The Penn State Football Show

First of all, Welcome Jason and Ryan Albright. I agree with a lot of the things Jason mentioned and in particular the depth that Clark gets in the pocket. He needs to learn to get more of a drop and if he feels pressure to come up into the pocket. That would help his linemen as well and allow him to see the field better. This was a rough loss that Penn State simply handed over, and being at the game only about 10 columns of people away from the Iowa section was not a pleasant experience.

Some good things:

1. That first quarter was nearly perfect. Great defense, good playcalling, and the only bad spot was settling for a FG.
   
2. Linebackers: Bowman played well and is only going to get better. He might be the best LB in the country. Josh Hull had another great game, and Bani Gbadyu was decent, but we all got to see how hard this kid can hit. He's going to be a good player next season.
   
3. Derek Moye: Penn State hasn't had a WR like him since Bryant Johnson, and by that I mean a guy that can do it all. He's fast, tall, attacks the ball, and uses his size to his advantage. He's going to have a big year.
4. Corners: This was a big question, but these guys are pretty good. Morris is a big time guy, Wallace seems to have his stuff together, and Timmons I can deal with simply because he likes to hit...unlike Anwaar Phillips whose best friend was the sideline (without that he would have 2 career tackles).

The bad:

1. Turnovers: Yes we got two picks...but both were off deflections. I want to see breaks on the ball or linebackers dropping back in the zone and reading the QB's eyes...those kind of picks. And where are the fumbles? Iowa has a bunch of frosh running around with the ball and no one can pry it out of there on a rainy day? They have to work on that, as well as not giving the ball away themselves. Clark needs to throw in lanes not right over some defenders head...some people have arms, Daryll and they might put them above their head once in a while. The Royster fumble was killer, but he's learned his lesson so I don't want to harp on that.
2. Offensive line: Duh. I just don't get how they're so bad. I think they have improved over the fall, but they need to pick it up and start pushing people around. You have to give a lot of credit to Iowa though. Every year they seem to be stacked on the D-line. And here I was all happy that Mitch "My long blond hair is making you crap your pants in fear" King was gone. Well they reloaded.
3. Colin Wagner: Dude, give me a break. I can understand that he is the place kicker...he has some experience, and maybe is more accurate than freshman Fera...but on kickoffs? Get him outta there! Fera has a huge leg, and I'm sure he could kick the ball into the endzone, and why not give the kid a shot at longer FG's? If Wag can't kick the ball 45 yards, I don't care how accurate he is...he can't physically make a 45 yarder. Remember in 2000 when they put in Kimball to try to make a 60 yarder to try to beat OSU? That's what I'm talking about. USE FERA
4. Playcalling: Jason I like the waggle pass, that's Groton School bread and butter, but Clark waits too long to make his decision, and by the time he throws the DB's have corrected themselves and the WR's have run out of room to run. Do the playaction, and get rid of the ball. The TE is going to be open underneath. I'd also like to see some timing patterns like they used to run with Williams all the time. It's an easy throw and it doesn't need to be too accurate.
   
5. Where is Beachum? I'm telling you, this kid needs to touch the ball. He is a Penn State running back and I know the coaches know what they're doing, but what has this kid done to NOT deserve some playing time? Give him a shot

All in all, depressing simply because the dream season is over, but let's be honest: this team isn't as good as last year, and the only reason we were ranked so high was because everyone and their mother has been losing this year. Iowa was ranked to start the season and dropped out, now they're back where they belong. That is a good team, but one we beat in a game where neither team has turnovers. I am not concerned about this team as they showed last year that they could bounce back from a tough loss, and I feel like they are getting better. I see the season ending 10-2 with a loss to OSU. Michigan will be a test, but their defense is sloppy, and Penn State's defense is about to start shredding. Can you believe that Sean Lee and Navarro Bowman have NEVER started the same game? This will be exciting.

This has been a tough week to endure, but this team is young, and with an offensive line like this, Evan Royster is going to be in the backfield for his senior season. I'll be at my sister's engagement party this Saturday, and will feel slightly guilty about sitting in front of a TV for the first few hours watching Penn State regain some confidence and run for 200 yards against Illinois.

Joe Paterno calls Juice Williams "The Juice"