The Penn State Football Show

I waited until today for my review of the Syracuse game hoping the days would calm me down. They didn't. That was maybe the most underwhelming win I've seen in the past couple years. I can't point to a thing we really did well. So I'm going to throw something out there, brace yourselves... Penn State will lose to Michigan and Ohio State this year.

The O-line is a sieve, the running game is in slow motion, Clark is taking way too many licks, our kicker is weak, and Nathan Stupar is the biggest ballerina to ever start at linebacker for PSU. I really don't like the way things are looking. Sometimes teams can play down to competition and step up when it counts. I hope we can do that.

As for the Big Ten I believe Ohio State playing USC so tough did help us a little but Michigan State didn't do us any favors. I think between OSU, Michigan, and us we can put together a strong bowl finish.

Back to PSU, it is now abundantly clear Clark has no plans of scrambling this year. And Pete, I usually defer to you on most football knowledge but idea of him staying in pocket to avoid hits makes about as much sense as Caddyshack 2. I think he would be much better off moving around and going down or out of bounds on his terms.

This week, the running game HAS to be established. Its been lackluster the first two weeks and we need a 100 yard rusher like Rudy needs a girlfriend. I would also like to see more pressure on the quarterback. Leaving Ron Paulus untouched left me more unsatisfied than 8th grade makeout sessions.

This week presents no real interesting matchups in the rest of college football. I am not sure how Cal is only catching 14.5 against Minnesota when they are scoring more than that tool from Twilight in the front row of a Justin Timberlake concert.

Let's hope the boys put on a show before the Big Ten opener.

I have no future in journalism simply because I always find a way to make things seem ok. Things obviously did not go according to plan against a weak Syracuse team, but keep in mind that they are drastically better than last year. Here's a quick look at what went wrong and some possible excuses.

Offensive line: They are playing horribly right now, but to be honest with you the defenses thus far KNOW that Penn State isn't going to pull any rabbits out of a hat. These three warmup games are going to be plain vanilla. Run the ball up the middle, establish the basics for the Big Ten season, and don't give away anything. Think about Iowa...what are they going to be able to evaluate from these performances? It's my belief that Penn State is using 25% of its playbook in these games. They haven't run outside, no options, reverses, wildcat...nothing. And since these teams know Penn State isn't going to try to trick them, they can devote their focus to the run. As a result, Clark has been burning them through the air. I can't say I'm not worried, but I think that the OL is in better shape than we think.

Kick Coverage: I am going to go ahead and blame this on some of the freshman that have gotten sucked in on the coverage instead of staying in their lanes. It's good that this happened against Syracuse as I'm sure some of them got a little bit of a wakeup call. Hopefully they can learn from this and be more disciplined.

Pass rush: Paulus and Syracuse got rid of the ball very quickly. There were no deep throws, and it was tough to get pressure. I expected more, definitely at least a sack by a defensive end, but again I am not too concerned. Odrick and Ogbu are man-bear-pigs up the gut and should leave the DE's one-on-one for much of the season.

Tackling: Wallace and Timmons did miss some tackles, and they weren't even that tough. Stupar also looked like a ballerina one time in the open field, but once again these are correctable mistakes. It's better to go through the "preseason" and see how to improve than just cruising through with perfection. I felt the same way about the Patriots in 2007, everything came to easy, but a few years before, they got embarrassed right before the playoffs by Miami and buckled down and went on the win the Super Bowl.

The WORST thing I saw last weekend was the running game. People can blame the O-line all they want, but Royster and Green don't hit the holes. They prance in there and try to avoid people. Green, I understand is not a great inside runner, but Royster looked terrible. He needs to lower that shoulder and stop wading through the defensive line. Brandon Beachum is someone I would love to see more of. Obviously, I'm not a coach and not at practice every day, but whenever he gets the ball he runs like a Penn State running back should. It wouldn't be a bad idea to use him in short yardage situations, and I realize that whoever was running the ball last week on the goalline would have been stuffed.

The BEST thing I saw last weekend was the linebackers. Bowman is a total freak and hopefully he can stay healthy, and I don't think he will be playing against Temple for good reason. With that said, playing without him is a major loss, but PSU has great great depth. Stupar filled in well, but he still has a lot of room for improvement. Gbadyu got in the game and did a decent job. He's extremely fast and they are planning on using him in Hull's place in sure passing situations. Speaking of Hull, as Pete pointed out he played a great game. He mentioned that the strength of the defensive tackles helps him out since they occupy the linemen so he can make tackles. He looked pretty quick and he's certainly a big guy and made some nice tackles. Then there is Sean Lee, who turned it on in the second half. What a guy. He's going to have a great season, and what he does better than his predecessors Poz and Connor is blitz effectively.

This coming week, I'd like to see some more out of the defensive ends. Jerome Hayes, my favorite guy, is coming up a few tough years of injuries and hopefully he can get it going. This wasn't exactly "quick" as I first stated, but I just finished an exam so I was all jacked up.

Penn State is now ranked 5th in the country by the associated press. There is no way that Penn State is the fifth best team in the country right now. If they are, that does not speak very well for the curernt state of college football.

The GOOD:

Clark looked good. I thought his decision making was much better than the Akron game. He didn't force many throws into coverage, and the one interception was not his fault.

The much maligned Josh Hull actually played the best game of his career on Saturday. He looks greatly improved over last year. He is playing with a lot more confidence and seems to know what he is supposed to be doing on plays. Getting Navarro back will halp too.

Sean Lee is the best player on this team and turned in another great game.

Graham Zug had a great game and looks like he is a very reliable target for Clark with great hands.

Astorino's name has not been called much so far this season, but the kid is a heat-seeking missile.

THE BAD:

Offensive Line again did a terrible job run blocking. They are far from where they need to be, and there is no indication that they will ever get there. I know it is still early, but they should not be having that much trouble opening up holes against Akron and Syracuse. This will be a huge problem if it does not get fixed.

I was not happy with the lack of pressure put on Paulus by the defensive line. I would have expected Crawford and co. to haev a field day and pick up some sacks. They stuffed the run very well, but they need to get in the quarterback's face a little more. It was nice to see Devon Still get a lot of playing time. They rotated a lot of guys in, including freshman Sean Stanely at one point.

Kick Coverage: They allowed two big returns. This has been a problem in the past and needs to be addressed. On the other side, I still don't like Royster returning punts.

Tackling: AJ Wallace and Knowledge Timmons did a real poor job of tackling in this game.



Big Ten

I watched most of the Michigan - ND game. I thought ND was going to have their way with Michigan, and offensively, they did. Claussen played great, and they scored points at will. However, where I was completley wrong, was on the other side of the ball. I did not expect Michigan to be so succesful on offense behind a true freshman quarterback. But that's because I didn't realize that Tate Forcier is an absolute stud. In fact, I was so certain of Michigan's inability to score points that I bet money on the Irish. In just his second career start, Tate Forcier cost me $50.00. Kind of reminds me of Andy Dufresne in the Shawshank Redemption. He is already my most hated player in college football.

I am saying it right now, I am scared at the prospect of having to face this kid for four years. He can run and throw very well, and showed incredible poise for a truse freshman making his second start. He really impressed me with his decision making and his ability to make plays. He looked like a fifth-year senior out there. I knew it was only a matter of time before Michigan turned things around, but I honestly thought it would not be for at least another year. I hate to say it, but it would not surprise me at all to see Penn State lose at the Big House this year. You may think I am going overboard, especially from just one game, but that's how I feel.

Ohio State played a good game and had USC on the ropes and blew it. I thought they had the game in the bag since USC's offense wasn't moving the ball at all. I still can't believe they drove the entire field to win the game. Tough loss for the Big Ten, but at least they didn't get blown out. Terrelle Pryor is not that good.

Michigan State losing hurts the Big Ten badly. What a pathetic way to lose a game too. Purdue put in a great effort against Oregon, but lost by 2. Other than that, way too many close calls in the Big Ten.

-49ers will make the playoffs this year.