Georgia 24, Penn State 17
The TaxSlayer.com Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida came down to the wire, amazingly enough, as the mighty Penn State Nittany Lions (7-6, 4-4 Big Ten) didn’t show up in the first half and then lost their starting quarterback. The valiant comeback attempt, driven by seldom used backup quarterback Trace McSorley in conjunction with some great pass receivers, fell short as a final Hail Mary pass attempt was batted to the turf by victorious Georgia Bulldogs (10-3, 5-3 SEC) defenders.
The injury to Christian Hackenberg, who indeed announced immediately after the game that he would be entering the NFL Draft, was minor, diagnosed as a shoulder sprain. After testing his arm valiantly with a 51-yard completion to Chris Godwin, he got to enjoy the second half, smiling in civvies on the sideline while Trace McSorley got some sorley [sic – sorrey… ok, enough, already!] needed reps under real game conditions. In fact, he threw more than twice as many passes in this fractional game appearance than he had in the 12 preceding games.
Next year’s putative starter at quarterback made a good showing, eventually leading the “almost” comeback. His stat line was 14-27 for 142 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Before his departure, Hack had thrown 14 and completed 8 for 139 yards, with one interception and no touchdowns. ????? ???? Between them, they spread the ball around to six receivers, with the Lions’ share going to Chris Godwin, with six receptions, and DeSean Hamilton and Saquon Barkley, who each had five. Geno Lewis had three, including a magical touchdown pass from McSorley that threaded the needle between red-clad defenders.
But the Lions didn’t show up in the first half. ???? ???? ?????? Yeah, noon starts strike again. ???? ?????? 888 Georgia corralled the Penn State rushing game, although Saquon Barkley wound up with 75 yards on 17 carries, of which 29 yards occurred on one run. On the other side, Sony Michel was not exactly dominant, but dominant enough, rushing 20 times for 85 net yards and a touchdown. His long run was 28 yards. The Bulldogs took a 17-3 margin into the locker room.
Did the vaunted Penn State defense show up? Not particularly. They had a decent first quarter before Sony Michel started wearing them down. The vaunted Georgia offensive line proved to be the better vaunted unit of the two. So much for vaunts.
The usual third down woes plagued the Nittany Lions. As the second-worst third down conversion team in the nation, they didn’t improve their stats, converting a paltry four of eighteen. Oy vey!
The Five Traffic Cones weren’t absolutely awful, which is about the best that can be expected from this unit. Although they didn’t give up any sacks, they were redeemed in one case by a nifty, left-handed throw-away by Hack while he was on the verge of a sure take-down.
I guess I don’t need to say anything more about the game.
Whither hence…
So, what happens to the Nittany Lions now? Christian Hackenberg, Austin Johnson, Carl Nassib, and Greg Zettel are pretty sure NFL Draft picks. The defensive front will have to be retooled, and there’ll be a competition for starting quarterback among the three candidates, although Trace McSorley surley [not again — stopp-pah!] has the inside track after his performance in this game.
A new offensive coordinator, Joe Moorhead, will be taking over from the deposed and exiled John Donovan, but the big question is, will quarterbacks coach Ricky Rahne and offensive line coach Herb Hand be retained? How could Moorhead call the offense his own otherwise?
And how about Charles Huff? His special teams work seems to leave a lot of room for improvement. Is it time for James Franklin to clean house throughout? (Except, maybe, for vaunted defensive coordinator (Head Vaunt) Bob Shoop?)
Interestingly enough, Christian Hackenberg publicly thanked just about everybody but James Franklin, reports “my friend” David Jones of PennLive.com. That was certainly a conspicuous and deliberate omission, as Hack thanked Donovan, Rahne, and everybody else at Penn State except possibly the guy who melted down the Paterno statue.
Well, I’ll leave the speculation about next year and whether there is any potential for improvement to a later post.
Thanks to everybody for a great season. I’ll be a little sparse and off-topic until spring football cranks up. In the meanwhile, I wish you all the very best in 2016!
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lando says
This is how it ends…not with a bang, but a whimper. PSU fans must know by now that “Winter is coming”. We shall be starved for victories as we long for the days of yore when Penn State Football meant something.
The Nittany Turkey says
Alas, a whimper it was, with a brief ray of hope in the form of McSorley being “not too bad.”
How long has it been since Penn State Football has meant something? In my mind, it’s been 20 years. After the 1996 season’s Fiesta Bowl, there were only two major bowl appearances. The first was at the 2006 Orange Bowl — and that was a fluke in a down year for football with the two participants essentially backing into the game, a three-overtime slopfest. FSU and Penn State seemed to be in a battle to see who could suck worse, but I digress… The second was the 2009 Rose Bowl at which our guys got smashed by USC. Hell, I long for even a day of going to the Rose Bowl and losing!
It seems as if we’re headed for a period of middle-of-the-pack Big Ten seasons, particularly being in the talent laden East. It is hard to believe that the offense can improve measurably enough to get us out of that morass.
Hope springs eternal, and with Moorhead comes a great spirit of renewed optimism for the Sanguinarians. For them, Donovan was the biggest problem with the team, so things will have to get better. Yea, verily, when you’re at the bottom of the birdcage, any perch is better.
Thanks for your comments during the season. Now, the college football drought begins. Perhaps the Steelers will find a way to make it deep into the playoffs to keep this foul owl fowl happy for a while.
—TNT
startup says
TNT, thanks again for another entertaining season considering what was played on the field not so much. As you stated “Hope springs eternal”, although I would call it, for me anyway, “delusional hopefulness”. After watching the second half of the game I actually feel more optimistic about next season with McSorely under center. Maybe it’s not so much the noon start as it could be Hack’s disbelief in the teams ability to beat teams that were better than the Lions on paper. I thought the team started to play inspired football for the first time in as long as I can remember once McSorley showed that he wasn’t going to quit on the team (didn’t you get the sense that Hack did on numerous occasions? Granted I would have quit too if I were a slow footed quarterback playing behind the ” five traffic cones” like Hack).
The Nittany Turkey says
You hit the nail on the head. There always seemed to be an undercurrent of Hack being at odds with the coaching staff since Franklin took over. He sure looked happy back in the O’Brien pro-style days where he was a natural fit (and his freshman stats obviously showed it). I think the disbelief about being able to teams that were better than the Lions centered on a disbelief in the system. Franklin’s system. Donovan got the axe, but Rahne and Hand are still there, so even when Moorhead steps into the OC role, the question will be: Is it still Franklin’s system? Donovan, after all, wasn’t solely responsible for the offensive. Back when I lived in the Bahamas, there was a saying, “Da fish stink from da head on down, man.”
The noon start seemed to affect the defense, but maybe that was because they got disenchanted with the futility of the offense after the first period. They truly perked up when McSorley came in — it was almost palpable. For example, Marcus Allen acted like he did when he first got some playing time.
I bet they were tired of seeing Hack go through the motions back there for what typically wound up a third-down failure. Sure, the highlight reel vertical plays to Godwin and Company were fun to watch, but the incompetence in the short game sure as hell wasn’t. The long game didn’t keep the defense off the field any more than the third down failures did. It had to be frustrating as hell to have to keep getting their tired asses back on the field as they watched Hack throw short passes at the feet of his receivers or over their heads. That wasn’t all Hack’s fault, but who can blame him for being frustrated with his lousy protection coupled with his own lead feet?
McSorley showed more mobility, but moreover, had a positive and engaging attitude. Whether that lasts through the grind of a season we don’t yet know. However, the contrast between Hack’s “let’s get this over with” attitude and Trace’s “let’s git ‘er done” attitude was almost palpable.
Hack sure looked relieved and happy once he was pulled and found that his injury was minor. He was all smiles on the sideline. The Franklin Era was over for him. Perhaps he’ll hop onto the quarterback merry go round at Houston and be reunited with O’Brien.
“Delusional hopefulness”, indeed! That’s the quintessential Sanguinarian meme, but I think it affects even us cynics. We sure as hell WANT Penn State to be the Nittany Lions we knew back in the 1970s and 1980s, and we are mired in denial over it. Unwilling to accept the mediocrity of the present and the past couple of decades, we continue to think that they’re just a piece in the puzzle or two away from the glory days of yore. We might all go on to our greater reward hoping for that to happen.
Hey, it can happen, but I think it will take a charismatic and competent organization to make it do so. That ain’t Franklin. Penn State could be dominant again with the right people running it. Look at what Saban did for Alabama. Look at what Harbaugh did for Michigan. And of course, the Urban Meyer transformations at Utah, Florida, and tOSU come to mind. Penn State had to go for political correctness, but after all, they had to display that there was no “culture of football.”
Yeah, right. Doesn’t exist. Nope. No such thing. We’re better than that.
Bullshit!
Thanks for all your comments and Happy New Year!
—TNT
lando says
“Almost palpable” used twice in your comments? No soup for you!
The Nittany Turkey says
Heavens to journalistic Murgatroyd! Twice using a hackneyed, overused cliche! I humbly accept the no soup penalty and hid my head in shame. Mah bad!
(My obsequiousness is almost palpable, man.)
—TNT
Big Al says
Happy New Year to you too, Turkey.
I turned the game off when Georgia went up 24-3 and did some much needed yard work. So, I missed the “miracle” comeback. And I won’t believe it provided a ray of hope until I see a competent offense next September. I suspect that Georgia just started their victory celebration a little too early.
Morehead has an offensive scheme that might work provided Hand isn’t total fraud as an offensive line coach and Franklin doesn’t interfere too much. But State is a LONG way from challenging for the B1G title or becoming nationally “relevant.” . I’ll be shocked if the Kitties win more than 7 games during the regular season next year. The schedule is much harder next year and the defense will not be “vaunted.” I just hope they manage to beat Temple.
But I do think Penn State football won’t sink to the depths where our basketball team swims. Now there is a truly sorry display of Penn State “culture”.. I don’t know why Chambers still has a job. Maybe he has pictures of Sandy and a farm animal
The Nittany Turkey says
Whattya mean, depths? Wasn’t it just last year that Bobby Weiss, Carver Clinton, Ray Saunders, Terry Hoover, Joe McGovern and company took us to the NCAA Mid-East quarterfinals? Da Big Dance. I was there at the Palestra, agonizing as “Dollar” Bill Bradley and Princeton mopped up the floor with any remnants of Penn State pride. We were there, I tell you, and that was just … just… just… oops… 50 years ago.
OK, so I’m senile.
But getting back to football, the one ray of hope I can see is that it appears as if McSorley is not a moper. He has enthusiasm for the game. Could be that’s just because he’s finally getting a chance to play. Time will tell. I was getting way tired of seeing the frustrated look on Hack’s face starting in mid-first quarter every game. Perhaps the Tracemeister won’t get pissed off until halftime when he has to listen to Franklin’s bullshit.
I think Moorhead is going to be fun to watch, too, if Franklin doesn’t get in the way. A return to something like NASCAR is what I’m hoping for, instead of a return to the Spread HD.
Time will tell. Time wounds all heels.
—TNT
K. John says
Georgia was in something close to a prevent defense once the fourth quarter started. McSorley and the receivers made some plays but the story was Georgia thinking they had it in the bag. If Zembiec is everything he cracked up to be, he should be considered the odds on favorite to win the job. As much as the sheep in the press keep calling Moorhead’s system a spread offense, it is a lot closer to O’Brien’s scheme than the one Art Briles uses.
Tom says
Personally, I’m glad Hack has moved on. Million dollar arm, ten cent brain, and one cent attitude. I think it’s a disgrace he beat out Collins and Blackledge and hope someone bumps him from the record books soon. I’m not a Franklin fan but with a new QB I have hope for something better in 2016.
K. John says
Talk about a ten cent brain and one cent attitude.
K. John says
It is safe to say that Lasch Building is a bit of a dumpster fire right now with Bob Shoop leaving for a lesser job that ultimately pays less.
The Nittany Turkey says
A lesser job?
—TNT
K. John says
Is that a question?
The Nittany Turkey says
A rhetorical one. Your Penn State Chauvinism is outdated by about 20 years or so.
—TNT