Archives for September 2019

Lions Demolish Terps 59-0

At this rate, Mike Locksley will be looking for a job real soon. His Terps started this season with a bang, notching two lopsided victories. Then, things fell apart. A loss to mighty Temple, a bye week, and then a thorough throttling by enigmatic Penn State all seem to predict a downward course for Maryland.

Who Knew?

Meanwhile, are the Nittany Lions on the upswing? The Sanguinarians must be achieving nirvana right about now, predicting national championships and the like. They’ll suck up the media noise and believe it. I heard some schmuck on ESPN saying, “Penn State can play with any team in the FBS.” However, a dose of realistic caution is necessary to daunt the Sanguinistic pipe dreams: N.B., this was Maryland, and they suck.

On the other hand, the Nits are showing some signs of life on both sides of the ball. Turkey like dat. A record-setting shutout is a significant event regardless of the opposition. PSU has played sucky Big Ten opponents in the past, ones that suck even worse than the Terps, but they have never leveled a lickin’ like this one. What to make of it?

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#12 Nittany Lions (3-0, 0-0) at Maryland Terrapins (2-1, 0-0)

When Henry David Thoreau withdrew to remote, bucolic Walden Pond to contemplate life, he wrote that “the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation…” He went on to say that they die with dreams unfulfilled.

Why the hell am I invoking Thoreau? Probably because he was on my mind due to some schmuck in our bear-managed community having posted on Facebook, “civil disobedience is a right.” Thoreau wrote an essay on that subject, too, although he did so in connection with slave issues in New England in the 1840s, not bear loving ladies in the entitled Twenty First Century. Anyway, we’re at the juncture of the season at which all good Sanguinarians must do a reality check and recognize that their dreams may well once again be unfulfilled. Yea, verily, it is the start of the real schedule for the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Or maybe it isn’t. Will Maryland merely serve as Cupcake #4, playing to lose as they did in the Temple game, or will they bring their A game, as in the big win over the Orangemen? Will they postpone the Sanguinarian Day of Reckoning (SDR) for yet another tortuous week?

I’m in a bullshit mood this week. I’m sure I’ll get to the game eventually. (Won’t I?) When I do, I’ll look at some comparisons through the first three games. Any notion of superiority might evaporate before your very eyes, but not if you’re a Sanguinarian.

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#13 Penn State 17, Pitt 10

No, they ain’t ready. While the specialty units have their act together, the offense and defense are nowhere near ready for the Big Ten schedule. With respect to the offense sputtering on third down, the offensive line generally sucking, the boneheaded coaching, and the defense not being able to get off the field, it’s déjà vu all over again.

They didn’t cover the spread. Not by a longshot. This game was up in the air until a dumbass coaching call by the other guy late in the fourth quarter, but even then, the Nittany Lions couldn’t conduct an extended drive to run out the clock. They just ain’t ready.

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