The Penn State Football Show

Well clearly I have to eat my words regarding this game, but I will gladly do so after by far Penn State’s best performance of the season. There are still many areas in which Penn State is struggling and needs to improve, but in my opinion, they dominated Iowa in this game much more than the 13-3 score indicates. They were able to run all over Iowa, which is rare against a consistently strong Hawkeye defense that always seems to have Penn State’s number. They dominated time of possession, and Iowa’s offense could not get anything going against the defense of Penn State. In terms of moving the ball, Penn State completely dominated Iowa, they just need to figure out a way to finish drives, which is easier said than done. But more on that below. Overall a great win over an opponent that Penn State has struggled with of late.

Observations from the game:

-I was glad to see Penn State blitz more in this game than usual. They need to do more of that, and the guy who is blitzing needs to be Gerald Hodges. He has the speed, quickness, agility and strength to be an excellent pass rusher if Bradley lets him. On the play where he forced the fumble, you could see he was a man on a mission and there was no stopping him. He should be blitzing like that multiple times per game. Especially with the lack of pass rush PSU is getting from it’s defensive ends.

-Astorino and Willis played well in the secondary. As did the freshman Amos. Powell has been holding his own at corner this year too. Getting Lynn and Morris back will be nice. I still don’t like Sukay at all.

-The most promising thing from this game was the performance of the offensive line. I’ve been hoping to see Penn State be able to run the ball like that all year, and this is the first time since the opening game that they were able to do so. In other words, this is the first time against an actual defense that they were able to do so. It always seems to take Penn State offensive lines about half a season to really come together and play as a unit. It seems like that happened yesterday. Hopefully they keep it up because this offense will be completely dependent on the run and play action pass to succeed against stronger defenses. If the run is working, that will open up the passing game. If the run is not working, neither QB is good enough to carry this team through the air alone.

-Silas Redd had a great game. And Curtis Dukes is running the ball real well too. I’d like to see Dukes put the ball away a little better, he kinda holds it out there asking for trouble. I’d like to see the coaching staff try and do some more things to get Redd the ball in space. Too many of his runs are right up the middle. Let’s get him on the outside in the open field because he is dynamic when he’s in the open field and might be able to break the big one.

-Speaking of breaking the big one, I really think PSU needs to take more shots deep down the field to Derek Moye. He’s tall and fast and has made big plays in the past. The main reason I say this is because I honestly believe Penn State’s best chance of scoring is if it comes from outside the 20 yard line. Their struggles in the red zone are well documented, and I don’t expect them to get any better. There is a reason they struggle there and it’s all about the QB’s. Bolden simply has not been an accurate passer all year, and McGloin doesn’t have the strongest arm. He gets by with his arm in the middle of the field, but in the red zone, where everything gets a little tighter and you have less room to work with, his arm really limits what PSU can do through the air. Obviously I’d like to see PSU fix the red zone problems, but I’m not sure it’s really a fixable problem. I think its more of a result of the personnel they have on the field. So I think the best solution is to try and score on big plays. If they are moving the ball well, mix in a play action bomb to Moye and hope for the best. I think that gives them a better chance at scoring six than by driving all the way.

-I think Penn State’s two best offensive players all season have been their two fullbacks, Suhey and Zordich. These guys are awesome. Every time Zordich goes in he blows somebody up. Both of them have been very effective running the ball this year, and Suhey has been very effective as a receiver out of the backfield. I really think PSU needs to stick with more formations that leave the fullback on the field. I like the fullback in there rather than Devon Smith. It seems like every running play up the middle behind a fullback is good for at least 3 or 4 yards. The same can not beside for runs up the middle out of single-back sets. Stick with the fullbacks!!!

-This is a big one that needs to be addressed and fixed: Ferra had some nice punts yesterday to try to pin the opponent within their own 10, but each time, there was not a PSU player in site to catch the ball and keep it from going into the end zone. The punts had more than enough hang time to allow Penn State players to spring down to the goal line, turn around, find the ball, and prevent it from being a touchback. But each time they were still running and trying to find the ball when it came down and inevitably rolled in the end zone. There is no reason for that. This is why Penn State needs a special teams coach. They looked clueless out there yesterday on punts. The truth is, Penn State will be involved in many more games just like yesterday where field position is key. They need to take advantage of any chance they can get to pin the opponent inside the 10.

-I briefly mentioned this earlier, but the one criticism I have about the defense is they need to do a better job of getting to the QB. Still is a monster and has to be one of the best DT’s in the country right now. He is very disruptive and reminds me a lot of Odrick. But he’s the only one of the 4 linemen getting through, and it’s easy for a QB to run a way from a big 300 pound tackle coming right through the middle, they just bounce it outside and Vandenburgh did many times yesterday. That’s where they need Crawford to step up and formulate a pass rush on the outside as well, giving the QB nowhere to go. Up until that last drive, I think PSU only had one sack. They got some pressure, but were not able to get to him and bring him down. They need to do a better job of getting sacks.

-With that being said, how awesome was it to watch Iowa’s final drive where Penn State got three consecutive sacks to force a 4th and 30. What a dominant, almost comical performance. That was really impressive. Similarly, how great was Penn State’s scoring drive where they ran it 15 times in a row right down Iowa’s throat. Those were some dominant performances that were a lot of fun to watch.

-Lastly, I don’t think much needs to be said on this matter other than Bolden clearly is not the guy and QB and should not see the field any more. Chris Spielman is a pretty obnoxious outspoken commentator, and I don’t really like him, but he was completely correct when he said that putting Bolden out there in the second half was just wasting a series. Just throwing it away. He shouldn’t have started the game in the first place. After that pathetic opening drive, where he was throwing the ball nowhere near his targets, and telegraphing every throw, he should not have been put back on the field. Penn State scored three points on that drive in spite of Bolden, not because of him. I was actually kind of pissed they made that great fake FG call on that drive just because I knew it was a complete waste of a good call. There was no way Bolden was going to lead the offense to a TD on that drive. No chance. So what good is the fake field goal conversion? Listen, I like the kid, I think he has a strong arm and shows poise at times, and I think he’d probably be successful in a program where he actually received some decent coaching, but anyone out there who still thinks Bolden should be playing over McGloin needs to open their eyes because it’s not even a race any more at this point. Not even close. Like it or not, Matt McGloin is the QB of this team and probably will be next year two. Any first rep snaps that don’t go to him in practices or in games are just a waste. Hand him the keys and see what he can do with them. So far he’s done an admirable job of moving the offense, and he’s without question the best option at QB for this team.