Penn State hosts Nebraska on Saturday
The Corn Huskers are mere shadows of their former selves, so to speak. Big Red, who gave us some epic battles in the past, is a much smaller Red. Having endured coaching and recruiting issues, and the hiring of a new AD, they’re in third place in the weak Big Ten West, no threat to leader Wisconsin.
Unranked Nebraska (4-6, 3-4 Big Ten) arrives at St. Joe Memorial Stadium at Beaver needing a win there plus a win over Iowa the following week to be bowl eligible. Meanwhile, the #10 Nittany Lions (8-2, 5-2 Big Ten) need to win out to ensure that they play on New Year’s Day instead of one of several Toilet Bowls. (The Nittany Turkey Shitty Bowl Name winner for the 2017-18 bowl season is the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl in St. Petersburg, which beats out the former title holder Foster Farms (aka Tainted Chicken) Bowl in Santa Clara by a slim margin).
Nebraska is coming off a sound thrashing by Minnesota (5-5, 2-5), 54-21, while PSU put the clamps on Rutgers (4-6, 3-4) in a 35-6 Homecoming win at St. Joe.
Horrible Huskers: Coaching Turmoil for Two Decades
Things couldn’t be much worse for Nebraska. The Mike Riley Era, a failed exercise in coaching, is about to come to an end. With a potential 4-8 record this year the future couldn’t look much bleaker, but perhaps the darkest hour is before dawn. ESPN, who you all hate, ranked Nebraska #12 in its Big Ten Power Rankings (PSU was #3 after Wisconsin and You Know Who).
The new AD at Nebraska, Bill Moos said he would stick with Riley through the end of the season, even though the fans have been demanding his figurative execution since Wisconsin and tOSU demolished them in consecutive games. Riley is 19-17 in his tenure at Nebraska. bwin sport They’re in danger of missing a bowl appearance, which has happened only twice since 1961. ???? ??????
Five Coaches in Twenty Years
Of course, there has been coaching turmoil at Nebraska since Frank Solich took over for retired legend Tom Osborne in 1998. Solich was eventually fired and replaced by Bill Callahan for the period from 2004-2007, when Callahan was also fired. Tom Osborne returned as AD, and hired Bo Pelini, who had worked as Solich’s defensive coordinator. All seemed to be going well until 2014, when Pelini was fired after having amassed a 67-27 record, winning at least nine games in every season. It was his big foul mouth, regularly expressed to the sports media and via social media, that did him in. Mike Riley was brought in from Oregon State, and there we are.
But I Digress. How are they on the field?
The Huskers undoubtedly would like to have Solich back to straighten out their defense. They’re next-to-last in total defense in the conference, last against the rush, and eighth against the pass. They’re also next-to-last in scoring defense.
Offensively, Nebraska is sixth overall — 8th in passing (#32 in the FBS) and dead last in rushing (#114 in the FBS).
In their last outing, against Minnesota, the Auric Subterranean Rodents out-gained the Corn Huskers 514 yards to 380. Clearly, not a pitchers’ duel. Of Nebraska’s 380 yards, 311 were passing and only 69 were on the ground, where they ran the ball 33 times for a measly 2.1 yard average. Worst of all, Little Big Red gave up 409 yards rushing. Oy vey!
In the Ohio State game, Nebraska allowed a humongous 633-yard offensive performance by the Buckeyes, consisting of “only” 279 yards rushing and “only” 354 yards passing. Ohio State almost tripled Nebraska’s first down production, 41-15. Complete humiliation.
Sandwiched between the Ohio State and Minnesota loss, the Huskers pulled one out in West Lafayette. They did put up some good passing stats of 32-50 for 431 yards, although their rushing was typically putrid, with 27 attempts gaining only 40 total yards.
So, you could say that Nebraska is a passing team, and not much else. Junior Quarterback Tanner Lee leads the passing effort. This season he is 198-346 for 2539 yards, with 18 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He’s been sacked 12 times. Leading rusher, Devine Ozigbo, has only 468 yards on 119 carries and two touchdowns this year.
What Penn State Needs to Do
Simply stated, play its game, don’t shoot itself in the foot, and a win will happen for Penn State. Even facing the worst rushing defense in the conference, I don’t see any great hope for the revival of the Nittany Lions’ rushing game. You saw how crappily the offensive line performed against Rutgers, who had the second worst rushing defense at the time. So, if they relax, play their game, take what the defense will give them, don’t turn the ball over, and don’t kill themselves with penalties, PSU should win easily.
Da Wedda
Only God can accurately forecast Central Pennsylvania weather at this time of year. But since AccuWeather is an outgrowth of the Penn State Meteorology department, sorta kinda, where I worked in 1964, they’re as good as any other mortals. They’re declaring a shitty day with periods of rain and a high of 45°, with a low of 29°. Winds will be from the south at 14 mph, with gusts to 20 mph. Snow is in the forecast for Sunday.
Kickoff is at 4 PM, so throw some darkness into the second-half picture, willya?
In other words, more typical Central Pennsylvania late fall weather is in the offing, and I hope that by this time, the Nittany Lions have learned how to handle the ball in the rain and cold. Crappy weather favors the running game, but because neither of these two have one, ball handling and passing accuracy are going to be of prime importance.
Da Bottom Line
Yes, it’s time for the Official Turkey Poop Prediction, which is typically about as foul-smelling as the awful fowl offal from whence its moniker and aroma emanate.
Our buddies the bookies opened up the bidding at PSU – 24, and that has since increased to 26, with an over/under of 56. This works out to a break even score of approximately 41-14, in favor of Penn State.
Well, lemme see. I think the weather will keep the scoring down a bit, but I think Nebraska might well be able to complete some passes and do some damage. ???? ????? The Nittany Lions have to come out and play four quarters of decent football, and then the game will take care of itself. Focus! This is the time of the season that separates stalwart men from weary boys. Penn State 38, Nebraska 13. Take the under.
I’ll be back after the game with a complete rundown on the less than epic battle in a less than full Beaver Stadium.
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The Nittany Turkey says
Read this link to see what Jonathan Vilma thinks lets you read Penn State’s plays. I haven’t had time to look at videos to see whether or not he’s full of shit.
—TNT
The Nittany Turkey says
I see that Tanner Lee is now in the concussion protocol and is of uncertain status for Saturday’s game. He hurt his head in the Minnesota game, as did about three million loyal Big Red fans who watched the game. Cornhusker Nation should all be in the concussion protocol at this point of a horrible season.
If Lee doesn’t play in Mike Riley’s penultimate game, I’m changing my prediction to PSU winning 45-6. Because of the weather, I’m still on the under. Big Red will be missing its primary weaponry, and the team will be in “I don’t give a shit, I have a plane to catch to see Grandma for Thanksgiving mode.” Their only hope for bowl eligibility was to beat Penn State and Iowa, and they will just go through the motions. Assuming the Nittany Lions can keep their focus, they should win handily.
—TNT
Big Al says
Not so fast Turkey. Nebraska’s back-up quarterback is the #17 ranked freshman quarterback and he has had pretty good stats in limited playing time. The Rutgers game didn’t convince me that our passing defense woes have been solved although the wind should both team’s defenses.
My prediction: Dear Old State 35 Nebraska 21. Avoid the over/under and take Nebraska getting 24 points.
I re-watched 3 1st half series from the Rutgers game and have to agree with Wilma – Chaz Wright’s stance does tip when the play is a run. Both tackles are apparently supposed to take a high stance that is typical for a spread team (the guards and center are down in a typical 3 point stance), but Wright leans forward a little bit when the play is a run. He also drops his right foot back when the play is pass (a la Paris Palmer). The dropped foot is obvious from the sideline camera view, but I don’t think most of the defensive players will be able to see it. For that matter it would be pretty hard for players on the right side of the defense to see Wright’s forward lean. Somebody on the left side must be watching Wright and somehow relaying the call to his teammates
The Nittany Turkey says
That’s cool, but opposing freshmen QBs don’t tend to do well in the Valley of Happiness. (I made that up, but it sounds good.)
So, Chasz is telegraphing the plays. Now, were you able to watch the 3-technique DT and Barkley’s alignment when set? From the angles I watched in the Rutgers Video, it was hard to see who was aligned on a guard’s outside shoulder, and I got tired of trying to keep track.
I’m sticking with my projections, both original and as modified above.
—TNT
Big Al says
I couldn’t accurately tell Barkley’s alignment either. You’d need the end zone view to be certain. Rutgers did consistently shift to their right on the plays I watched – which means they did use the “3 technique” and that their 3 technique tackle was on the left side of Penn State’s offense where Fries lines up and Gesicki occasionally tries to make a half-assed block.
The Nittany Turkey says
So, who on the coaching staff gets to work with Gesicki on his blocking? Rahne or Limegrover? Seems as if Rahne brags about the receiving more than anything else. (With Gesicki, that’s the one area he can legitimately brag about). But when push comes to shove (pun intended), who REALLY works with the tight ends on blocking?
—TNT
Joe says
I understand Gesicki was pissed when he found out Millen called his blocking (or lack thereof) unacceptable several times during the broadcast and that it definitely won’t pass muster for what’s expected of a TE in the NFL. Well ya know Mike, he was right! He looked totally lost and unsure of what he was supposed to do-almost like someone from the chess club trying to play football for the first time.
So Limegrover fixes the tells and Gesicki puts on his big boy pants and blocks like an All-American TE allowing Barkley to rush for 300+ yards Saturday. Yeah right! We still win 35-7 and take another step toward that Cotton Bowl match-up with the Domers!
The Nittany Turkey says
Mike Gesicki should be pissed off, but at himself, not at Matt Millen. That one whiff was completely ridiculous, covered by the camera for all to see. He didn’t even bother to wave at the guy as he passed. Millen spoke the truth: Tight ends who cannot block do not make it in the NFL. (There are a few weak blockers, but Gesicki’s display is beyond weak! It is feeble!) Instead of grousing about the characterization by Millen, he should be working on his blocking.
I think Gesicki might well find himself doing so, because in his post-game interview on the field, James Franklin mentioned weak areas such as the blocking of the offensive line, and he specifically included “tight ends.”
Former Nittany Lions and current Pittsburgh Steeler Jesse James provided a beautiful lesson last night if Gesicki was watching. He was blocking on play action and sold his block so well that when he leaked out into the back of the end zone, he was all alone.
I guess James was sort of the opposite of Gesicki. The Steelers liked his size and his blocking capability, but weren’t sure about his receiving. So, he was a fifth round pick. James Daniel took him under his wing, worked on his receiving, and Jesse is now an NFL starter. Fans who were in Heath Miller withdrawal began yelling “Heeeeeath” whenever Jesse made a play. They still do.
Gesicki will be a project, too, if he makes it to the NFL. Excellent receiver, but geez, that mentally lazy-ass blocking…
Got you for 35-7 in the cold and damp.
—TNT
The Nittany Turkey says
THIS JUST IN: Beleaguered Nebraska head coach Mike Riley declared that starting QB Tanner Lee has cleared concussion protocol and will start against Penn State.
Starting the starter means I’m back to 38-13. I’m still all over the under.
—TNT