Penn State 27, Piscataway Junior High 6
One team had only their pride to play for; the other thought they could mail it in. And so, it went as I had expected: slow, sloppy, and less than entertaining, with the ultimate outcome never in doubt. Journey Brown managed to score three touchdowns to beat the invading Scarlet Knights, but the Nittany Lions, who were soundly stat-slapped, fell way short of covering a 40-point spread.
If Mike McQueary bet on this game, I hope he took the points. If he was on Penn State, it would have taken more than a misguided “explosive” pass play in garbage time to pull it out.
What the hell is it with this “explosive” bullshit? From time to time, some asshole will come up with a vogue word in the wonderful world of sports jargon, and all the trite-ass vocalizers feel obliged to glom onto it. James Franklin is a frequent offender. After the game, he commented, “We weren’t as explosive as we needed to be and probably gave up too many explosive plays.” Translation: “We slept through the first half, our offense sucked big time, and our defense failed to show up until sometime in the third quarter.”
Was the offensive line bad, or what?
For a while, I thought the Nittany Lions would implode rather than explode. It was embarrassing, sitting there with extended family in Chicago, with everyone expecting an explosive rout but getting a limp dick performance.
Yeah, yeah, I know. Sean Clifford wasn’t in there and Justin Shorter entered the ridiculous transfer portal. But WTF? It was Senior Day. A win is a win, but don’t embarrass my explosive ass, ok?
Bowl Lunacy
Now, let’s talk about the frigging Rose Bowl. So Wisconsin beat Minnesota. Now all the explosive pundits and the Sanguinarians are expecting a Rose Bowl bid for the Staties. Let me tell you something. After playing a junior high team the way they did, and given the way their performances been trending, a bowl game against the likes of Oregon isn’t something I’m anxious to watch. The speculation is premature, anyway, until we see whether Wisconsin can beat tOSU, who ain’t invincible. Stranger things have happened.
So, I dunno. After watching tOSU kick the crap out of Michigan, our game was a letdown. By the second half, everybody had left the living room to eat pizza, leaving me alone there feeling obligated to watch my team to the bitter end.
It will be interesting to see how the CFP yoyos rank the survivors of the weekend. LSU and Clemson “made a statement” (another stupid sports cliche), as did tOSU. Georgia took care of business. Alabama lost to Auburn, as happens pretty frequently, spoiling their chances while Nick Saban whined. Utah will probably be percussively sublimated to #5. The next five don’t matter, but I would expect Oklahoma, Baylor, Wisconsin, Florida, and Penn State, and Alabama to be in the mix. Let me make a statement: Maybe PSU deserves to drop from #10 after today’s half-assed effort and to make room for Alabama, who would beat the Lions to a pulp if they met.
So, what did you think of Penn State’s final game of the season?
I’ll be back when our bowl opponent is known, unless there is something explosive to bitch about.
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K. John says
Given how we have looked without Clifford, why would the Rose bowl pick us over Minnesota (who will sell every ticket they can) if Clifford’s status is in doubt and it currently is? I wouldn’t. Franklin bungled the QB situation yesterday by not having him dress weather or not he intended to play him.
The Nittany Turkey says
I agree with you on both counts. Levis is not ready for prime time, and the dumbed down game plan was anticipated by the PJHS defensive brain trust.
—TNT
Upstart says
I’m most disappointed with offensive line play, it would have been nice for Levi’s to have some time to pass instead of having to run for his life. Although Clifford seems to be the better passer I do like Levis’ upside.
K. John says
Hard to fault the O-line. We use 11 personnel almost exclusively, Journey Brown is not a blocker and Pat Frieirmuth is our most effective offensive weapon. Rutgers did not respect the pass at all and routinely lined up 11 defenders within ten yards of the line of scrimmage. While I think this year’s line in the worst of the Joe Moorhead offense era, the line can’t win against those numbers.
The Nittany Turkey says
“Journey Brown is not a blocker” — understatement of the year, based on his whiffing on a safety blitz.
—TNT
Big Al says
I knew Penn State’s effort would suck (cf my 28-10 pre game prediction) so I didn’t watch the game live and won’t watch the pirated reruns on Youtube either. The Kitties clearly don’t respect Rutgers and don’t bother to prepare for them.
I don’t see Minnesota being ranked above Penn State in the committee rankings – Minnesota was exposed by Wisconsin and will probably wind up in the mid teens in the final ratings. However, the Kitties’ crappy effort against Rutgers may still cost them a NY6 bid because I have a feeling Wisconsin will get the Rose Bowl bid as long as they don’t lose to the Schmuckeyes by more than 14 points. Unfortunately, Alabama’s loss may have eliminated any chance of an Orange Bowl bid since both they and Georgia will be ranked above the #3 B1G team. If LSU beats Georgia and Utah beats Oregon, Utah will get the #4 playoff spot and Oregon will be the PAC12’s representative in the Rose Bowl. The ripple effect of this happening is that there will be only one NY spot available for the likes of Penn State, Minnesota, Florida, Notre Dame, and the B1G twelve runner-up.
K. John says
Big Al, my thinking is that we are a long shot for the Rose Bowl at this point. James Franklin could increase our chances of making the Rose Bowl by assuring the committee that Clifford is healthy, but then again, he doesn’t comment on injuries so he may have boxed himself in on that one. Put yourself in the place of a Rose Bowl committee member. Would you take a Big Ten runner up Wisconsin, Minnesota who hasn’t been the Rose Bowl in ages or Penn State, that does not look a top 25 team without its starting QB knowing all three will sell out their tickets and the Gophers’ story will draw views?
The Nittany Turkey says
Maybe Franklin should take the FSU job. Although I read somewhere (24/7 maybe) that he had already turned them down, maybe he’s waiting for an improbable Rose Bowl bid as additional window dressing on his resume.
Nope. We’re not getting a Rose Bowl bid. Have a Bloomin’ Onion.
—TNT
The Nittany Turkey says
Congratulations on your sucky prediction. You hit the nail on the head with it. I figured 38-10 was bad enough, but no way they were going to get 38 performing like that. The one “explosive” play that involved a completion was to a PJHS player.
Minnesota dropped waaaaaaaaaaay down after their loss to Wisconsin. PSU remained #10, which is perhaps wishful thinking. Pretty hard to believe that PSU is better than Alabama without Tua.
The Badgers should get the Rose Bowl bid if they lose to the Schmuckeyes. They’re ranked above PSU by the CFP and Pasadena on New Year’s would be a great showcase for Jonathan Taylor.
If LSU beats Georgia, Utah beats Oregon, and Oklahoma beats Baylor, you have the makings of a contromoversy about who should wind up in the #4 slot. You’re going to have one “leftover” conference champ plus Georgia, along with those also-rans you mentioned competing for a New Year’s Six slot. This could get interesting.
—TNT