Now personally, I used the time off to fly down to Fort Myers, FL (thankfully not spelled the same as Urban Meyer) to try and forget about the current state of the program for a while. Coming off 2 consecutive losses sandwiched in between a pair of bye weeks, you wouldn't blame most of Nittany Nation for feeling a bit down in the dumps. Yet spirits seemed at an all time high when I got back to PA as Nittanyville is in full swing outside Gate A with over 800 student campers and nearly 100 tents. The alumni are ready too, with a stream of RVs descending upon the tailgating fields since yesterday. Add in the fact that Rally in the Valley will rock Rec Hall tonight and you'd almost think we have a shot in this one! As I said, the game is sold out and this match up of border rivals is actually the most expensive ticket in the country at an average of $166, narrowly beating out the other notable Big Ten game of the week, Michigan vs Michigan State, by a single dollar.
Anyway, before we get to the meat of today's post, here are some quick links to get you caught up on all things Penn State football:
- First up, with the biggest home game of the year on deck, there is plenty of recruiting news to go around. More than 100 prospects are expected to be in attendance, which is a lot of names to digest. Thankfully, Black Shoe Diaries has you covered with this incredible Recruiting RoundUp.
- Next, it wouldn't be a real Penn State game without the Blue Band, which was just ranked as the real "best damn band in the land" (sorry, not sorry OSU Band) in a recent USA Today poll. Finally, the band geeks are getting some love!
- Last but not least, it's the 10 year anniversary of one of the strangest games ever played in Beaver Stadium. I was actually in attendance on Oct 23, 2004 as the Iowa Hawkeyes beat Penn State 6-4... seriously. Good ol' ESPN has the strange story of that game with memories from the players and coaches who were there. That 2004 Penn State team was a lot like the current squad, so definitely check that out.
Alright, with all of that out of the way, let's get to this week's breakdown!
A few times this season we've played cupcakes and I've said that there isn't much bad to write about. Well, for the first time this year, there's not much good to write about. Look, we're going to get smashed, plain and simple, especially after what the Buckeyes just got done doing to Rutgers, a team we barely beat. Don't get me wrong, the Buckeyes aren't invincible. After all, Ohio State lost in week 2 to a Virginia Tech team that's looking pretty awful right now. There are things to learn from that game, and it proves these nuts can be cracked. The key, it would seem, is defense. Virginia Tech was the best defense OSU has faced this season by a wide margin, and Penn State's defense is even better than the Hokies by about the same margin. I would say the best reasons for optimism that Penn State might beat the spread, or even somehow win the game, are the White House crowd and our lights out defense. They currently stand as the #1 rush defense in the country and lead the Big Ten in a number of other defensive categories. A win is possible if both the offense and defense play their best games, but that's not exactly likely.
What else is good? Well, there might (and I emphasize the "might") be some help coming to the Lions' beleaguered offensive line. Injured OG Miles Dieffenbach has been practicing this week, although with James Franklin's firm stance on not discussing injuries, your guess is as good as mine on the fifth-year senior's status. The only thing Coach Franklin has said regarding Dieffenbach is that, should he return to game action, he'll be phased in slowly. Considering how much help the line needs right now, anything would be greatly appreciated. Either way, I think we're all just glad to see Miles' baby face back in uniform instead of street clothes.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, Urban Meyer is really impressed with Beaver Stadium.
Where do I begin? By far the biggest thing to watch on Saturday night is how Penn State's undersized and inexperienced offensive line holds up against arguably the best defensive line in the nation. That's not hyperbole either. The Buckeye defensive line is nasty and filled with elite players, many of whom seriously considered and even committed to PSU before the sanctions came out. And when they all left for Ohio State, they took our legendary defensive line coach, Larry Johnson, with them. That means they're about to do to us what our D line used to do to other teams consistently under LJ's tutelage, and without a competent O line, I honestly fear for Hack's safety. On one hand, we can thank the football gods that Noah Spence has been indefinitely suspended. On the other hand, Michael Bennett and Joey Bosa are still very active, and both are playing at an All-American level right now. Check out this piece on Coach Johnson and his terrifying brood if you needed even more to be worried about.
Offensively things don't look much better. Ohio State has put up 50 or more points in each of their last four contests, albeit against much weaker defenses than Penn State. In the offseason, when star QB, and Heisman hopeful Braxton Miller went down with a shoulder injury, most experts wrote off the Buckeyes. After the aforementioned loss to Virginia Tech, redshirt freshman JT Barrett flipped a switch and started lighting up scoreboards with ease. Currently he's thrown 17 TDs (12 more than Hackenberg) and not only has he effectively stolen the "Heisman candidate" moniker from Miller, but the rumors have begun about a potential QB battle next year when Braxton comes back. Still, the youngster hasn't played in an atmosphere like Beaver Stadium at night, and he definitely hasn't played in front of a crowd like the one he'll see tomorrow. It will be interesting to see how he holds up under the pressure. Another player the offense was looking to replace was RB Carlos Hyde, who was the first RB taken in the most recent NFL draft. Ezekiel Elliott has stepped in and turned plenty of heads so far. However, I'll save my critique for after he's met up with Anthony Zettel and friends.
Could this maybe be the opposite of the Michigan game? Just follow me here. This time we're the home team, in primetime, with the night game crowd on our side, playing a favored team, while in the middle of a rough losing streak. Can we circle the wagons too and pull out the upset victory? Realistically no, but it sure would be awesome!
As mentioned before, Larry Johnson will be on the OSU sideline, which will be weird to say the least. He seems excited about coming back to the Beav, but that must be easy when your team is a heavy favorite. Speaking of sidelines, Offensive Coordinator John Donovan will be coaching from the sideline for this game instead of up in the press box. This will be the second game in a row that he's done this, even though James Franklin said in his weekly press conference that some communication is lost on the sideline because coaches can't see the big picture as well. In spite of that, apparently Hack is more comfortable with his playcaller down on the field, and what Hack wants, Hack gets. He seems to have gotten so used to having O'Brien in his ear after every drive last season that maybe having the OC right there instead of on a telephone will help him correct mistakes on the fly and get into a groove faster. Here's hoping!
Despite all my doom and gloom in this post, I would honestly be shocked if we saw a similar score to the 63-14 beat down handed to us in Columbus last year. For starters, Penn State's defense then wasn't even close to this year's iteration. Even if our offensive line can't get it together and the offense gets shut out, there is no way Bob Shoop's defense lets up more than 40 points, if not significantly fewer. That doesn't mean it will be a close game, just that I can't envision another collapse of that magnitude. So what will happen? Christian Hackenberg better put on his track shoes because he'll be running all night long. Remember that season high 6 sacks by Michigan? Expect that record to fall. But somehow, some way, Hackenberg gets enough time on one magical drive to put one in the endzone to Geno Lewis. Sam Ficken gets a FG in there as well, but that's all you hear out of the offense. Meanwhile, the White House crowd frustrates a still young JT Barrett as he throws 2 interceptions, 1 of which is returned for a TD. It's just not enough, though, as the Buckeyes suffocating defense forces plenty of 3-and-outs and their offense catches our boys off guard more than a few times. No miracle stunner here, Ohio State wins 38-17.
Hopefully I'm wrong about this one. Check back on Sunday for the weekly wrap up to find out. Make sure to like and share my brand new Facebook page, don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!
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