The Penn State Football Show

I think Temple is coming into this game confident they have a good shot to win it. Temple is MUCH better than they have been. That's because they have always been lousy. Now they are finally decent. While I do think they have a shot to win this game, I just don't think they match up very well against Penn State.

Temple's strength is their running back. And traditionally, as long as your name is not Trent Richardson, Penn State is pretty stout at defending the run. So I think Temple will have a hard time putting points on the board.

But I do think Temple will come in with a lot of energy and a lot of confidence. If the ball bounces their way a few times, you never know what could happen. Their head coach, offensive and defensive coordinators all played for Joe. Let's face it, Joe can be very predictable, so that is something to worry about. Although this year so far, Penn State has not been its old predictable self (Starting a true frosh QB, playcalling against Alabama). So you never know.

I'm excited to see a good test for the team. We should learn a lot about them tomorrow. Penn State needs to establish a ground game in this one. I say they win, but not a blowout.

As Pete stated, the loss wasn't a huge surprise. The surprise was the terrible defensive play. Penn State was clearly outmatched in almost every area on defense. The receivers were too fast and big, the running back was too powerful, the offensive line too stout. Where is the pass rush? Everyone says that Crawford is going to be a great pro prospect, but he's got nothing. Sure he's fast and strong and big, but he isn't a football player. He doesn't have the instincts and moves that we are accustomed to out of the defensive end position. Sean Stanley has really impressed me in this area. He's got great quickness, chases plays down, tackles well....he's just a little small, but in a year or two he is going to be some kind of player. Stephon Morris and Lynn played relatively well, and I thought Lynn was the best tackler on the defense. He wouldn't be a bad solution to the safety problem (Sukay...ugh). If Derrick Thomas can progress as a corner, I think this can happen. Thomas is another physical guy that I like (had a great tackle on kickoff against YSU) and expect will get more playing time as he gets more experience (he's a RS FR).

I also agree that the playcalling was actually pretty good and that the offense executed well. They just shot themselves in the foot every time they had a chance. They really utilized their speed well by getting Devon Smith the ball in space. I hope they continue to do that since it will create openings for Bolden to throw some deep balls off of that motion. Justin Brown and Shawney Kersey need to play more. We saw Kersey's speed, and Brown looks like he could be a Bryant Johnson type of guy. For all the ripping that has been done on Royster, he has shown more power this year and actually ran over Hightower, Alabama's best linebacker. My only beef with him is that he seems very selfish and refuses to take a leadership stance. I still like what I see out of Green, not only as a running back but as a leader. Redd is a freak. We knew he was fast, but he has shown that he can be a physical runner against one of the best defenses in the country. All in all it was painful to watch (I actually pulled off the record-the-game-watch-it-later-without-knowing-what-happened thing) but we saw flashes of what this team can do, and I still believe that next year Penn State will turn the tables on an Alabama team that will be in a similar situation to where Penn State is right now.

Kent State supposedly leads the FBS in run defense thanks to a -65 yard Oscar nominated performance by Murray State. What horse-hockey. There is no motivation quite as powerful as getting humiliated on national television. I expect Penn State to come out and murder Kent State. They have a lot to prove with their run game, and they won't be able to compete in the Big Ten if they do not improve. What the hell is going on with this anyway? Why is it so hard for a team like Penn State to recruit some monster offensive linemen? Are they all just going to Wisconsin or something? Ugh. I'll never take a solid line for granted again. Khairi Fortt will probably see some legit playing time tomorrow. Let's see what the other Connecticut stud can do.

Hey buddy, I'll give you a Golden Flash

I think Drew hit most of the big issues. The tackling was by far the worst of the issues, with the red zone turnovers not far behind, and yes, Fera really struggled punting the ball. Some other thoughts:

-Offensive Line needs to do a better job. There was minimal room to run, and the first interception was completely on the OL. Blitzers went straight through to Bolden untouched, hitting him just when he was releasing the ball.

-Pass rush is non-existent. They need to pressure the quarterback but have not been able to. Crawford has done nothing this year, and the linebackers haven't done much either in terms of rushing the passer. This is the main reason PSU has yet to force a turnover this season.

- I was surprised at how upset a lot of PSU fans were after this game. Like I said before, I would have been absolutely shocked if Penn State won. It was a real longshot, but there were some positives to take away from the game for sure. I was very impressed/surprised with how well Penn State moved the ball on Alabama. I was really encouraged with the playcalling. I thought Galen Hall did a great job of mixing things up. They weren't nearly as conservative and predictable as I had expected, and they had a lot of success moving the ball. They just always turned it over in the red zone. Bolden is going to be very good.

-Silas Red has been the Lion's most impressive running back so far this season. He needs to be on the field more.

-Nick Sukay looks like he has no idea what he's doing out there. He started all last year and both games this year and has yet to do a single thing to show me why he deserves to be on the field. They have to have someone better than this kid. To tell you the truth, I can't figure out what it is that Penn State is trying to get out of the safety position for the past 10 years. Guys like Guman, Sukay, Mayer, Scirotto... These guys are not very fast or athletic. I think Hodges should have been left at safety, but they never seem to put top athletes at safety. They just throw them all at linebacker and have them sit the bench. Doesn't make sense to me.

-Now that Penn State's poor tackling was exposed, I expect them to fix that problem at practice this week, and I think they will improve in that area.

-Graham Zug has got to make that catch. Period.

-Linebackers are too tentative and need to play more aggressive. On Richardson's TD run, Colasanti had a clear shot at him. Instead of going after him and blowing him up, he sat back and let Richardson carry him into the end zone. Hopefully the coaches fix this as well.

- The loss of Hodges hurts, but at least it's at a potition that Penn State has some depth... even though you couldn't really tell that on Saturday.

I thought a few days would calm me down about the game but after re-hashing the game with Travis "T-Bone" Merritts, my anger is renewed. I can't be mad at the boys, most of them anyways. They played hard and despite what the scoreboard showed, really hung with a high-caliber team. So here, in no particular order are things that pissed me off about the game.

1) The Punter. Who is this kid? He has no business playing for Penn State. He gave Alabama great field position several times when the game was still possibly in reach for PSU.

2) The tackling was horrendous. Some of this I will accredit to PSU because tackles were missed on several players. Not just Trent Richardson, who is a freakin beast and would break the attempted tackles of Ray Nitcshke.

3) Turnovers in the red zone. Nuff said.

4) The field goal call in the fourth quarter. Excuse my language but what kind of vagina bullshit call is that? A shutout still counts the same in the loss column as a loss where you scored 3. And that's not me saying this now, four days later. A time stamped text message can prove I instantly hated this decision. Further proving my point, why kick the field goal then try the onside kick? Terrible.

5) The SEC will remain the conference of choice even though they are soft this year and the Big Ten, having some its strongest teams in years, will not garner respect because in the only regular season marquee match up, Penn State gets whipped by Alabama. No one can challenge Alabama in the SEC this year since it looks like the normal powerhouses of Florida, Georgia, and LSU are soft. They will most likely stay number 1 all year and a one loss team out of the Big Ten will get shafted again.

One thing I am not mad about, the hustle on the fumble play by Derek Moye, Brett Bracket, and Robert Bolden. Not sure how I feel about the ref's call but if they punch that in the game is out of our hands a lot earlier.

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.