Week 3 Wrap Up

Welcome to the Big Ten Rutgers!  How do you like “big time” college football now?  I’ll hand it to you, that was one hell of a show, but sorry, this is still #notarivalry.  You’ll always be little brother at best.  Oh, and can we stop pretending this is a NJ vs PA thing?  This is a NJ vs Philly thing, if it’s a thing at all.  You may receive some reciprocity in your hate from the Philly folks, but the Pittsburgh/western PA contingent of Penn State fans could not care less about Jersey, so stop trying!  Now, I almost felt bad when head coach Kyle Flood said his team was “devastated” in his post game press conference, until I remembered how much his players ran their mouths in the lead up to this game.  On top of that, your fans showcased why the entire Big Ten doesn't respect you.  From the sea of middle fingers when Penn State’s team arrived, to the “F*** Penn State” chants, to the “enemies of the state” posters with the faces of all the Penn State players from NJ on them, and of course the avalanche of pedophilia jokes, you proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that you aren't yet classy enough for the Big Ten.  Maybe in time, but last night your entire fan base looked ignorant and trashy on prime time, national television.  Good job.  Joe Paterno taught us Penn Staters to be better than that.  We kept relatively quiet and just let Hackenberg lead another one of his classic, game winning, clutch drives to silence all the Jersey-ites in High Point Solutions Stadium.  As the “we are” chants continue to echo through Piscataway, I can officially declare #RutgersHateWeek over, and for the first time in a long time, all feels right with the Nittany-verse.  It was a good night. 

Penn State is now 1-0 in the post sanction era, but more shocking is that we were 17-9 during the sanctions.  A big time THANK YOU to Bill O’Brien for everything he did to make that statistic possible!  He held us together and was exactly what we needed in our darkest hour.  James Franklin, on the other hand, is exactly what we need for the future and the word “exciting” doesn't even begin to describe this guy.  For 2 out of 3 weeks in this still young college football season, Penn State has played in arguably the most entertaining game on the schedule.  In defiance of critics who said he only talked a good game, James Franklin is now the first PSU head coach to go 3-0 in his first 3 games since Bob Higgins in 1930!

Meanwhile, Christian Hackenberg has now thrown for an astounding 1,082 yds in just 3 games!  Those are the stats of legends, and “legend” is the only word I can use to accurately describe Christian Hackenberg right now.  You see, it has become quite obvious, at least to me, that Hack is the best 2 minute QB in the entire country, and probably the best Penn State has ever had.  It all began with his last minute drive against Michigan in 2013.  The legend continued in the first game of 2014 with a last minute drive against UCF.  Then last night, Hack did it again, putting together an 80 yd drive which was more yardage than Rutgers’ offense could muster in the entire 2^nd half combined!  It’s these kinds of late game heroics, which snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, that make me super confident whenever Hackenberg hits the field.  Between him and this defense Penn State can't be counted out of a single game for the rest of the season.  They just find ways to win, and that’s something you can’t teach.

Yet even the incredible Hackenberg would be nothing without great targets.  Hamilton and Lewis, attorneys at law, continue to prove that they are the perfect compliment for each other.  For the third game in a row, Hamilton has more catches while Lewis has more yardage.  What does that prove?  Hamilton will move the chains and get you down the field, then Lewis will finish it off in explosive fashion with a deep ball and a circus catch.  These two will most likely continue their fireworks display for the rest of the season and it should be insanely fun to watch.

Overall, it was a tale of 2 halves as Penn State couldn't seem to do anything in the first half.  The offensive line had no answers for a Rutgers defensive front that seemed to set up camp in the backfield and get a sack every other play.  In fact, they had 5 total sacks on the night and forced Hackenberg to run so much he was actually the team’s second leading rusher behind Bill Belton.  The defense played admirably, except for one play where they somehow let QB Gary Nova loose on a 14 yd scamper up the middle of the field for a TD.  Otherwise, they were lights out.  And on special teams, the Lions let the Knights pad their nation-leading stats for blocked kicks by blocking Sam Ficken’s 1^st FG attempt, and Chris Gulla’s first punt of the 2^nd quarter.  Eventually in the second half, the offense found enough rhythm to win the game, the defense completely shut Rutgers down, and special teams came up with 2 FGs and a few nice punts to keep the Knights deep.  Impressive effort with a ton of guts were what sealed the deal more than anything else.

Finally, my prediction.  Now, I said this was more wishful thinking than a prediction, but let’s see how I did anyway.  Hackenberg threw for 309 yds, which is exactly 100 fewer than I thought but still eerily accurate.  Still, he didn't have any TDs and he did throw an interception.  Lewis and Hamilton did each gain 100+ yds, but neither got a TD.  The running game still hasn't gotten going (I don’t think I’ll be predicting that again for a while) and it was NJ native Bill Belton who scored the late TD, not Akeel Lynch.  Jesse James did score a TD, but it was overturned, so does that count?  On defense, Rutgers actually got the 5 sacks, but we got 3 of our own which isn't too shabby.  Ironically Jordan Lucas, whom I predicted would get an interception, seemed like the only guy in the secondary who DIDN'T get an interception as Trevor Williams, Adrian Amos, Ryan Keiser, and Brandon Bell all picked off poor Gary Nova.  The fans didn't leave early because their team kept it close, but they definitely exited the stadium in shame based on their actions.  Last, but not least, I said all of Rutgers recruits would beg James Franklin to come play at Penn State.  I obviously wasn't right about that, but the #10 recruit in New Jersey, LB Daiquan Kelly, who was at the game, apparently saw everything he needed to see and committed to the Nittany Lions.  That now gives us 5 of the top 10 NJ recruits.  Sorry Jersey (no I’m not).

OK, that will do it for today.  Check back tomorrow for the grades, and Tuesday for the awards.  I’m in Atlantic City this week, so I apologize if my posts go up later than normal.  In the meantime, you can follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus for all the latest updates on Penn State football, and as always go State!