The Penn State Football Show

I agree with a lot of the stuff Drew said in his post. Especially about mobile quarterbacks purposely staying in the pocket just to prove themselves as a passer. This hurts the team. Like Drew said, having a mobile quarterback in college opens up so many doors for the offense. I also know that the coaching staff really doesn't want Clark to run very much because they don't want him to get hurt since they don't have an experienced back-up. They did the same thing with Mills. Mills was a great runner, but they tried to protect him and didn't let him run any more, and that really hurt the offense.

In terms of the Akron game, there is not a whole lot to say, and the little that there is to say has already been said. O-line is not there yet, and Clark made some bad decisions. Other than that you can't take much from that game. Syracuse played well against Minnesota, so they might provide a good test, but we all know that the real season doesn't begin until Iowa, and you can't learn much about the team until they play some tough games.

Drew if you are going to bet this weekend, I'd say put your money on Notre Dame over Michigan. They are only giving like 3.5 points. I think the Irish go into the Big House and win that game by at least two touchdowns. Michigan is not very good, and they have a true freshman at quarterback. Notre Dame is not very bad, and Clausen is actually pretty good now. Take advantage of the fact that Michigan actually looked good last week. I don't think they will look good again for a while.

Also, in regards to USC OSU... not so fast my friend. I think it will be low scoring. I can't see a true freshman quarterback having much success against Ohio State's defense in the horse shoe at night in a tough environment. If he proves me wrong, I will be thoroughly impressed. I can already tell Barkley is going to be a great one, but he's so inexperienced, it will be tough. Although if anyone can prepare him for success, its Pete Carrol. On the other side, OSU doesn't have a very dominant offense either. I think points will be at a premium, but we will have to wait and see.

What is Micahel Crabtree's deal?!

I think Rudy summed up last week pretty well. But I want to expand on a few things he left out. I was very impressed with the poise Daryll Clark showed in the pocket. Pressure was coming and he stayed put until his receivers broke open, delivered a nice ball with defenders in his face, and paid the price a few times. That being said he did miss a couple of times. But that was only the first game and I'm confident we'll have a much better DC-17 this year. I'm worried about one thing though, for some reason good running quarterbacks don't want to be labeled as good running quarterbacks. So they spend their offseason trying to become Dan Marino. Why? Mobility by a quarterback at this level is such a plus. I love the play on third down and 5-7 yards to go of just sending the receivers deep and letting the qb scramble and create. I just don't want to see Clark stay in the pocket to prove himself to a couple of hack beatwriters and Mel Kiper.

Last week I called out Sean Lee and said he needed to prove himself on the first snap. I think he did that and then some. The play that comes to mind is on the first defensive series when he blitzed unblocked off the edge and had a clean shot at the quarterback. It was clear though that either by design or fluke Akron had their relief valve wide open and probably for good yardage. Sean Lee recognized this as well, broke off the sack, and closed in with blinding speed on Akron's tailback and broke up the pass. I can't think of too many NFL guys that would have the presence of mind to make that play. Most see a chance to plant to qb and never look back. He made hard hits all day and I'm very happy to have him back. I thought the D-line played excellent. I think Sukay is going to prove himself to be a great safety and you know my man-crush on Astorino.

The offense, as Rudy said, had pretty rough run blocking. They weren't pushing downfield much. I am glad I hung on to my #6 Aaron Harris jersey because Moye is a beast. I did not see that kid coming but I am loving the size of the targets Clark has to throw to. I also thought Joe Suhey showed some serious thump at fullback. Nice to see one of the famed Penn State families finally doing something for this team besides taking a scholarship. I was pretty unimpressed with Devon Smith but hopefully he gets a few more touches this week.

I never thought I'd say this, but i miss Kevin Kelley. You win this round God.

For this week what do you say about Syracuse? They were a once mighty team reduced to a 24 year old freshman winning the starting qb job in his first 5 weeks of football in 5 years. It sounds like the beginning of Necessary Roughness. Jim Brown is frowning somewhere. I don't think we "need" to do anything to win. I personally would just love to see Paulus planted a few times and I want a big game on the ground to give the offensive line an ego boost. I would also like to see some second half intensity. I'm not worried that we didn't score in the second half last week because we all know how you're attitude changes once you realize the other team can't beat you.

As for the Big Ten, I don't think Iowa will prove to be the stout test we thought. But then again they didn't appear all that great last year and I was dining on my foot for about a week after my rather boisterous post. In regards to Ohio State, Navy does that to everyone. That's why I picked it. I think they will get blown out this week but USC is a superior team. I thought Illinois was making strides to be back a-top the league and bring respect to the Big Ten but Zook has failed to capitalize on some great recruits. This probably will be a down year for the Big Ten. There's nothing you can do about that. All Penn State can do is win every game and continue to improve and let the chips fall as they may.

This weekend I will be in Atlantic City and will actually be laying money down on my gambling predictions. I like South Carolina over Georgia, Michigan State over Central Michigan, and you're insane if you don't take over 44 points in USC-OSU.

-Terelle Pryor's Philosophies

Duke, like Notre Dame, is one of those schools you either like or you hate. I'm of the latter. Coincidentally I feel the same way about UNC. Regardless, I am extremely excited for Greg Paulus, former Duke point guard (although he lost his 3 year starting spot as a senior...ouch!), to get turned into a sack lunch this Saturday. It's a special feeling when you get to face a quarterback you absolutely despise in a game where you are positive that he will be knocked around like a beachball at a Nickleback concert. Syracuse nearly pulled out a victory against Minnesota in overtime last week, but a costly Paulus interception ended the game. To his credit, he played pretty well, Considering that he hasn't played football in 5 years and only practiced over the summer, it's remarkable that he is a starting quarterback not to mention that he was an effective one against a legitimate bowl contending Big Ten team. This week will be a little different though.

Paulus will go up against a relentless defensive line that treated Akron's O-line like a wet paper bag. Delone Carter is a pretty good running back for Syracuse, but playing on a team like Syracuse doesn't do him any favors. Penn State shouldn't have trouble containing the run this week or any week this fall, and they can focus on getting after the quarterback. It should be interesting to see how Paulus deals with the pass rush. I haven't seen much film from their game against Minnesota, but I assume that Paulus has some scrambling ability. The secondary for PSU, which played well against Akron, should have a pretty relaxing day in the sun. My prediction to the right of 45-6 may seem a little lopsided, but with the way the Lions played in the second half last week, I think they will be pushing to play at a high level the whole game. I also don't see Syracuse being able to get in the endzone. Akron's only score was on a coverage breakdown, and Jacquemain threw a great ball. Paulus isn't as polished a passer at this stage of the season, and with the way PSU stuffs the run, it could very well be a touchdownless day for the Orangemen.

Look for Penn State to get even better offensively. Their wideouts were the stars last week while the run game was below average. Syracuse will have more standard defensive formations so the offensive line should have an easier time clearing some holes for Royster and Co. Expect PSU to make a statement in the ground game, and I anxiously await round two of Clark with his new set of BIG targets. I predict a return touchdown from "Speed Devon" Smith (get it? Like speed demon, but Devon instead). Bag 'em and tag 'em, tell me how Beaver stadium's grass tastes, Greg.

First games are inherently exciting whether they are against a national powerhouse, or in Penn State's case the Zips. A lot of questions were answered in this one (or may have been answered) in particular the wide receivers. Although they did not have a perfect game, it was pretty close. Their height advantage was utilized in the redzone and their speed was on display. This group of wideouts could be something special. I read the other day that Chaz Powell (who is absolutely jacked by the way) ran a 4.27 40 yard dash in practice. He certainly showed major improvements over last year where his hands were pretty shaky. Not enough could be said of Moye's performace as he hauled in 6 catches for 138 yards. He's going to be a stud. Brackett was really the only downside of the afternoon, but he is the least of my concerns. Devon Smith made an appearance and though he did not make much of an impact, the fact that he was returning kicks and used with the first team offense indicates enough.

The secondary looked pretty decent, but a lot of that credit might fall on the shoulders of the defensive line who, not surprisingly, raised hell in Akron's backfield. I really don't think we will have a good measuring stick for the defensive backs until the Big Ten season starts.

The offensive line was a concern going in and it remains that way. Their pass block was fine, but they were going against Akron. The run blocking was pretty miserable, and without the fake punt run by Andrew Dailey (fantastic call by Larry Johnson), the Lions would have been at 99 yards rushing on 29 carries. Horrible. Yes Akron loaded the box, but the running backs should be able to get more than 3 yards a clip. Syracuse will give Penn State some more standard defensive looks, so the running game should improve.

All in all, a 31-0 halftime lead is encouraging, but not scoring in the second half is not a good sign. It's not that they weren't capable, but the fire just didn't seem to be there. The coaches will be all over them for their sloppy second half and hopefully they can put together a full game against Syracuse that looked like the first 30 minutes with Akron. There are still some questions, but two more cupcakes should iron out the kinks, and it looks like the Big Ten is in even worse shape than most thought with Iowa and Ohio State just barely escaping with victories. It will be interesting to see this OSU-USC game...