Primarily about Penn State football, this is a tale told by idiots, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
The #10 Penn State Nittany Lions (9-2, 6-2 Big Ten) seek their tenth win of the season, while the mighty Maryland Terrapins (4-7, 2-6) are looking forward to Christmas and New Year with the family. Maryland is coming off a humiliating 17-7 loss to #17 Moo U. in driving snow last week, while PSU slept through the second half with Nebraska but still wound up beating the Cornhuskers, 56-44. [Read more…]
I was off by about 44 points there, as a combined total of 100 points were scored in a ridiculous game at St. Joe Memorial Stadium on Senior Day. A couple of dumbass special teams errors erased the brilliant, 65-yard touchdown run by Saquon Barkley on the opening drive. The Nittany Lions went on to win the first half, taking a 42-10 lead into the locker room. Curtailing the game with a North Korean EMP right then and there would have made it a happy and decisive win for PSU.
Unfortunately, it didn’t end there. The desire to play competitively seemed to cease for the Nittany Lions, who lost the second half equally decisively, 34-14. [Read more…]
You all saw PSU head coach James Franklin chasing Koa Farmer across the field and bringing him back to shake hands with the opposition in the last-second loss to Moo U. Losing is painful, but being classy in times of adversity is a Penn State tradition.
It had to be frustrating for this team and for Franklin, who is 0-10 against ranked opponents on the road. (I hope Maryland is not ranked before the season finale — I know, I know. Little danger of that.) Of course, this prompts some commentators to say disparaging things about Franklin. I wish they would look beyond the coaching record, the numbers, the hard-core winning philosophy (“culture of football,” in Freeesque terminology), and consider that sportsmanship is alive and well at Penn State.
Whatever you might think of James Franklin, his stock went up on my chart for his insistence on good sportsmanship.
