The Penn State Football Show

Halloween is a great weekend, and each week I look forward to Penn State football games. It gives me something to live for. This past weekend, watching this game was like sitting at home while my mother refuses to turn off the Golden Girls. Additionally I was spruned by my fate once again at a Halloween party as I attempted to defeat the odds that Drew had set forth, only to ascertain the class standing of the young lass....Georgia Tech class of 2013. No thanks.

I agree with Jason about the Northwestern game being something that the team can really learn from. They came into a stadium that was half filled with little emotion, and the offense never really found a rhythm in the first half. Northwestern was given a myriad of second chances, some that were Penn State's doing and others, like the botched punt, that were simply lucky. Penn State was able to weather the storm and come out in the second half and dominate on defense. I am not sure how much of that was due to Kafka being out, but certainly getting Josh Hull out of the game was a good move. This is not a knock on Hull, who has played extremely well all season, but I feel like the coaching staff was very stubborn and wanted to keep their base defense out there to stop the Wildcats. Kafka picked them apart by utilizing the WR-LB matchups. He certainly is the best quarterback the team has faced this year, and it was necessary to get the nickel package in, which they did starting in the 3rd quarter. I would have liked to see changes made on the fly since it was very clear what the issues were.

Regardless, the team responded well and Clark and Odrick really lead this team. Jack Crawford continues to improve, and although he crashed in on some read-options, I was impressed with his speed and motor. He's going to be a very good player with a few more years of experience. I also cannot say enough about D'Anton Lynn who made several great plays getting off of blocks and making stops on WR screens. This kid knows how to tackle, and should talk to Astorino who apparently has been suffering from a shoulder injury all season.

What I didn't mind about the defense last weekend was the fact that they kept everything in front of them. The longest play for NW was a 25 yard run from their backup quarterback, and the longest pass was 20-yards (on a halfback screen). If Penn State can keep the big play away from Ohio State, I think they will have an excellent shot at winning. OSU's passing offense is reliant on the big play since Pryor has been so inaccurate at times, and they cannot depend on the short game like Kafka and Northwestern. I will say that there are times that Pryor's passes downfield are perfect, but he tends to float the ball a lot and only has success when he is throwing to wide open receivers or guys that are in 1-on-1 coverage. So to look ahead quickly, I think that Penn State's defense has proven that they should be able to limit Pryor. Last year they had to deal with Beanie Wells and Pryor and held the them to a combined 61 yards on 31 carries (Pryor rushed 9 times for only 6 yards). That is unbelievable. I can't see the gameplan differing much, as they will force Pryor to beat them through the air. I will get into the game some more later, but I had a few minutes inbetween classes and my busy schedule and I can't stop thinking about this game.

Penn State is flying under the radar right now as they probably should be since they really haven't beaten a team that has turned out to be legitimate (except for Temple???). I think both teams are coming in after working out a few kinks and it should be a complete defensive battle, but Penn State comes in with a more balanced offense. The key will be the offensive line and if they can provide just enough to give Penn State a few scores. The loss of Ohio State's kicker is also a huge factor and may force OSU into some 4th down attempts.

I really can't wait for the weekend...just like I couldn't wait for last weekend. Let's just hope it goes more according to plan.