Rahne Flies Coop
So, all those who bitch about Ricky Rahne’s dumbed-down, derivative Moorhead offense need bitch no more. Ricky done flown da coop!
Speculation abounds on who will be selected by James Franklin as Rahne’s successor. We don’t even know who will run the offense at the Cotton Bowl at this point.
Black Shoes Diaries posted an article that said absolutely nothing, but it was couched as the opinion of its author, Chris Lucia. Nevertheless, since I know even less than Lucia, I’ll won’t make grandiose statements about what the team needs on offense. I’ll just ask: Who is your leading candidate for OC?
Bowl Bullshit
So, we got the Cotton Bowl and PSU homies are pissed off that we didn’t get the Rose Bowl. Hey, Wisconsin deserved it and PSU didn’t. (By what arrogant and impertinent measure did PSU stake its claim on Pasadena turf, anyway? Certainly not on that ridiculous, season-ending putridity against the lowly Scarlet Knights of PJHS.) Furthermore, from a subjective point of view, why would the “Graddaddy of Them All” want a team that consistently shows up for only half a game?
Even the Cotton Bowl is probably more visibility than the Nits deserve this year. Nevertheless, for some of us, the matchup seems even more unsettling than the lesser venue.
A Group of Five playoff wannabe will always want to be appeased, and the Cotton Bowl is now the designated spot for the proud pretender. This year, AAC winner Memphis (12-1) is it. The at-large berth went to Penn State (10-2), who are favored by a touchdown.
But Can Memphis Win?
The thing is, the Tigers might be tigers. (How many sports teams choose this ferocious, striped, 500-lb feline as their mascot? I’m thinking it must be the most overloaded icon in sports. But I digress.) Memphis has everything to gain, while the Nittany Lions will likely enter the game with their usual dullard looks for the noon kickoff. What are they playing for?
Memphis will be coached by interim head coach Ryan Silverfield, since former head coach Mike Norvell was hired away by Florida State. Of his ascension, Silverfield stated, ” The players will understand it’s just another day with a new face up there that’s talking to them, a new face that’s calling the plays.”
Make a Statement?
In this situation, the players know the importance of “making a statement.” (LOL) The coach’s motivational significance is somewhat secondary. They’ll be awed playing in Jerry’s House, a huge upgrade from their home venue, which is where the Liberty Bowl has been played for about 100 years and holds 60,000. AT&T Stadium (Jerry’s Joint) is one of the most expensive and elaborate sports venues in the world, costing $1.15 billion to build and holding 105,000 slobbering Cowboys fans.
Whether PSU stacks up well against Memphis will be the subject of my pre-bowl post, so I ain’t sayin’ here. At the moment, I’m more interested on your thoughts regarding the matchup and any sour grapes you have for me to chew on.
Depending on how sore my ass is, I might not get the pre-bowl post up before Christmas, so I want to wish all six of my readers the very best of the holiday season — Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and to those who celebrate Kwanzaa, Habari Gani.
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Lawrence Hamilton says
With any luck Mississippi State might decide the Joe Moorehead experiment is over and cast him aside. This year went downhill for them quickly. But that’s not likely to happen. And there might be those PSU fans who wouldn’t want him to return. In regard to PSU getting passed over for the rose Bowl, I agree with you. They didn’t earn it. The Selection Committee wanted a competitive game and from what they probably saw as the season went on PSU couldn’t get it done when they needed to. I think Memphis will be up for the game and much like UK last year, they will play to win…whereas PSU will just show up…make a few nice plays, lose focus and walk out of there with their tails between their legs…something JoePa would never allow to happen.
Slow day at the office today!!
The Nittany Turkey says
It’s always a slow day in THIS office — not because I don’t have enough to do but because my old, retired ass is self-regulating, and its only known speed is SLOW.
I know some Mississippi State folks who thought Moorhead would be a godsend. They would start their sentences with, “Now that we have a head coach…” They’re singing a different tune now. But no way Moorhead could have solved their recruiting issues in a couple of years, so I won’t put him down, other than to suggest that he bit off more than he could chew in too short a period.
In any case, Moorhead’s current contract keeps him there until 2022 (subject to the usual buy-out bullshit). He gets $3.2 million per year. I seriously doubt that he’ll be cast aside and I wouldn’t think PSU would pay him head coaching salary as an OC. I also wouldn’t think Moorhead would be content to take a downgrade to OC. (He was rumored to be interested in the Rutgers job before they hired Schiano). However, even if rehiring JoMo is a pipe dream, it is fun to speculate on how a fully reimplemented Moorhead offense would lift the team.
Thing is, I don’t know how to fix that “just show up” attitude. A few players demonstrate superior motivation — too few. What is happening in the locker room? Maybe I don’t want to know. I’m just tired of seeing it and it gets rubbed in every time we face an opponent with lots on the line. They come out gung-ho; PSU comes out flat. The Cotton Bowl, with its noon kickoff, will produce more of the same.
—TNT
Big Al says
I don’t think it matters who Franklin hires as long as he insists on combining a spread offense with a West Coast passing tree and then has his quarterback check the deepest routes first. The West Coast trees require the qb and receivers to make the identical post snap reads on the defensive coverage-that means more mistakes in running routes than an offense that uses predetermined passing routes. And looking at deepest routes first can mean that the qb runs out of time before getting to wide open receivers for sub 10 yard gains.
Franklin’s offense is always going to be a big play or bust offense. And when they play teams that have a decent defense, there are going to be more busts than big plays. Plus, everybody and their dog is running some sort of spread offense these days, and defensive coordinators at even mediocre teams are getting better at eliminating the big plays. Running an effective spread these days requires precise execution and “precision” has not been a hallmark of Franklin’s teams.