Put a Blanket on This Season
The Abominable Land Grant Trophy is at stake on Saturday, as the mighty Penn State Nittany Lions travel to East Lansing to take on the pissed off, decimated Moo U. Spartans. Lake effect snow is forecast, so there will be that.
Unranked Penn State (7-4, 4-4 B10) is somehow favored to defeat #12 Moo U. (9-2, 6-2). Go figure! Perhaps this has something to do with Moo U’s complete lack of a defense. They score a lot of points because they need to, but this glaring weakness was at the fore in their 56-7 dismantling at the behest of the Schmuckeyes.
This could be the game where we see some essence of a Penn State running game, as Moo U. allows 185 rushing yards per game. Or we could see lots of explosive plays. Should be fun to watch, but based on my yo-yo predictions this season, I’m more often full of shit than not. This could just as easily be a 6-0 game played under a blanket of snow by two demotivated teams.
What’s at Stake Here, Already?
So, just watch it for entertainment, because nothing is at stake besides the Land Grant Trophy, which no one wants, and the Quick Lane Bowl in nearby Detroit, which no one wants. I am in Chicago at the moment, having survived Thanksgiving, so I will cut to the chase.
But First, the Elephant Has Left the Room
James Franklin scored a new, 10-year $7.5 million per year contract extension, ending speculation that he would bolt for greener pastures. Penn State has provided all the green James needs, and then some. Congratulations to Franklin and his agent for snagging this Rolls-Royce contract even as Frankin’s weaknesses are increasingly apparent.
Da Wedda
Shitty, with a high of 36, typical gray cloud cover, and a high probability of snow with accumulations of up to an inch. Fun shit to play in. You can make snow angels in the end zone when you score.
Da Bottom Line
So, this is it for the regular season. Toilet Bowl eligibility is assured; only the early December winter wonderland venue remains to be decided. That’s Penn State’s motivation. As for Moo U., they’re all thinking about “what might have been” while they were pretenders all along. Meanwhile, the Land Grant Trophy hangs in the balance, so these two valiant armies will battle for who gets to house the ugly piece of shit for another year. Exciting, eh?
Corrent odds have Penn State favored by 1.5 with an over/under of 52, which suggests a final score of 27-25 in favor of the Nittany Lions. Given the wet snow and the potential for droppage, bumblage, and fumblage, plus apathy and ennui, coupled with who-da-hell-wants-that-trophy-itis, I’ll just venture an out of the ass turdshot of a prediction. Penn State 25 Moo U. 13. Take the under.
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K. John says
TNT, I will be giving my prediction in the morning once I hear more about Michigan State’s injury situation. I know it is a cop out but if Walker, Reed and Nailor play, I have Sparty. If they don’t, I won’t.
The Nittany Turkey says
Not a cop out this time of the season. Too many distractions and emotional factors. Besides, all eyes will be on the “other” game right before ours.
—TNT
Big Al says
Actually, Franklin’s contract is more like a mimimum of $85 million if you include 1 million each year for insurance. And incentives could add another 1 million per year. Plus, in the unlikely event he ever wins a National Championship, his salary will jump from 7.5 M to 8.3 M for all the remaining years on his contract.
Any speculation that he is not leaving has merely been postponed for two more years. (his buyout declines to $2M on 1/1/2024) Basically, Franklin agreed to stay at Penn State for two more years in exchange for getting a guaranteed contract worth $80 million. (If he is fired without cause, State has to pay him 8 million for every year that is left on his contract,) So, if his overhyped current recruiting class flops and State sucks in 2023, the administration will have to pay $64M to buy him out. The BOT handled this contract negotiation about as well as they handled the NCAA sanctions from the Sandusky scandal.
As for the Moo U game prediction, I don’t really care. I’ll pull a reverse K.John and say that it depends on which qb Franklin plays. If Franklin starts Clifford, State loses 24-21. If he starts Vielleux, State wins 28-24.
The Nittany Turkey says
No doubt Jimmy Sexton made out like the bandit he is on this deal. I wonder what he had to do to Sandy Barbour to get her to give away the house and her first-born son. She’ll probably cut and run like she did at Berkeley in the wake of outrage over her stadium expansion folly, to let someone else pick up the pieces. Meanwhile, we are stuck with Franklin for at least the first couple or three years of that magnanimously unheard of ten-year extension. Superagents always win. Their clients usually win. The fans usually lose.
—TNT
K. John says
That is an understatement TNT. Sexton made out, Franklin now has all the leverage which means his poor decision making is now SOP at Penn State. Can’t fire him. He will constantly whine and complain about assistant coaching pay and facilities. At least I know not to get invested in football because we have zero chance at the playoffs unless they expand the format which speaks volumes to what kind of coach he is.