The Penn State Football Show

Penn State had so many question marks heading into this season, and unfortunately after playing Youngstown State, it's hard to have a lot of those questions answered. This week will prove different. Alabama is a solid team all around with no glaring weaknesses, and unlike Hannibal, Saban and the Tide aren't overlooking anything. Their offense is loaded with talent at WR and RB, they have a physical line that has three new starters, and a quarterback that doesn't turn the ball over. Their defense has talent, but there are a lot of new starters and they are without their best player in Marcell Dareus. Can Penn State's offensive line give Bolden time to throw and create holes for the Penn State backs?

Penn State has some firepower of their own on offense. Bolden didn't look like a freshman. He checked down, made accurate throws, didn't get happy feet, and really didn't make any bad decisions. If he is given some protection, I think he can succeed tonight. The offensive line is the huge question. They looked terrible in run blocking last week, but didn't give up a sack and really didn't even have any penetration on passing downs. For Penn State to have a chance they need a running game. The backs looked good against Youngstown and rumors have it that we will see two tailbacks in the same backfield tonight. Kevin Newsome will get in the game as well, possibly in the game at the same time as Bolden. Go for it. Penn State can do a lot of offense, and if the line can play well they have a great shot to win this game.

Penn State's defense is the best 'Bama will play all year and not a lot of people know that. The linebackers are fast, physical, and not in short supply. The secondary is better than we have seen in years. Great speed, excellent tacklers, and some swagger. The only question will be the pass rush which was non-existent last weekend, but look to see more blitzes with guys like Hodges and Stupar to make McElroy throw the ball early.

I have to go with Alabama in this game, but if the offensive line shows up, Penn State could shock the world. If I see another clip of the 1979 Sugar Bowl I'm going to murder someone.

Let's go

Gentlemen let me go Beano Cooke on you for a minute: A long time ago, as the Roman empire was starting to slide, a great Carthaginian general by the name of Hannibal got a little uppity and figured he could unseat the great nation of Rome. A superior tactician of warfare, he used all the resources of his homeland of Africa to defeat the Romans on their home turf. Knowing he didn't have the naval power to sail directly to Italy, he sailed north to modern day France, and led a long march through the winter months over the treacherous alps with his most prized instrument of warfare, elephants. From there, his stampeding calvary made short work of all the Northern Armies of Rome. Many people don't know this but Hannibal occupied much of Italy for several years. All the while avoiding major conflict with his tactical equal, Scipio. Scipio knew he could not defeat Hannibal's elephants, so mostly he ran and hid. These elephants were unstoppable. They crushed the mighty Romans to dust. Until one day, Scipio realized how foolish he had been to stand in front of them, because the elephants only ran straight ahead. With the simple notion of giving the mighty pachyderms an alley to run through, he had neutralized Hannibal's greatest threat. Victory for the Romans soon followed. The moral of the story, sometimes one simple adjustment can topple elephants.

The task is large for our boys in blue. There is no doubt this Alabama team has far more experience, superior firepower, maybe the smartest, albeit sleaziest, coach in college football, and a raucous home crowd behind them. But the South lost the war for a reason. If you've ever sat down with me for more than ten seconds you know my hatred for the SEC. Their new found sponsored home at ESPN does little to calm this hatred. Its the same story from the media every time Penn State takes on an SEC foe: "The SEC has too much speed, too much talent, and Penn State is playing dinosaur football." The story ends with the opposing coach and players regretting underestimating the speed and physicality from the team with plain uniforms and black cleats. So to quote the great Lou Holtz: "[Pete], You couldn't pick this game right if you predicted it on Sunday." Penn State wins and shocks the world.

I can’t remember the last time I’ve gone into a game thinking Penn State’s chances are as slim as they are tomorrow night against Alabama. Even during the 3-9 seasons, they went into every game with a decent shot. But I don’t see them pulling this one out.
It’s not because Alabama is all that great. Nor is it because Penn State is all that bad. It’s just that Penn State is too inexperienced. As I said in a previous post, I think this would be a much better game if it were played at the end of the season when Penn State’s offensive line, linebackers and quarterback had some games under their belts. Unfortunately, it’s being played during Week 2, and I just don’t think the Lions have much of a shot. I don’t necessarily think it will be a blowout, but I would be absolutely shocked if Penn State won the game.
It’s become clear to me that the team put a lot of time and focus on improving their special teams during the preseason. It showed in game one. I like their logic behind this approach…. The coaches knew they would have an inexperienced QB this season, regardless of who won the battle. As a result, they want to try to avoid being in a position where they have to ask their quarterback to do a whole lot. They don’t want to ask too much of him. So they are hoping the defense can keep opponents down, and they can maybe sneak in a score on defense or special teams. That way there is not as much pressure on the offense to put up points.
I think that Penn State’s only shot this weekend is if they do indeed get a non-offensive touchdown at some point in the game. If they can hold Alabama to field goals instead of touchdowns, and throw in a special teams or defensive score, they might be able to pull it out. But I really don’t see Bolden leading the offense on long sustained drives down the field. I absolutely agree with Jason, they NEED TO USE THEIR WEAPONS. Throw in some trick plays. Utilize speedsters like Silas Redd and Devon Smith. Run a double reverse or something like that. It’s their best chance to score offensively. If the offensive line couldn’t run block against Youngstown State, they won’t be able to against Alabama.
I don’t expect the coaches to allow Bolden to do a whole lot. In just his second game, on the road, in a hostile environment, I think they will try to keep things pretty simple and limited for him. I’m sure they are telling him his main job is to not turn the ball over. Unfortunately, I think he will need to do more than not turn the ball over in order for Penn State to win. But I could be wrong, I didn’t think the coaching staff would start a true freshman in the first place, and they did. So maybe they will let the kid air it out. Why not? They’ve got nothing to lose.

You cant take much from the Youngstown State game other than it was good to see the blue and white back on the field again. However, there are a few things I’m burning on from week 1…

• Devon Smith as the slot receiver? I know the dude can fly but he is a small target and he weights as much as my golf bag. Let’s use our height advantage at WR.
• Gerald Hodges needs to be on the field more. When in the game, #6 was all over the ball.
• Only one touch for Curtis Dukes?
• Robert Bolden is legit! Yes, it was only one game and, yes, it was Youngstown State. But you gotta give it to the kid…he doesn’t play like an 18-year-old rook. He has poise in the pocket, throws a strong ball with some touch when needed (8-9 on 3rd down), and it looks like he sees the field well (checked off and hit Brackett for a TD pass?). I’m not anointing him with a golden crown just yet, but you have to admit, it’s exciting to finally see a QB who might eventually bring some hardware to State College.

As for the elephant in the room…I think this game will be better than many people are expecting and critics/analysts are anticipating. As the weekend approaches, I am optimistic but skeptical. Here are my keys to the game for PSU to have a chance heading into the 4th quarter…

• Win the giveaway/takeaway battle. A PSU INT that could shorten the field for the offense and set up a TD could be big, especially in the 2nd half. On the contrary, the offense, and Bolden, MUST protect the ball.
• The running game must eclipse 100-yds collectively. WE NEED TO USE OUR WEAPONS. Newsome in the backfield? End-around to Devon Smith? Bolden with some QB-reads? Curtis Dukes slamming it down the middle? If we can’t run, we put too much pressure on a young QB to make plays. This might be the toughest task for the offense but you know the coaches have a few tricks in the bag for this one. Remember, Alabama lost something like 8 starters on defense and will be without its top D-Lineman. I don’t know why that hasn’t been discussed more extensively.
• Limit big plays. There is a part of me that thinks McElroy and Julio Jones could have a field day with the zone coverage much like Mark Sanchez did in the 2009 Rose Bowl. If we shut down this connection, the game will be manageable. Will D’Anton Lynn shadow Jones? Will we use the nickle more?

Cant wait to get some answers to these questions. I'll leave with this...the biggest improvements a team will make are between week 1 and week 2. Lets hope this holds true Saturday night.