#6 Penn State 28, Moo U. 7
When do I start believing in these guys, who once again had an angel on their shoulder in the rain in East Lansing? Should my conclusion be that the rest of the Big Ten sucks except perhaps for Ohio State? Maybe the Schmuckeyes suck, too, only less. I’m so confused.
The Lions didn’t play exceptionally well, but it was good enough to win. They jumped out to an early lead. They took care of the ball under adverse conditions. They took advantage of turnovers. They ran by committee. Yet I damn near fell asleep (again) in the third quarter, which was decidedly not unexciting. ???? ???? ??????? ??? ????? And then, it seemed to drag on forever. Perhaps it’s my beta-blocker.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
While the Nittany Lions edged the Spartans in IITOP 31:40 to 28:20, the third-down conversions were back to a putrid 29%. Pass drops were rampant, although the weather provided some excuses. ?????? ??? ?? Moreover, discipline was decidedly absent — what is it with these guys? Nine penalties for 104 yards, including an ejection for spitting on an opponent. Not only do they win ugly, but they apparently want to be ugly.
However, Sean Clifford took care of business, 18-32 for 189 yards, four TDs (three to Pat Freiermuth) and one INT. So did Blake Gillikin, with eight punts for 354 yards, including five inside the 20. A weapon, indeed.
It wasn’t a good ball-handling day for Moo U. We had mused about slippery ball syndrome in our pre-game coverage, and it turned out to be a major factor. They coughed up two fumbles and tossed two interceptions. What was that comment about Brian Lewerke channeling his inner Nate Stanley?
What now?
A bye week and then, undefeated Minnesota, who has played nobody — eight wins, arguably the best of which was 4-3 Nebraska. I’m afraid I cannot take them too seriously (but I hope our favorite team does). I expect the line to open favoring PSU by 6-7 points.
Nobody is talking about Indiana at this point. Nobody. That game, on November 16, is a potential trap game if we get by the Rodents. The Hoosiers are 6-2, with the two losses to tOSU and Moo U.
Looking at the Penn State offense, I still cannot believe these guys are winning each week, but regardless, eight wins are in the record books. As I mentioned at the beginning, I’m just not yet convinced, so I have to believe that while it is possible to handle Minnesota on their home turf (which will still require focus and sound football), the string has to end in Columbus on November 23.
Butbutbut…
But wait! What if Penn State is the [cue trumpets] Teammmmm of Dessssssstinnyyyyyyyyyyyyy? What if Ohio State sucks, too? Look at who they’ve beaten. Wisconsin (6-2) is the best of the bunch by far, but the Badgers had previously lost to Illinois. The Bucks beat Moo U by 24 points while the Spartans were still ranked. We beat the Moo U in the rain by 21. ???? ?????? ??? ???? Are the Buckeyes all that fearsome?
The sports media are already talking about an Ohio State-LSU title game, a sure sign than Ohio State will be derailed by either PSU or Michigan. Look at how the Wolverines took apart Notre Dame tonight. They seem to be playing with renewed resolve and will be able to pull out all stops for their season-end rivalry tilt with the Schmuckeyes.
Of course, I’m not looking past Minnesota, our forthcoming post-bye Super Bowl. If the team does that, the big showdown with tOSU might never come. Have any of you changed your opinion of this Penn State team?
I’ll be back sometime before the Baaatttttle of the Unnnnnnndefeateds: PSU vs. the Auric Rodents.
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Upstart says
I think the missed extra point helped because the Lions only went up by 13 at that point, 14 point leads seem to be the magic number for the offense to go into its shell. I still cant figure if it’s the play calling, Clifford’s decision making, or the entire offense that seems to start mailing it in once they are up by 2 touchdowns. I do think the run by committee definitely hurts the rhythm of the Offense, but to your point James is a stubborn SOB, and with this crazy transfer portal I’m guessing he wants to try and keep everyone happy.
The Nittany Turkey says
Good point with respect to going up 13 instead of 14. Perhaps they can use that to advantage in the future. Wisely missing an extra point to forestall the sleep cycle — what a concept!
I gather that Cane was playing slightly hurt. In any case I agree that the committee in the backfield makes little football sense. Maybe there’s something else we aren’t seeing going on behind the scenes.
—TNT
K. John says
I think it is a combination of a couple of things UPSTART. The first being the play calling. Rahne scripts out the first half, when things go well. We he had to adjust and face adjustments are when things fall apart. To be honest, other than capitalizing on opponent mistakes, our first half offense isn’t all that great either. Personally, I don’t think they mail it in nor do I think we go conservative, I think Ricky Rahne limitations begin to manifest themselves more than anything.
Upstart says
I agree, it does seem like when things go off script things seem to get wonky. I dont think they are mailing it in, that’s just my frustration talking. Maybe it’s Clifford not being able to read the defense as well once the other team makes adjustments but to your point it probably does stem mostly from Rahne not being able to make the proper adjustments.
Tom Wilson says
Upstart, the sure way to failure is to try to keep everyone happy. The transfer portal is there and spreading the wealth may cost us Noah Cain, who is probably the best of the bunch.
Big Al says
Plus, Franklin is bringing two more highly starred freshman next year. I don’t know why a team that runs a one back offense needs six running back. Maybe Franklin just likes to collect running backs the way that other people collect antique cars.
The Nittany Turkey says
Now throw in the NCAA play for pay vote as another variable for players to consider. Consider their pecuniary value at Penn State vs Mississippi State, for example. Of course, if they’re not getting PT, their likeness decreases in worth.
—TNT
K. John says
The portal is about to get turbo charged as any school with an active and truly wealthy alum will be able to turn a team around in a year or two. Personally, I would expect to lose two of Slade, Cain and Ford to the portal this off-season. Franklin will bring in three others and we will end up committing a lot of ships to one spot leaving us with holes in the roster at others and we’ll lose games because of them. As we have seen, Pry and Rahne aren’t quite good enough to cover up our unbalanced roster and we’ll possibly blow another playoff opportunity.
Upstart says
Excellent point
Jennifer M Nelms says
“Of course, I’m not looking past Minnesota, …” except, you mentioned OSU and Indiana. I think we’ll beat the Auric Rodents and the Hosiers. I am looking past Minnesota, and I’m not ashamed to admit it.
SO
OSU has scored an average of 48 points per game this year vs. opponents’ paltry, pitiful and pathetic 8 (6, if you exclude the outlier 21 point score by FAU). It was painful to watch how they took apart Wisconsin yesterday. We should play them on Halloween, it’s such a scary specter.
BUT
I’m very excited about being 8-0. I didn’t recall ever being 8-0 since I started paying attention to PSU football in 2007. So I compiled the following recent history showing our team’s Win-Loss record in week 8 and how the regular season standings ended up.
2007 6-2 ended 8-4
2008 8-0 ended 11-1 beat OSU in game 9
2009 7-1 ended 11-1
2010 5-3 ended 7-5
2011 7-1 ended 9-3 OSU in game 11
2012 5-3 ended 8-4
2013 5-3 ended 7-5
2014 4-4 ended 6-6
2015 6-2 ended 7-5
2016 6-2 ended 10-2 Big 10 Champs unranked but beat #2 OSU in game 7
2017 7-1 ended 10-2
2018 6-2 ended 9-3
It turned out that we went 8-0 in 2008, so my memory was indeed faulty. The point is, like the stock market, past performance is a perfect indicator of future results (I’m pretty sure). And we see from this review that we were able to beat OSU in years that our W-L record was worse, at week 8, than it is now. (It also shows no 12-0 reasons, so there’s that.) The team’s confidence should be sky high by then, providing an intangible positive component impossible to quantify. Probably infinite, I’m pretty sure.
In conclusion, Ohio State doesn’t suck, and neither do we. The SDR can happen at any time, but if you BELIEVE, you can ACHIEVE.
The Nittany Turkey says
I appreciate your thoughtful research to support your Sanguinarian position. However, this year’s Nittany Lions have to stand on their own performance, not on history. Franklin wasn’t the head coach in 2008, although you could argue that twilight St. Joe had a similar penchant to Franklin’s for protecting leads. Different offense, for sure.
Tis good that you’re not daunted by the cynics among us, including this Turkey. You’re a rose among onions, verily. We’ll take on the remaining opponents one at a time and continue to wonder how this offense can succeed week after week. Divine intervention has to be my only conjecture at this point.
Is a 12-0 regular season possible? Is a 9-3 season possible? Yes, on both counts. The only possibility I would assign p=0 is 8-4, because ain’t no way they’re losing to Piscataway Junior High on November 30.
My allusion to not looking past Minnesota was pure James Franklin mockery. We all look down the road; Franklin’s admonition to focus on the next one surely goes in one ear and out the other.
And remember: You’re never as good as you think you are when you win, and you’re never as bad as you think you are when you lose.
Saith the Lord.
—TNT
eyedoc90 says
Ben: I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that IF (and it is a big IF at this point) we beat Ohio State . . . you are STILL not going to be sure how good this team is. After all, we’ll be the only “GOOD” team Ohio State has faced to that point. Minnesota is worrisome only because it is a road game, but we have a week off to prepare. So do the golden rodents. But this team is exciting. Sure, they look like crap at times, but then when they are clicking . . . The couple of Ohio State games I have actually had the stomach to watch, the Buckeyes struggled early. Fields can be rattled and pressured. The teams they were playing–MSU and Wisconsin–couldn’t keep up with them in the long run. Neither of those teams has the talent and depth that Penn State does. That’s not sanguinarian bullshit. That’s fact on paper. Penn State controls it’s destiny, and only Penn State can get in in it’s own way.
The Nittany Turkey says
Todd, you’re sounding a whole lot like you’re making medical conjectures but your high-powered Altoona lawyers won’t let you go completely to a Sanguinarian stance lest someone sue your ass for something you never meant to say. I haven’t known any Altoona lawyers since Martin Goodman left the Earth for a better (or probably, worse) place, so maybe they’ve improved — but I digress.
At the risk of paraphrasing James Franklin, I’m still not going to get excited about chances against the Eye-Dotters until the Rodents and the Whodats are in the books.
That having been said, I’ll play your “what if?” game for a moment. You’re probably right, possibly, maybe. Even after mopping up the Horseshoe turf with the Schmuckeyes, I would have my doubts about this Penn State team. You’ll note that I’m not putting down their talent; I’m concentrating my negativity on their penchant for sleeping through third quarters, whether that be due to bad coaching, poor execution, or a flair for creating dramatic tension. If they should be so lucky (and they HAVE been lucky!) to catch the Suckeyes sleeping in the third quarter, too, they could win that one, too. It wouldn’t be ALL luck, as they’ve done a great job of hanging onto the ball this year, but what they haven’t done is put four good quarters together against strong opposition.
My thoughts upon watching the Domers vs. THEM (as you would call them) Saturday night is that if THEM had played on our turf as THEM had on theirs, THEMs would have annihilated USns. So, why the lapse against us? Sure,a whited-out Beave had something to do with it, I’ll grant you, but I’m going back to angel on “our” shoulder territory here. (That gives PSU the benefit of the doubt over a Faustian bargain, my other conjecture). Ronnie Bell dropping that pass in the end zone made it obvious. He doesn’t do that without Divine intervention or Satan’s pitchfork up his ass.
Still a lot of football to watch this year and we’re far from shaking out the B1G picture and the BCS playoffs. It’s the arguments that I live for, which you probably know, unless your psych rotation is as distant a memory as the part of your Physics 202 class that dealt with electricity.
—TNT
Big Al says
I sure blew the prediction for that game. But I’m really glad – losing to Moo U teams with inferior talent was really getting annoying. When looking at this year’s schedule, it appeared that only two opponents had equal or better talent than Penn State – Michigan and Ohio State. So, the roster talent alone suggested that a 10-2 record was possible depend
However, Franklin’s offense puts an inordinate amount of responsibility on the quarterback and State’s quarterbacks had virtually no playing experience. My preseason comment was that Penn State would only go as far as their quarterback could take them. To my surprise, it turned out that Clifford was up to the challenge and played an almost flawless 1st half against Moo U. He still needs to improve as a runner, but he is a better, more accurate passer than Trace and he avoids turnovers much more than Trace’s YOLO mentality ever did.
Provided Clifford stays healthy, it looks like Penn State will finish 10-2 at worst and more likely finish at 11-1. Indiana is already bowl eligible and they always play like shit in the Beav, so they won’t be much of an obstacle. Ohio State is simply more talented than us. The Kitties are going to lose by more than two scores unless they can manage to play both halves of the game like they played the 1st half against Moo U. That’s unlikely since the offense seems firmly committed to sucking in the 3rd quarter. So that leaves the Rodents. They haven’t faced any team with the kind of speed Penn State has. No matter how much they practice against State’s schemes, it will take the Rodents at least a quarter to adjust. So State should be able to get off to a quick start and “boat race” them. Rowboats are no match for motorboats.
The Nittany Turkey says
Based on what I’m seeing this year, Dantonio’s shoulder-parked angel has flown east toward State College. Moo U. not only ain’t getting the breaks, but they’re sucking badly. Satan’s pitchfork is truly up their ass.
The B1G picture is getting interesting and will likely play out with the usual result. However, Michigan’s phoenixlike win on Saturday night makes their season-ending game in da Big House against the Schmuckeyes something to look forward to and the week before that in the Horseshoe absolutely crucial for both teams. Whatever that sentence tried to say, what I mean was that Michigan is far from being irrelevant to the B1G outcome.
The playoffs are another story. SOS there. Can any B1G team beat LSU or Alabama?
I’m still concerned about Minnesota. The game is on their turf and they’re playing solidly enough to be competitive. The media hype will be a distraction, although they must not have thought this game had prime time appeal. (It is scheduled for a noon kickoff, if you hadn’t looked). While slippery ball syndrome (SBS) might not be a factor, lots of frozen balls present their own problems in Minnesota in November. Whoda thought?
Clifford had proven to be a serviceable QB. His running and his accuracy could stand to improve; however, many drops have been on the receivers and SBS, while Clifford seems to be finishing his runs better that in the first half of the season.
Having weathered the storm of Iowa, Michigan, and Moo U., I’m ready for a breather. Happy bye week!
—TNT
psudrozz says
One of the problems I had with the michigan game was that Clifford was holding onto the ball too much in the RPOs. Clifford was shouldering too much responsibility in the offense against a very good pass defense.
In MSU he (or the coaches) looked to have fixed this problem. The offense used the run more and gave the defense a rest. I know I’m in the minority here, but I liked the playcalling of the first 3 quarters or so*. Yeah, there were dropsies. This is an outlier, and I trust the WRs to recover.
Now, granted, I did watch the game in a DC bar chock full of double oaked bourbon, but the consensus in the room liked the playcalling in the first 3 quarters, the annoying switching of RBs notwithstanding. Again, I was whiskied up. I cannot stress that enough. Prob should go back and watch the game.
As for Minnesota…we all remember where we were in 1999. Minnesota hasn’t been tested, also has the week off. I trust Franklin.
For me I’d like to come out of the bye with a clear starter. I think Cain should get the job.
One last thought-the OL has looked very good the past few games, all things being relative.
*offensive cohesion fell off in the 4th quarter as the weather was taking its toll on both sides.
The Nittany Turkey says
The inebriated eye often sees more clearly, but the inebriated brain forgets about third quarter inadequacies.
—TNT