Let's start with some of the peripherals. It was military appreciation day in Beaver Stadium in celebration of Veterans Day earlier in the week. Military themed events were staged all around the stadium throughout the afternoon. However, my favorite scene by far was the S-zone in the student section which added a red U and A. Very classy students!
Now what would football be without tailgating and good food, especially in Happy Valley? Nothing, that's what! As I mentioned in my prediction post, I participated in a chili cookoff after the game. It went off without a hitch and good times were had by all. This was actually the first time I've ever attempted making chili, so I was excited to hear that everyone seemed to like it. Clockwise in the picture below we have 1. a stereotypical super spicy chili, 2. a decent entry that kind of had the texture of refried beans, 3. white rice, 4. a sweet santa fe style chili with black beans and corn, 5. my classic tex mex style chili, and 6. a very interesting shredded chicken "white" chili." A big thanks to my fellow Blue Band alums for putting that together!
So what about the game? In the first half, turnovers were the big issue for Penn State's offense giving up a fumble and an interception. Temple, on the other hand, was having their own issues with penalties. They would end the game with 10 total penalties, twice as many as PSU, including 3 offsides and 2 false starts that indicated the Beaver Stadium atmosphere was getting to them. In the second half, though, it became all about Penn State's defense as they smothered the Owls and at one point forced a turnover on 5 out of 6 consecutive drives! Both of Penn State's freshmen CBs, Christian Campbell and Grant Haley, had interceptions while filling in for the injured Trevor Williams; Haley's even went for a TD! Adrian Amos and Jesse Della Valle also had interceptions, and Austin Johnson recovered a fumble. It doesn't even need to be said anymore, this defense is ridiculous. As one of my fellow chili-eaters put it, they're playing like someone kidnapped their daughter and now they have to use their special set of skills to destroy opposing offenses. Mike Hull had the hit of the game when Temple's RB attempted to hurdle Brandon Bell. Hull would have none of it and nailed the RB in mid-air. One interesting note, Anthony Zettel's sack was the only one of the day. A number of other players came close, but as my friend Josh warned us, PJ Walker is a very elusive dual-threat QB. Throughout the game he could be found scrambling in the backfield, narrowly escaping defenders and making plays out of nothing. Temple fans should be really excited about the future with this kid. In the end, Walker may have won numerous battles, but Penn State's defense won the war.
There were plenty of takeaways from this game. We'll start with the continued regression of Christian Hackenberg. He went 12-26 (under 50% passing) with 2 interceptions (1 in each half), no TDs, and one of his lowest yardage totals of the year with 112. As we'll get to in a second, it seemed like everyone else on offense stepped up their game on Saturday. However, that's what made it all the more apparent that Hackenberg was the problem du jour and any victory over Temple was going to come in spite of him, not because of him. Things started out well enough and it was clear the receivers weren't the problem. On the opening drive Lewis, Hamilton, and Godwin all had completions as the offense clicked early and worked its way down the field. An ill-advised penalty would doom the drive to a FG, but overall it was good. After that, though, Hack started to overthrow, underthrow, and miss his targets completely. Yet, unlike past games, there were no excuses on this day. He had time and wasn't faced with constant 3rd and longs due to an anemic rushing attack or costly penalties. Everything was working except him. I think it might be time for even the most avid Hackenberg apologists (which I admit I can be at times), to finally face the music and just admit that he's not very good this year. I still don't think these issues are permanent, and most will likely be corrected in the offseason. Nevertheless, they will probably last the rest of the season, and possibly even bleed over into the bowl game. My advice would be to simply relax and enjoy watching this defense in the meantime.
As alluded to already the offensive line played very well, allowing only 1 sack in each half. With Donovan Smith and Miles Dieffenbach back, the line was inspired, but was also forced to change their lineup once again. From left to right, they now look like this: LT Smith, LG Dieffenbach, C Wendy Laurent, RG Angelo Mangiro, RT Andrew Nelson. That means Nelson moves back to RT, but Mangiro moves to Guard instead of back to Center. Very interesting, and clearly it worked! Hackenberg had more time to go through his reads, and more importantly, we finally found our running game!
Speaking of which, both Akeel Lynch and Bill Belton were on fire right out of the gates and didn't slow down until the backups went in on the final drive. By game's end, the RBs had accumulated more yds (254) than Temple's entire offense (248)! And unlike the UMass game, Temple is actually a decent team with an above average defense. Also, for a team that has relied heavily on its passing attack the last 2 years, it was interesting to see the rushing yds more than double the passing yds. Even the wildcat was working in limited use, picking up at least one 1st down on an Akeel Lynch sneak. The electric performance was not without it's controversies. Lynch's "fumble" (he was down!) in the first half was upsetting, but get this, it was the first fumble by any Penn State RB all year! They may have had trouble getting us yds this season, but at least they've been taking care of the football.
Finally, there's a big time youth movement at Penn State, especially in the defensive secondary. I think I've already mentioned it in the past, but Penn State is statistically the second youngest team in college football. And all those freshmen, both true and redshirt, are contributing in a big way. Think about this, on offense you have freshmen either starting or heavily contributing at RT, LG, TE, and 3 WR spots, and on defense at DT, DE, LB, S, and 2 at CB. I've said it before, I know it sucks to be patient, but over the next 2 years or so these guys are going to grow up and everyone else better be on high alert. James Franklin's championship talk may not have been as far off as we thought.
Alright, so what about my prediction. Well, I got the winning team correct but I wasn't close on the score and I shouldn't have bet against the spread since we beat it. The offensive line definitely had their best performance of the year, but all that extra time didn't seem to help Hackenberg who threw 2 INTs instead of the 2 TDs I anticipated. I also doubted the running game, although I'm more than willing to look like an idiot if it means we get to see more of that for the rest of the year! So definitely not my best showing, but the W is all that matters. Oh yeah, and in case I didn't mention it, WE'RE GOING TO A BOWL GAME!!!
Tune in tomorrow for the weekly grades post. My Facebook page is a thing and could always use your likes. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!
No comments:
Post a Comment