Points Not Taken

Northwestern 23, Penn State 21

The Northwestern Wildcats (7-2, 3-2 Big Ten) defeated the Penn State Nittany Lions (7-3, 4-2 Big Ten) 23-21 at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois on Saturday.

I guess this Penn State team and its coaches once again failed to take the advice of the sage Turkey, as they squandered repeated opportunities in going down to defeat at the behest of the Northwestern Wildcats. Penn State will go into the bye week with a sour taste in its mouth, with the spectre of a 7-5 season and a trip to the Toilet.com Bowl lying ahead.

You almost got me…

Some of you guys and the media almost had me going in your direction after the big Illinois win on Halloween, which quickly proved to be a trick instead of a treat. The stars aligned on that satanic ritual day, as it turned out, in a manner we probably won’t see for the rest of the year. Deep inside, a voice was muttering to me. “Turkey,” it said. “Won’t you look like a pure asshole if they’re right and you’re wrong, and the Illinois game winds up being the turning point for the season?” My doubts of my own sanity were amplified as I watched the gambling line drop from 2½ points to pick-’em. Still, I held firm to my beliefs that this Penn State team at ten games into the season is still a work in process with much work to be done and not enough time in which to do it.

…but I was right.

Not only did my game prediction take the prize this week (I said 24-20, and it wound up 23-21), but also my keys to the game — which some of you thought were so fundamental that they obviously already had been fixed, as evidenced by the wonderful Illinois blowout — were ignored. Furthermore, it’s even money at this point whether my season prediction of 7-5 will come to pass. (At season’s outset, I predicted losses to Rutgers, tOSU, Northwestern, Michigan, and Moo U. — substitute Temple for Rutgers and you have my adjusted prediction for the season with the final two losses yet to happen.)

I don’t necessarily relish being right especially when I opine that the team I’ve been rooting for over a 50-year span will perform crappily. I’m tired of the emotional roller coaster one has to ride with the series of occasional bright spots followed by two or three dark brown performances. So, I lean toward the latter because we see more of them and if we set our sights low, we know we can’t be too disappointed. I think Big Al’s Rule of Threes is a pretty good description of this team over multiple years, to wit that they’ll turn in a decent performance every third game. Nonetheless, Big Al’s characterization doesn’t lessen the frustration of dealing with single steps forward followed by multiple steps backward repeated ad nauseam.

The running game has improved measurably over the course of the season thus far, and the offensive line is slowly, but steadily, getting better. On the other hand, Christian Hackenberg is still inconsistent and the defense still misses tackles. Receivers are still dropping passes. The special teams still suuuuuuuuuuuuck. The rushing defense? Going backward. And coaching? Don’t ask.

Pay attention to the Turkey!

When I said fix the third-down conversion problem, I meant it! Instead, what we saw was the reverse. Penn State was four for seventeen converting third downs against Northwestern. This earned the Nittany Lions a drop in the FBS third-down conversion rankings such that they are now #126 out of 127. Only Kent State (3-6) is shittier. At this stage of the season, there is no salvation. PSU suuuuuuuuuuucks!

Early Road Start Woes and Squandered Opportunity

The early start road thing seemed to bother the boys once again, as they were handed repeated gifts in the first half but could not capitalize. (Originally, I was going to call this article “lower case”, because the psu nittany lions could not capitalize, but I rejected that as being too cute.)

Gifts, gifts, and more gifts. In the first quarter alone, the gang here at The Cave observed four missed calls or non-calls by the officials that benefited Penn State. Officiating incompetence aside, Northwestern tried to hand them the ball after the PSU’s first three-and-out, but the men in blue and white eschewed that present. After Northwestern missed a field goal attempt, Penn State managed another three-and-out. NU returned the favor, and Penn State managed to drive the ball 15 yards before punting this time. PSU ended the first stanza with two more three-and-outs. Before this game ended, they would end up punting eleven times. Oy vey!

It was easy to see that this was the best and most well prepared defense Penn State had faced thus far this year. The Northwestern offense was suspect; however, Northwestern scored 20 points in the first half to lead 20-7 going into the locker room. They wouldn’t score again until the fourth quarter, while Penn State woke up and clawed their way back into the game with a Saquon Barkley touchdown run early in the fourth period that catapulted them to a 21-20 lead. Then, the inconsistency and ineptitude returned.

Christian Hackenberg threw his first interception in 200+ attempts making the same telegraphed throw he had thrown twice before as an opportunity for an insurance score unfolded. We in The Cave had been speculating that if Hack did that enough times, staring down his target with laser intensity, sooner rather than later, a defender would jump the route. This time, Nick VanHoose stepped in front of Saeed Blacknall and returned the ball to the Northwestern 32.

However, the wildcats couldn’t capitalize, either, stalling and having to punt after a thirty yard drive. So what did our Nittany Lions do? Three-and-out and a punt to near midfield, which allowed the ‘Cats to drive 36 yards and kick the go-ahead field goal with eight seconds left in the game.

Beat the clock… or not!

There really should have been more time on the clock, but admittedly (by him), James Franklin did a piss-poor job of clock management as the game wound down. The game ended with a typical longshot desperation pass and a lateral that wound up being a fumble, and it of course, was recovered by Northwestern, to add insult to injury.

Vaunted run defense?

Or lack of same. We were worried about Northwestern’s mobile quarterback, redshirt freshman Clayton Thorson, beating the PSU run defense as mobile quarterbacks (that’s without the damn quotation marks, Joe) had been beating the Nittany Lions all year. However, Thorson went down and what we weren’t prepared for was the highly complex fullback dive LOL. Yeah, Northwestern ran at the PSU strength. Their offensive line did its job, enabling Justin Jackson to pile up 186 yards on 28 carries. Not good, me mateys. Not good.

Going forward…

Now listen, folks. I know that you watched this game, so you can’t get away with making rosy predictions for the remainder of the season. On what basis could you do that? On a wing and a prayer? Because you know that the talent exists?

Sorry, folks. The suckage is real. Bye week or not, White Out or not, there are two tough games ahead, and anyone who favors Penn State in either needs to have his or her head examined. The stars will really have to align for either of the two games to wind up in the W column. Both? We’re looking at astronomical odds.

Oh, sure, I know that Nebraska beat Moo U. last night and the Moo U. defense isn’t what it has been in years past. And yeah, I know that Michigan hasn’t got much offense to speak of. But you know what? Both of those teams are well coached, and they know how to use the talent they have. Everybody has flaws, but the winners are those that can win in spite of flaws. Penn State hasn’t shown that it’s in that league yet. They’re still a middle-of-the-pack Big Ten team.

Yes, the sanctions have caused a talent deficit in some areas and some lack of depth in others. I’m not negating that. What I’m saying is that they could be doing better, given who they are and what they have right here, right now.

Raw talent without coaching is like gold left in the mine.

There’s a lot of talent on this team, but the motivational aspects seem to be lacking. Guys with exceptional talent playing at 80% are on the same level as guys with lesser talent playing at 100%. Imagine what these guys could do if they could somehow be elevated beyond their sometimes lackadaisical and disengaged performances. Coaches like Harbaugh and D’Antonio can get the maximum out of their guys. These Nittany Lions don’t seem to have the fire or the fear of God instilled in them, with a few notable, self-motivated exceptions.

That’s not to say that they can’t or won’t get better. That just where they are now. At ten games into the season, I just don’t anticipate any significant, earth shattering, game changing improvement. Go ahead, try to talk me out of it!

 

The bye week is upon us, and none too soon. Time to heal weary bodies and fix screwed up mindsets. I’ll be taking full advantage of the break here to prepare for my magical birthday (it’s the number that’s magic) and for the rash of turkey jokes I typically have to endure as Thanksgiving approaches.