been that consistent since the early years of the Big Ten era. If Penn State wins 10 or more games in 2017, it will be only the third time since 1985-86 that the team has posted dou- ble-digit win totals in consecutive sea- sons. (The others are 1993-94 and 2008-09.) The good news for PSU is that James Franklin is halfway toward accomplish- ing that feat again, having delivered a double-digit win total for the first time since arriving in University Park in 2014. And he's taking the right approach as he looks to follow up last year's break- through, acknowledging the success the team enjoyed after getting off to a ragged 2-2 start, while making sure to drive home the need for continued improve- ment. "It's not like I'm asking them to bury their head in the sand and act like that didn't happen," he said. "They earned that. So you'll recognize that, but on the other hand, those points aren't going to carry over, and those wins aren't going to carry over. We have guys who had critical roles on the team and they're not with us anymore. We just have to be dis- ciplined enough to not get caught up in the hype. "I actually make the argument that the way last season started really, really helped me at the end of the year to say, will be able to sit and be able to learn. When I was in Green Bay, we had Brett Favre and we dra>ed Aaron Rodgers that year, and I think one of the best things for him was that he was able to sit and take his time, learn the NFL game and sit behind Brett for a couple years. So when he was able to step in, he was ready. Are there any &rst-year players who haven't been on the &eld at Beaver Stadium during a game who you feel are giving you a lot to think about? The two true freshmen who jump out right away are [Tariq] Castro-Fields and Yetur [Gross-Matos]. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of guys, but these are the guys we're already saying are going to factor in. Over the next week or two, there are going to be other guys, be- cause we have no problem playing true freshmen. We encourage it. I think you've got some redshirt guys like Shane [Simmons] and Shaka [Toney], those guys are going to have to step up for us, especially at the position that they play. You look on the o

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