The Penn State Football Show

Given the bye week and nothing, aside from gaining an extra hour of sleep, really to get excited about, I felt it necessary to reflect on this oddly unfolding 2011 football season. Penn State is off, the college football slate is rather dull, and the only thing that could get me truly jacked about the LSU-Bama game is if somebody could assure me that Chuck Norris will run out of the tunnel at Bryant-Denny Stadium chasing six midgets wearing full football equipment! So here I sit, watching the overblown hype of this game mixed with ridiculous anticipatory interview questions by Erin Andrews, just hoping the next 7 days will pass quickly.

You want a college football playoff system? Well, it starts next Saturday in the B10 and Penn State drew a shitty seed. These next three weeks will show what this team really is made of. If they come out 2-1, they deserve a spot on the turf in Indy. And, if they get there, a B10 championship is very likely because I like our chances against a Michigan or Michigan State over a Nebraska-Ohio State-Wisconsin.

As Penn State teams go, this team is certainly not one the best, even of the last 10 years. It might not even rank in the top 5 (i.e. ’02,’05,’08,’09). Ok, maybe in the top 5, but this team has one of those intangible abilities to just find ways to win. They have won with defense, they have won with offense, and they have won with 57 minutes of pure slop and 3 minutes of brilliance. I do believe that, for what ever reason, Rob Bolden has regressed and maybe you can put that on the coaches. But, you do have to give some credit to the coaching staff and the senior leaders on this team’s ability to get the most out of all of their players.

Some of my observations to this point…

• Sure he was missed, but I don’t think anybody really realized how intrigal Derek Moye is to this offense until last week. His route running and his ability to find those seams in the defense often go unnoticed. I think big things are coming from DM6 down this stretch run.
  


• Finally, Gerald Hodges breaks out and does what we have been waiting for for a year now. GH6 is the next real thing at Linebacker U. Now, can Khairi Fortt follow in Hodges lead???



• I agree with Pete…I wasn’t sure Silas Redd could handle the workload of a B10 tailback, given his size. But, he put on some weight/jacked-ness over the summer and is now the real deal. Maybe a little premature, but Heisman watchers need to begin to take notice. Certainly, the Student Book Store better start planning a staircase makeover, because Royster’s rushing record WILL be broken…the real question is…will it happen in 2012?



• I’m not ruling out Devon Smith…I think he can be a valuable part of the offense and if he can do what he did at Northwestern 2 or 3 times a season, I’ll take it. But…why is he running 5 yard slants on 2nd and 3rd and goal? There are too many other options (taller and wider) to put in the slot in these situations.



• It’s funny how we went from Kicking team nightmares to a Kicker/Punter who is nearly a lock on FG’s inside 40 and consistently blasts punts.



• I don’t think we will see Rob Bolden take another meaningful snap this season and, as far as I’m concerned, Joe can sign his transfer papers right now. I think McGloin can continue to develop into a serviceable QB and, from what I hear, Paul Jones is getting his act together in the classroom and should be on the field in the spring/next fall with three years of eligibility remaining.
  

Get pumped for the run!

The fact that Jordan Norwood made an NFL roster at his size was impressive. The fact that he's been climbing up their depth chart has been impressive as well. Now, the Browns, needing to make room for a running back after Hardesty's injury, have released former Ohio State Buckeye and former second round pick Brian Robiskie. Norwood is their #3 wide receiver and had 5 receptions this past weekend against the 49ers.

While the first 57 minutes were completely uneventful, those last 3 minutes certainly made up for that! What an exciting finish. It really is impressive how Moye's return sparked the entire offense and made McGloin a much better QB on that last drive. You gotta give him credit for coming in cold, without having practiced in three weeks, and performing in the clutch (despite the one drop that could have cost them the game). Having him back for the next three games is huge. I said before the game, the loss of Moye would be a much bigger problem against Illinois than it was against Purdue and Northwestern, and that proved to be the case. I think everyone would agree, if he didn't come back on that last drive, Penn State would not have won. This team keeps finding ways to win. Nobody is giving them any credit. Not just the media, but even Penn State fans still don't believe this team is really that good. But they keep finding ways to win, and their defense is good enough to keep them in games, so you never know. I can't wait for the remainder of this season.

Two other notes:

Zordich is awesome. Go back and watch him drive the defender back into the end zone on that game winning TD by Redd. Zordich is the reason that play scored a TD.

On a related note, Silas Redd has really turned out to be an excellent running back. His talent was obvious last year. He broke a lot of big runs where he displayed great moves, elite speed and good vision. So everyone was already high on the kid ability-wise. But I had my doubts that he could be a 25 carry per game running back in the Big Ten, mainly because of his size. I thought perhaps he'd be better suited as a change of pace back from Beachum and get like 15 carries per game. But he has more than proven he can be an every down back. He runs was surprisingly great power, often carrying defenders for a few extra yards at the end of plays. He really has learned how to play the position, how to get up field and gain the tough yards that are needed. He's a stud. I'm still waiting for him to break a long TD run though. It has to happen soon!

This should be a great game as I see these two teams as very evenly matched. I think it will be a close game and there are a few key factors: The snow will impact the game just as Rudy already mentioned. Secondly, Illinois is coming off of back to back losses. How will that affect them? Will they come out angry and take it out on PSU? Or has their bubble been burst and the team is now deflated? We will probably find out the answer to that question early.

Last year, Penn State did not have very good team, but playing Illinois at home was a game everyone thought would amount to an easy win. The Illini promptly came in and gave Penn State as sound of a beating as the Lions have seen in recent years. I don't think Penn State has forgotten about this. Maybe it will be the Lions that come into this game angry and take it out on Illinois. Like I said, I think this should be a good game since the teams are evenly match, but, if PSU comes in with the right attitude, and Illinois comes in with the wrong attitude, this game could end up being lopsided in Penn State's favor.

I'm hoping for a good game with both team's best efforts. Not having Moye will hurt in this game more than it did in the last two. Will Penn State still be able to throw the ball effectively? I'm still waiting for Redd to break an 80 yard TD run. Maybe today will be the day. PSU takes this one 20-13

Illinois started the season 6-0, the first time they had done that in 60 years. The last two games they have lost because of a poorly functioning offense and a defense that couldn't make the big plays. Penn State has had similar issues with their offense as we all know, but what has been consistent is their phenomenal defense. It is anyone's guess as to which Illinois team shows up this afternoon, and what kind of offense for Penn State comes out to play in the snowy conditions.

The snow will play a huge factor in the game. It will be difficult to throw the ball and big plays will be at a premium. Who does this benefit? Illinois has several big play guys in Nathan Scheelhaase (QB) and A.J. Jenkins (WR) who will be slowed by the snow, but the awful special teams of the Illini should be neutralized with the poor weather (kick and punt returns will be easier to cover with the snow), and for Penn State I think the snow should give them the opportunity to stress running the ball more, something that Ohio State did every single offensive play except for four (they completed only one). If the offensive line shows up to play, Penn State should be able to win this game with the snow on their side.

Last week the offense seemed to click in the first half with Silas Redd running rampant and setting up some big plays on play-action. The receivers have stepped up and have done a good job of actually catching the ball in Moye's absence. We also all noticed that McGloin went the distance. I clearly expect this to happen again today, but I have a bad feeling that Bolden will get some significant playing time.

All in all things are looking up for the Nittany Lions; something we certainly did not expect only a few weeks ago. Sitting alone atop the Leaders division of the Big Ten, Penn State has a legitimate shot of earning a trip to the first ever Big Ten Championship game. I see them taking care of business against Illinois as they have all season in typical Joe Paterno fashion. No bells and whistles, just getting a lead and holding on with solid defense. PSU 17 Illinois 10

Pete, I agree with you that Northwestern is incredibly dangerous. Their offense under Persa is very efficient. He's a good player and will create some problems, but he's also coming off of a major injury and isn't quite as mobile as he was last year when his team put up 21 points in the first half. The defense on the other hand is terrible. The fewest points they have given up all year was 17 in week one to a Boston College team that doesn't know their ass from their elbow. Since then they have lost to Army, Illinois, Michigan, and Iowa, where they surrendered 41 points...although one of the TDs was a TAINT (Touchdown-after-interception).

Iowa's offense came into Happy Valley as the best passing attack in the Big Ten. Shut down. Northwestern will be a different type of challenge, but when you look at games like this it's pretty simple: the PSU defense will give up somewhere around 17-21 points. Can the offense score more? That's it. Last year McGloin played hero to Joe's 400th victory en route to a total offensive output of 530 yards and a defensive effort that didn't give up a point in the second half. I think this might finally be the day we see Penn State put some points up against legitimate competition.

Silas Redd has been a godsend. He's 18th in the country in rushing yards and is the only person in the top 50 that doesn't have a rush over 25 yards. What does that mean? It means he's getting good yardage, but not quite breaking one. It tells me that the defenses are playing run, and having their secondary focusing on him. They don't have their backs turned covering a receiver...they are watching Silas, making sure he doesn't get past their last line of defense. Now, with how bad Northwestern's pass defense is, I expect PSU to come out winging it and I expect results. The run defense isn't much better. Army ran for 381 yards against them and completed 1-7 passes on the day for 6 yards. The moral of the story: Penn State could run the ball on every play and still beat this team. Playcalling and execution will win the game, and I think they've had enough time to figure out that reverses are stupid, and they should really just run off tackle and throw in some tosses and misdirection.

Getting to 7-1 would be huge before their final 2 game homestand against Illinois and Nebraska. Every game is winnable with a great defense, and although Penn State has faltered against some pretty inferior competition in Purdue and Indiana, I think they've learned their lessons and should be able to work over those purple-panted-poopball-players. Taking care of business - 31-17 good cats

I'll be going to the game this weekend in Evanston. Northwestern doesn't have the best record this year, but they are a very scary match up in my opinion. First of all, they have played better than their record indicates. They jumped out to a big lead over Michigan but ended up blowing the game, and they lost a close one to Iowa last weekend. They know they should have a better record and they might take out there frustrations on Penn State this weekend.

Secondly, I just don't think it's a very favorable match-up for Penn State. Northwestern always has very good, scrappy quarterbacks that scramble around and make plays. Penn State's defense has been excellent this year, but that has mostly been against pocket passers that Devon Still and company have been able to get pressure on and bring down. This year, the majority of Penn State's sacks have come from pressure up the middle from the two tackles, Still and Hill. The ends have had a minimal contribution to QB pressure this year, which has been a disappointment. Well, I think Persa is quick enough that he will be able to evade Still and Hill and get outside and possible be dangerous. Which is why it is so vital for a defensive end such as Crawford to step up and contain the QB, but he hasn't stepped up all year, so I'll be surprised if he finally does now.

Northwestern is a scrappy team that never quits and always gives teams a scare. I think they are angry with the way their season has gone, and they will play hard at home under the lights. I think the players like Coach Fitzgerald, who has taken some heat recently. They have his back and want to get this win for him. I see Northwestern taking this one 24-21.