Week 8 Wrap Up

Another game, another loss.  That’s become the story with this year’s Nittany Lion squad, which sucks given how much promise they showed winning their first four games in a row.  Unlike the last two losses, which were referee screw jobs, the team only has themselves to blame for this one.  We’re now officially 2/3 of the way through the season, and as has been the story all year, the defense came to play, but the offense couldn't muster enough of anything to pull out a victory.  In the end, even Sam Ficken's golden leg couldn't save Penn State.  They lose to Maryland 19-20.  PSU now falls to 4-4 with only 1 Big Ten win and the hope of a bowl game fading fast.

Before we get into the game action, let’s start with a few personnel notes.  Although we weren't sure which offensive lineman would return, all signs pointed to either OT Donovan Smith or OG Miles Deiffenbach coming back for this game.  Instead, we saw neither, in fact Miles wasn't even dressed.  Therefore we were left with the same line we saw at the end of the Ohio State game: (from left to right) Nelson, Mahon, Laurent, Gaia/Dowry, Mangiro.  Also of note, all four players arrested for throwing eggs at a dorm on Thursday night suited up for the game, with Wendy Laurent starting at Center and Garrett Sickels getting 2 tackles in a backup capacity on the defensive line.  After the game James Franklin said of the incident, “There’s a lot of problems going on right now in our society and college athletics.  Throwing eggs is a little further down the totem pole in my opinion.”  Even the College Gameday crew laughed it off as a petty act of vandalism with Lee Corso pointing out, “Florida State wishes they had that problem.”

Of course, the big story of the day started before the game even began.  Apparently, like Rutgers, Maryland has been harboring some serious resentment towards Penn State after decades of being dominated.  And, despite significantly less trash talking in the lead up to the game than Rutgers did, the Terps were still quick to let PSU players know exactly how they felt about their “rivals” to the north.  Things started off “chippy” (a common phrase in college football that just mean “heated” or “emotionally-charged” but usually in an aggressive manner) as a pre-game shouting match quickly escalated into a shoving match.  Star MD receiver Stefon Diggs even ended up smacking an official right in the face, although it was clear that this was unintentional.  Still, by rule, he could have been ejected from the game and he’s lucky to have only received a personal foul.  (*UPDATE: the Big Ten Conference has publicly reprimanded Maryland head coach Randy Edsell for "not controlling his players" at the start of Saturday's game, suspended Stefon Diggs for 1 game for hitting an official, and fined the University $10,000*).  But it wasn't done just yet.  Prior to the opening coin toss, Maryland’s team captains refused to shake hands with Penn State’s captains, an act James Franklin claimed in 20 years, he’s “never seen that before.”  Their completely classless actions got them flagged for another personal foul assessed on the kickoff.

Maryland’s head coach and Athletic Director both apologized almost immediately after the game, took full responsibility for what happened, and moved on.  That’s admirable and the right way to handle the situation.  But I think they missed the lesson here, so let me share it with them just in case.  Oh, and Rutgers, be sure to listen closely to this as well because it applies just as much to you as it does Maryland… *clears throat*…  You don’t build a rivalry by being an asshole to another team!  Seriously, that’s just some straight up ignorance right there.  Sure, being a complete embarrassment to your school by acting like an idiot can build resentment, but it doesn't build rivalries.  You guys are in the Big Ten now, grow up!  Things are done a little bit differently here, and so far you've gone about it the absolute wrong way.  Rivals are built with hard fought, well played, close games that sometimes you win emphatically, and other times you lose in heartbreaking fashion.  They're built by beating the other team at their best, not bragging about a 1 point win against a team with half the number of scholarship players you have.  That’s why Penn State considers Ohio State, Michigan, and Iowa rivals.  All you need to do is look at the history and see all those memorable games (04, 05, 08, etc).  It’s also why we DON’T consider Michigan State, or Minnesota to be our rivals, even though we have trophy games with them.  You see, the more you try to force the rivalry, the less we’re going to care, so just stop.  Build your team, beat us consistently, and if it's meant to be, it will grow naturally.  Got it?  Ok, rant over.

So what exactly happened with the game?  Well, the tensions from the pre-game festivities remained high in the early going.  As the referees rightfully tried to calm down boiling hot emotions, they decided their most effective weapon would be the little yellow flag.  Penalties killed both teams all afternoon long.  On one play, defensive backs Jordan Lucas and Marcus Allen were both flagged for personal fouls, leading to a 30 yd loss for Penn State’s defense.  By the start of the 2^nd quarter, Penn State had already accrued more than 60 total penalty yds!  Most were noticeably more legitimate than in previous weeks, but some were still a little iffy.  The good news (if you can call it that) was that even when questionable, the calls were going both ways so neither team could really claim bias.  All told, the teams combined for 14 penalties and 151 yds on the day.  That’s completely unacceptable and tells me that both teams have a lot of growing up to do.

Now, in case you didn't get a chance to see the game, let me summarize it by saying this: the offense was as bad as they've been all year, and the defense was as good as they've been all year.  It really was just more of the same.  I will say this, in college football it is generally accepted that teams with high-powered offenses are “more fun to watch” than teams with stingy defenses.  Generally, I agree with this sentiment.  Who doesn't like watching a receiver streak down the field, blow past a defender, and grab a 60 yd bomb for a TD?  That’s just great television!  But this Bob Shoop-coached defense is the exception to that rule.  They are so incredibly fun to watch.  You know, the term “flying around,” especially when applied to LB play, has become horribly overused, yet that’s exactly how I would describe nearly every member of this defense.  They’re much faster than Penn State defenses of the past, and just seem to have a nose for the ball that puts them exactly where they need to be on seemingly every play.  If you've already given up on the season by this point, I honestly don’t blame you, but don’t give up on this defense.  We may not see a group this good again for quite a while, so enjoy it while it lasts.

Maryland’s offense was just about as pitiful as Penn State’s, so there's not much to report about there, but also like Penn State, their defense played one heck of a game.  Standouts on that side of the ball include Andre Monroe, who I talked about in my prediction post, and CB Sean Davis who actually made a cameo on the Black Shoe Podcast (affiliated with Black Shoe Diaries).  Davis led the Terps in tackles with 11 including 1 for a loss, then he threw 3 pass break ups in there for good measure.  If you follow Maryland football, keep an eye on that kid.

At this point in the season, it’s more than fair to give an assessment of how this team has panned out.  Personally, my biggest take away is that despite talent at nearly every position, the key thing holding this team back is leadership, particularly from the seniors, who are few and far between on the second youngest team in Division I.  A lot of comparisons have been made to the 2004 Penn State squad, mostly because they also had an outstanding defense and an inept offense.  However, I would more accurately compare these guys to the 2010 version of Penn State.  Even though there are some great senior players like Mike Hull, Adrian Amos, and Bill Belton, none of them have particularly strong (and more importantly vocal) personalities.  That was always the hallmark of the 2010 team - talented, but undisciplined and lacking in leadership.  This leaves guys like Hackenberg, who is still just 19 years old and a true sophomore, to take up the torch and run with it, but as we've seen over the past few week in particular, he can’t handle the pressure and he’s just not up for the task.  The next three weeks will be telling.  Each game is more than winnable, and should spark some confidence before the Lions take on arguably the best team in the league, Michigan State, in their final game of the year.

My prediction?  Ugh, this one hurt.  I got exactly nothing right.  The winner?  Whoops.  The score?  Nope.  Hackenberg throwing for 300 yds?  He barely got half that.  Hamilton played well but was less productive than normal and no TD.  Akeel Lynch did get the bulk of the carries, but only picked up 51 of the 80 yds I predicted.  Miles Deiffenbach did not return, no one got an interception, and Mike Hull didn't even lead the team in tackles!  It was a complete miss.  Let’s just forget about this game and move on.

Alright, because I’m posting this late you’re all in for a treat.  Both this post and the grades post are going up today!  I’m staying on schedule if it’s the last thing I do this week!  So check back later tonight for the weekly grades.  Go like my page on Facebook and share it with your friends.  Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!