Week 4 Grades

With good weather and a somewhat easy opponent, Penn State played their best offensive game of the season and earned their third straight win.  However, it came with a cost as a number of starters fell victim to one of the worst injury bugs to hit the program in years.  Regardless, the team is now half way towards bowl eligibility and building momentum.  With that said, let's roll out some grades!

Offense
QB: (A-) This was definitely Hackenberg's best performance of the season.  His final stats were 21-35 passing for 296 yds (just 4 shy of the elusive 300 mark), 3 TDs, 0 INTs, and only 2 sacks.  Per usual, he still has much he can improve upon, but it was definitely his best showing of the year.  The offense will need his leadership as much as anything down the stretch.  The talent is there around him, but they're still young and need guidance.  Also, 4th string RB Nick Scott completed a nice pass to Chris Godwin on a trick play, so points to him too.

OL: (B) After blanking the sack column the last two weeks, the line finally relented and gave up 2 against the Aztecs.  That's not awful, 1-2 sacks/game is to be expected from even the best lines.  The big take away was the improved pass protection which allowed Hackenberg to take some shots down the field and open things up offensively in a way that James Franklin hasn't been able to basically since he arrived in State College.  I'll be interested to see this week against Army how the line blocks for less talented RBs who can't make something out of nothing like Barkley and Lynch, should they remain out with injuries.

RB: (C+) This group gets docked for the two injuries, but get points for perseverance.  Onward State said it best, Saquon Barkley is a human cheat code!  He's not only a gifted play maker, his mere presence in the huddle seems to spark everyone around him to play better.  Without him, things just aren't the same.  Two good things, though: Barkley's injury looked less severe than Lynch's, and the team should be fine without both against Army.  After that it's going to get real bumpy if we don't get at least one of the starting two back.

WR: (A) Welcome back Saeed Blacknall!  He got involved for the first time this year and grabbed 4 balls for 101 yds!  Stalwarts Daesean Hamilton and Chris Godwin had 5 catches each for a combined 118 yds and Godwin even got a TD.  They also helped move the chains all day long.  Interestingly, the TDs scored by RBs Mark Allen and Saquon Barkley each counted as receptions, so this group gets credit for 3! (That was a big reason for the grade)

TE: (B+) Mike Gesicki had a pair of nice grabs for 11 yds and is finally contributing.  He still makes the occasional bonehead mistake, though, like when he was called for a 15 yd chop blocking penalty.  Kyle Carter showed that he actually exists with 3 grabs for 47 yds.  He also drew a crucial penalty before getting out of bounds at the end of the first half to preserve the clock.  That drive eventually led to a TD.

Defense
DL: (A+) Let's start off with the fact that Anthony Zettel won Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week!  He showed his emotional toughness, playing for his father who passed away the day before the game, while still leading the team with 7 tackles, 2.5 for a loss, a sack, a pass breakup, and even a fumble recovery!  His fellow tackle Austin Johnson only had 2 tackles, but it was his 71 yd scoop and score fumble recovery that got all the attention.  DEs Garrett Sickels and Carl Nassib played phenomenally too, with Nassib forcing the fumble that led to Johnson's TD.

LB: (A+) All you need to know is that 3 of the top 4 tacklers were LBs.  They were absolutely all over the field on Saturday!  Troy Reeder continues to play out of his mind, especially for a redshirt freshman, recording 6 tackles.  Jason Cabinda and Brandon Bell each had 4 tackles of their own.  It's starting to look like this unit can successfully absorb the loss of Nyeem Wartman-White, but they probably can't absorb much more on the injury front after that.

DB: (A-) In freshman CB John Reid I see a star being born.  I'll say it again, he is the Saquon Barkley of the defense - a true freshman star who sparks everyone around him.  Like the RBs, this group losses some points for the injuries to safeties Jordan Lucas and Marcus Allen.  But since their back ups Troy Apke and Malik Golden played so well, they end up with a higher grade.  Just a few short years ago the secondary was desperately low on bodies, let alone talent.  Now, they have an influx of both and it's starting to show on the field.  When the Lions play pass-happy Indiana in two weeks, we'll really get a feel for how good the defensive backs can be.

Special Teams
K: (D+) Alright, Joey Julius made all 4 of his extra points and 3 out of 4 FGs (and even that one was a 55 yarder that was blocked).  But he also had a kick off go out of bounds, and even worse, had one returned 100 yds for a TD.  Definitely not his best day.  Luckily his worst game thus far came against an opponent that stood little chance of winning.

P: (D) After a promising week, Chris Gulla regressed back to his 2014 self, punting short with much less hang time.  Even more disappointing was DeAndre Thompkins, who miffed a punt return that was recovered by San Diego State and eventually led to a TD due to the short field.  The operative word on special teams moving forward is consistency.

This week's bonus grade should be obvious: the injury bug gets an F!  It's not just Penn State, schools around the country are seeing some of their best and/or most important players go down seemingly every week.  I can't tell if training techniques are to blame, or if it's all one big coincidence, but I hope for everyone's sake it ends soon.

That will do it for this week.  Check back on Friday as I breakdown the Army game.  In the meantime, head on over to my Facebook page to get the latest news and notes on all things Penn State football.  Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!

Week 4 Wrap Up

Penn State is now half way towards bowl eligibility after defeating the San Diego State Aztecs 37-21!  Saturday finally provided us nice weather and gave Christian Hackenberg an opportunity to air things out.  On the other side of the ball, the defense secured their 11th straight regular season game holding opponents under 300 yds of total offense.  That's the longest such streak in the nation!  Yes, the Temple disaster is firmly in the past as the Nittany Lions continue to improve on offense while maintaining their dominance on defense.  Regrettably, before the game, we found out that a key piece to that defense, DT Anthony Zettel, would be playing with a heavy heart after hearing that his father had lost a long battle with cancer and passed away the day before.  Zettel’s family drove in from Michigan to watch him play and sure enough he turned in one of his best performances ever, earning him Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors in the process.  It was a bittersweet day for one of the toughest players in all of college football.

The big story, however, was a pesky injury bug that keeps on spreading.  Senior captain Jordan Lucas, who has coincidentally been wearing the number of injured LB Nyeem Wartman-White, was in street clothes on the sidelines during the game and did not play.  Is that jersey number cursed?  His fellow safety Marcus Allen also went down in the 1st quarter, resulting in both back up safeties, Malik Golden and Troy Apke, being called on to step in.  More injuries would pile up throughout the afternoon.

So what exactly happened?  Well this was a game of highlights, so be sure to click all the blue links and see them for yourself.

San Diego State won the coin toss and received the ball first.  They didn't make much of it which brought out the Penn State offense.  The running game got off to an unusually slow start with a lot of slipping and getting tripped up at the line of scrimmage by both Akeel Lynch and Saquon Barkley.  WR Chris Godwin made up for it with a couple of clutch catches to keep the chains moving while the backs got going.  He would finish the day with 5 catches for 78 yds.  Now remember how I talked about the need for Hackenberg to take shots down field?  Well he finally broke out the cannon in a big way with a 45 yarder to Saeed Blacknall that got the offense into Aztec territory and sparked the rest of the team.  Saquon Barkley shook the cobwebs loose, took a desperation shovel pass from Hack, and somehow spun, juked, and broke at least 5 tackles on his way to the endzone!  It was yet another play for his highlight reel and marked his first collegiate receiving TD.

Unfortunately, the celebration would be short-lived.  I guess San Diego State's return team was getting jealous of all the interceptions their defense has been returning for TDs.  On the ensuing kick off, despite Joey Julius’s bomb into the endzone, Rashaad Penny found a seam and took it back 100 yds for the score.  It was all tied up 7-7.

For much of the game, Penn State would march down the field with relative ease, only to stall in the red zone and inevitably end up with a Joey Julius FG.  The next two drives were no exception.  Largely on the back of Daesean Hamilton, the offense made it into Aztec territory.  With another highlight-worthy TD almost assuredly in the works, Saquon Barkley made a nice cut to the outside and scampered 21 yds inside the 10.  But on the play, he twisted his ankle and eventually headed into the locker room to be examined.  He would not return.  Penn State would settle for a 40 yd FG, but the offense wouldn't look the same again without Barkley.  After another 46 yd bomb from Hackenberg to Blacknall got them close, the offense stalled again and had to settle for a 24 yarder to take the lead 13-7.  These FGs hurt even more as the first half pressed on.  Penn State was dominating nearly every statistical category, but it didn’t reflect on the scoreboard.  Then, a San Diego State offense that had done absolutely nothing up to this point, somehow drove nearly the length of the field and connected on a pass to the back of the endzone to put the Aztecs up 14-13.  

A 55 yd attempt by the Big Toe was swatted down on the next drive and it was starting to look like the Nittany Lions may go into the locker room down by a single point.  The teams traded three-and-outs until San Diego State's Lloyd Mills fumbled his punt return.  Chris Godwin made the play, scooping up the ball and setting up the offense with great field position.  Akeel Lynch was now the feature back again.  He rushed two more times for 16 yds, then got rolled up on by a defender.  It was clearly a knee injury, one that might cost him the rest of the season.  Redshirt freshman Mark Allen stepped in, now the third RB to play, and on his very first snap took a swing pass to the sideline, but was ruled down at the 2 yd line.  Upon further review, though, Allen could be seen somehow levitating above the ground just long enough to reach the ball over the goal line for his first TD in blue and white!  Like Barkley’s score earlier, the play was technically a pass and counted as a TD for Hackenberg.  Penn State regained the lead, 20-14 with only a minute left in the half.

SDSU had enough time to add to their score, but on their first play from scrimmage after the kick off, Garrett Sickels forced another San Diego State fumble which was recovered by Zettel!  Back on offense at the Aztec 23, Hackenberg was sacked for the first time in three games.  Kyle Carter got a 1st down at the 11 yd line, where three straight pass attempts to Chris Godwin proved to be the charm.  He took a short pass up the middle for the score!  All told, Hackenberg would end the day with nearly 300 yds passing, 3 TDs, and ZERO interceptions!  That would officially end the half with the Nittany Lions up 27-14

The second half did not start out as well as the first half had ended.  Mark Allen showed that he isn't nearly the every down back that Barkley and Lynch are.  Again the teams traded punts, but this time it was Penn State's DeAndre Thompkins who fumbled the return.   San Diego State recovered with great field position and it was simply too much for even our dominant front seven to overcome.  With the help of a few penalties, the Aztecs scored their third TD of the day.  Thankfully, they would not score again.  In fact, no one would score again until the 4th quarter, so let's fast forward to that.

On their first drive of the quarter, San Diego State made it all the way down to Penn State's 25 yd line.  That's when Carl Nassib nailed QB Maxwell Smith in the arm, forcing a fumble.  It was picked up by the 328 lb Austin Johnson, who rumbled down the field a total of 71 yds untouched for the first TD of his entire playing career and one of the funniest fat guy TDs you’ll ever witness in your life!  PSU was now up 34-21.

When the offense actually got on the field later in the quarter, newly christened starter Mark Allen picked up a nice first down.  However, it was the next play by 4th string RB Nick Scott that had people talking.  He took the pitch from Hackenberg only to wind up and… pass the ball?  It worked as Chris Godwin came down with it at the 15.  Unfortunately, the theatrics would lead, as so many drives did that day, to a Joey Julius FG instead of a TD.  And that's how it ended, PSU 37 - SDSU 21.

It's now quite clear, this offense can be decent, but only with the help of Saquon Barkley.  Plays he would have made look easy were shut down at the line of scrimmage after he left the game.  He is FOR REAL folks, and he makes both the offensive line and the playcallers look good.  Without him, the flaws in those two groups are quickly exposed.  Defensively, I don't know if anyone is playing poorly.  True freshman CB John Reid is really starting to impress, as is redshirt freshman LB Troy Reeder.  The starting four lineman, Nassib, Johnson, Zettel, and Sickels are completely dominating, and as for the linebackers and secondary, they have shown that even through a rash of injuries, even the backups are capable of stepping in and playing at an elite level.

Over on special teams, just when we thought they were coming together, they go and have a game like this.  Joey Julius had a long FG blocked, a kick go out of bounds, and a kick off returned for a TD.  Chris Gulla had some bad punts, and DeAndre Thompkins miffed a return that led to another San Diego State TD.  The highlight is the kick returners.  Koa Farmer hurdled a defender on one of the most impressive 25 yd returns I’ve ever seen.  Nick Scott also impressed.  By the start of conference play, this unit will need to be tight or more talented squads will take advantage.

So how did I do on my prediction?  Once again I almost nailed Penn State’s score, but completely underestimated the competition.  Saquon Barkley wasn’t able to meet my expectations due to injury, but he still managed 84 yds (66 rushing) and a TD before leaving the game.  Hackenberg far outplayed my prediction, going for nearly 300 yds with 3 TDs (not 2) and 0 INTs (not 2).  With the game so close late, we never got to see Trace McSorely though.  The defense played lights out, as I foresaw, combining for 5 sacks, 5 pass breakups, and 3 recovered fumbles!  And of course, the Lions got the victory!  I would say, a decent outing for me and my crystal ball.  My general feeling was that it was a good game, I just wish our guys hadn’t gotten so banged up.  I guess all that’s left to say is...

Alright, that will do it for the wrap up.  Check back in tomorrow for the grades and then we'll get started on Army week!  In the meantime, head on over to my Facebook page to keep up with all the latest news and notes on all things Penn State football.  Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!

Week 4 Prediction

We're 1/4 of the way through the season, but after this week's game we'll be 1/3 of the way through the season.  Math is fun (and John Urschel would be proud)!  Anyway, the Nittany Lions stay at home for a 3rd straight week and opened up as a 12 point favorite against the Aztecs of San Diego State.  That point spread has since grown to 15.5 points.  Despite the emergence of Saquon Barkley, this is less about confidence in Penn State's offense and more an indictment of SDSU's play so far this season.  The game kicks off at 3:30 on Big Ten Network.  No snarky comments today, let's get right to the break down!

The Good
The Aztecs are no push over, but they sure looked like it last week as they fell to the South Alabama Jaguars, at home.  At 1-2, it's safe to say that this has been a disappointing season so far for San Diego State, and it's probably also safe to say they aren't much looking forward to their long flight out to the east coast.  In all likelihood they're going to dislike their flight home even worse.

Personnel-wise, RB Donnel Pumphrey is the star to watch out for.  He had a really good season last year, rushing for over 1,800 yds, but he hasn't really impressed so far this year.  Also, considering their QB Maxwell Smith is only completing 47 percent of his passes, things don't look good for the SDSU offense as a whole, especially against Bob Shoop's defense.  Smith originally played for Kentucky but transferred after not getting enough playing time (or not playing very well).  There were high hopes for a guy coming from the SEC, but the results just haven't materialized yet.

Looking inward, although PSU's passing game continues to look anemic, the truth is they've just been taking what defenses are giving them.  As Black Shoe Diaries points out, Hack has been making good reads at the line of scrimmage and calling audibles into better plays.  So on more than a few designed pass plays, Hackenberg was "checking into" a run and weakening his own stats for the sake of the team (Yea team!).  Coach Franklin explained the specifics after practice this week.  It definitely worked against Rutgers, and once opponents being to respect the run, it will open up the passing game for those shots down field we've all been craving.

Oh, and are you still doubting that the offensive line is improving?  They allowed zero sacks in consecutive games for the first time since 2010 and had 300+ yds rushing in a single game for the first time since 2009.  So yeah, I'd say they're improving.  Now the question is, can they keep it up?

The Bad
Nobody really scares me on the San Diego State offense.  As I said, they have a decent RB, but one good player is easy to shut down.  The one player Penn State might need to watch out for, though, is LB Calvin Munson on defense.  He leads the team in most statistical categories and has already returned 2 interceptions for TDs.

The worst thing about this matchup is that we might have to wait another week for those aforementioned shots down field.  San Diego State employs a "chaos defense," according to James Franklin, where defenders often walk around pre-snap instead of getting set in order to confuse the opposing QB and make it hard for the offense to tell where blitzes are coming from.  In the opening loss to Temple, Penn State's offensive line proved they have difficulty picking up blitzes, leading to their horrific 10 sack performance.  Additionally, the Aztecs use a 3-3-5 base defense (with only 3 defensive linemen, but 5 defensive backs).  This puts pressure on the WRs and results in a lot of interceptions.  It's not necessarily hard on the QB, however, which may explain SDSU being one of the worst teams in the country at getting sacks.  Will this be Hackenberg's coming out party, or an interceptionfest?  Will we see big passing plays in addition to big running plays?  Will the shirtless, live action Aztec mascot make the Nittany Lion uncomfortable?  All of these answers and plenty more, this week on As the Ball Spirals.

I've been told ladies tend to be fans of this guy

The Story
This is actually the first time in history that these teams have squared off.  The funny thing is, I actually like the Mountain West Conference, and San Diego State in particular, so I'm not really rooting against them, just for Penn State.  They've been a good team in recent years and have owned their hometown bowl game, which has the longest name of any bowl to my knowledge: The San Diego Country Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl... yep.

Rocky Long is the head coach of San Diego State.  He's got a really cool name...

He was on the staff back when Brady Hoke was the head coach at SDSU.  When Hoke left to coach his alma mater, Michigan, Long got the job.  Since then, he's made 4 straight bowl games and won a Mountain West Conference Championship for the first time in school history!  Otherwise, there aren't a ton of storylines in this one.

The Prediction
Alright, now the fun part.  Everyone is calling for a blowout, and honestly, I think I'll join the crowd.  Even if the wacky defensive scheme confuses our offense for a little bit, there's no confusing Saquon Barkley who will once again have an enormous game.  I'm calling for him to go over 200 yds and score at least 2 TDs.  Hackenberg also throws for 200 yds and 2 TDs, most likely to Chris Godwin and Daesean Hamilton, but he also throws 2 INTs to a loaded secondary.  We get to see backup Trace McSorely for the second time this year sometime in the 4th quarter as the Lions start to pull away.  Defensively, it could get ugly.  These guys are playing at an elite level right now against anything but elite competition.  I don't think I'm going to try to guess actual numbers here, but rest assured there will be plenty of sacks, fumbles, interceptions, and general havoc.  A late score in garbage time ruins the shutout, though.  Penn State continues building positive momentum with a decisive 34-7 victory.

That will do it for today.  Hope everyone enjoys the game tomorrow!  I should have my Wrap Up post done by Monday.  In the meantime, head on over to my Facebook page and give it a like or a share.  Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!

Week 3 Grades

Monday's post went a little long, so I'll try to keep this one shorter.  It's just that I was so excited to finally have something good to talk about regarding Penn State football!  The Nittany Lions played their most complete game of the season against Rutgers and today's post will reflect that.  Speaking of which, I won't waste anymore time.  Let's roll out some grades!

Offense
QB: (C+) Hackenberg went 10/19 for 144 yds and no TDs but 1 INT.  Once again I find myself saying, that's not the best stat line.  Part way into his third year as a starter, Hack hasn't lived up to expectations.  However, he did a good job of managing the game and seemed more intent on letting his RBs do most of the work.  This was probably a good strategy on yet another rainy Saturday in State College.  If the weather improves this week, we should see better numbers from the former 5-star recruit.

OL: (B+) Yes, they still need to work on pass protection so that Hackenberg can find a way out of his slump and the passing game can catch up with the running game...BUT after their second consecutive week not giving up a single sack (this time against a defense with an actual pulse), they deserve a lot of credit for making big improvements since the week 1 sackfest.  Now they just need to keep improving or all that progress will have been for naught.

RB: (A+) Akeel Lynch and Saquon Barkley are a special tandem.  I hope people are appreciating what we are witnessing here.  A combined 31 carries for 315 yds and 3 TDs is not a stat line you're going to see all that often.  Every website and publication that matters has heaped praise on the duo since Saturday's epic performance, and rightfully so.  The defenses get tougher moving forward.  We'll see how they adjust and whether or not they can keep the insane numbers coming.

WR: (B+) Hamilton and Godwin are decent together.  Thompkins and Polk are unfortunately used more like RBs on the jet sweep.  But overall, this unit might be coming together.  At his weekly press conference, James Franklin mentioned that the staff hasn't been able to take shots down field yet because Hack simply hasn't had time in the pocket.  Once he gets that and the WRs learn to get open faster, this group has the talent to make a big impact on offense.  I will say I miss Saeed Blacknall and Geno Lewis.  However, with a limited number of attempts and a plethora of young talent at the position, their disappearance is understandable.

TE: (F) Mike Gesicki had another bad game.  Once again he lined up wrong on special teams, this time getting flagged for an illegal formation penalty.  So far this season, he hasn’t really added much to the offense except dropped passes, although he did have one catch in this game for 6 yds.  Kyle Carter has also been conspicuously absent, and Adam Breneman hasn't been seen all year (presumably due to a lingering injury).  A highlight of Bill O'Brien's offenses, the TE position is a shell of what it used to be.  Hopefully the staff can figure out a way to bring them back.

Defense
DL: (A) Obviously, these guys are outstanding.  I've been confused, though, with the lack of production by Anthony Zettel.  It might be due to all the attention he received during the offseason.  Teams have clearly focused on taking away his impact in games.  He's not sneaking up on anyone this year.  However, this in turn has opened things up for his linemates.  Austin Johnson and Carl Nassib are an absolute wrecking crew combining for 10 tackles, 3.5 for a loss and 2 sacks!  Watch out opposing RBs, these guys will hurt you.

LB: (A+) And to think where they would be if they still had Nyeem Wartman-White!  Brandon Bell returned from injury and teamed up with the young duo of Jason Cabinda and Troy Reeder to dominate Rutgers all night long.  They were numbers 3, 4, and 5 on the team in tackles, combining for 23 total and they always seemed to be swarming to the ball.  LinebackerU is alive and well!

DB: (A-) I spoke last week about the need for this group to generate turnovers.  Well, how does 2 interceptions sound?  Grant Haley and John Reid were magnificent in coverage and had nearly identical stats with 2 tackles, and one of the INTs each.  The rest of the secondary isn't too shabby either.  Jordan Lucas is the clear cut leader in both number of starts and overall skill.  He had 9 tackles on the day, a forced fumble, a pass breakup, and a sack!  Marcus Allen plays completely out of his mind, leading the team with 11 tackles... although sometimes he gets too excited and lets up a big play.  Trevor Williams, Christian Campbell, and Troy Apke are all solid contributors as well.  This unit is slowly becoming a strength for the whole team.

Special Teams
K: (A) Joey Julius wasn't relied upon for any FGs because the offense was actually playing pretty well.  But he did hit all of his extra points and pinned Rutgers deep on kickoffs.  A funny moment came when Franklin nearly had Big Toe try a 57 yarder before deciding to punt instead.  I honestly think he could have made the distance, just not the accuracy.

P: (A+) I don't want to jinx anything, but Gulla completely outplayed Pasquariello and looks to be the hope of the future at punter, or at least the rest of the season.  Nothing against the Aussie but he just wasn't cutting it.  Gulla's stats don't look all that much better than Pasquariello's; you had to see him in person to notice the drastic difference.  For example, after deciding not to try the previously mentioned 57 yarder, Franklin called out the punt team.  This was a very short punt, however, and Gulla put right it right on the goal line (with a little help from Jordan Lucas)!  It was brilliant, but looked like a shank on the stat sheet because it was so short.  So you'll just have to trust me, he was really good!

That will do it for this week and my coverage of the Rutgers game.  Penn State continues its home stand this week against San Diego State.  Look out for my Prediction post sometime on Friday.  In the meantime, head on over to my Facebook page and give it a like or a share.  Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!

Week 3 Wrap Up

For the first time ever, Penn State fans veered away from their now famous White Out and instead attempted a Stripe Out.  It turned out pretty nice actually, but I have to admit Iowa does it better.  Still, 104,000 blue and white diehards braved a second rainy Saturday in a row to make things look extra nice for the Big Ten Network cameras.  I have to give it to BTN, not only did they show tons of great aerial shots of the Stripe Out but they also showed the Blue Band's pregame entrance (complete with fireworks!) and even aired the post game singing of the alma mater with the team in its entirety.  Very classy!

The first ever Stripe Out in all its glory

Now that the game is over, I want to get something off my chest.  I understand Rutgers came to Happy Valley depressed and drained after a tough week.  They were playing without key contributors on both sides of the ball and without their head coach.  They proceed to leave Happy Valley on the losing end of an embarrassing 28-3 beatdown that was never really close.  So you’ll probably hear a lot of excuses for the loss coming from Piscataway this week, but the fact remains that great programs rise above adversity, they don’t collapse under it.  Last year, when the Scarlet Knights and their fans were puffing their chests and boasting about how big a splash they were going to make in their new conference by beating their “rival” Penn State, they seemed more than willing to ignore extenuating circumstances off the field.  They had no problems bragging about beating PSU (if they had won) even though the team was still under heavy sanctions, going through a coaching change, and playing a night game on the road.  So when they came to our house this year for a night game, reeling from their own off field issues, I saw no problem with the Nittany Lions kicking them while they were down in front of a nationally televised audience.  Don’t worry, they’ll get over it; they’re used to losing by this point.  And hell, maybe now they’ll cut back on all the “ped state” and “rivalry" talk.  Just sayin...

Now, Coach Franklin and the players like to look at things one week at a time and that's fine.  However, I have the luxury, neigh the obligation as a blogger, to blindly prognosticate about the future of this team as if I actually have a clue!  And here's how I see it.  With this victory, Penn State stands at 2-1 (1-0 in Big Ten play).  In front of them are home games against San Diego State, Army, and Indiana, all of whom are very beatable.  That puts the Lions at 5-1 and only 1 win shy of bowl eligibility.  More importantly, at 2-0 in conference play, Penn State will be temporarily atop the East Division as they travel to Columbus to take on defending National Champions and #1 ranked Ohio State.  Don't get me wrong, we're probably going to get destroyed in that game, but if everything works out, the week leading up to it sure will be fun!

Why do I have such optimism for the future?  Well, only two WRs, sophomores Chris Godwin and Daesean Hamilton, caught passes on Saturday night.  All things considered, they put up nice numbers with those limited touches.  Hamilton, for example, quadrupled his combined yardage from the first two games.  What's really scary, though, is that they were just two of the youngsters making plays.  DeAndre Thompkins and Brandon Polk have each made the jet sweep work for their respective first TDs as Nittany Lions.  CB Grant Haley and his back up, freshman John Reid each had interceptions (although Reid's return was better looking) while safety Troy Apke forced a fumble that Reid recovered to basically seal the victory.  Saquon Barkley ran for an astounding 195 yds and 2 TDs (more on him in a minute).  And Jason Cabinda and Troy Reeder were a terrifying duo at LB reminiscent of Mauti and Hodges, combining for 14 tackles, 1.5 for a loss, and a pass breakup.  All of these guys are either sophomores or freshmen.  Yes, it's a youth movement ladies and gentlemen, and they'll only continue to grow and get better over the next few years.  As Glenn Quagmire once said...

Alright, alright, alright, what happened in this supposedly awesome game?  Well, as has come to be expected from this offense, the first couple drives stalled despite great field position from the special teams units.  One good thing was that Akeel Lynch and Saquon Barkley were splitting carries and looking great doing it.  I also came to the conclusion that the jet sweep is this year’s wildcat formation.  It’s the play that rarely works and fans hate seeing, but the staff insists on running anyway.  However, I found myself eating crow about that when DeAndre Thompkins scored his first ever TD using it to start what would be a very eventful quarter of football.

The 2nd quarter brought with it heavy rain for the second consecutive week.  In spite of the rain, Hackenberg took a few shots downfield, including one to Daesean Hamilton for a huge play.  After some short passes to Chris Godwin, freshman sensation Saquon Barkley polished off the drive with an incredible TD that, at first, looked like it was going nowhere.  Looking at the clock, most fans figured that would end the half with Penn State up 14-0… but we were wrong.  A quick three and out by the defense gave the Lions the ball back with 1:30 left.  Hackenberg handed it off to Akeel Lynch who hit the largest hole I’ve ever seen an offensive line make and proceeded to take it 70 yds to the house!  I think he was just as shocked as the rest of us to see nothing but green grass in front of him.  Seriously, there was NO ONE on defense!  On the ensuing Rutgers possession, Grant Haley announced his return from injury with his first interception of the year to end the half for good with Penn State on top 21-0.

The 2nd half was dominated by defense, although it was mostly Penn State’s defense.  I already mentioned young guys like Haley, Reid, Cabinda, and Reeder.  Well the old heads came to play too.  Jordan Lucas was effective both blitzing and playing in coverage.  He also made a big impact on special teams where he batted down a punt at the 1 yd line.  Carl Nassib and Austin Johnson both played great along the line with 10 combined tackles, 3.5 for a loss and 2 sacks.  Backup DT Antoine White also played well with 3 tackles and half a sack.  It all culminated with 7 minutes left in the game.  Rutgers was in the middle of an otherwise promising drive, until suddenly they suffered 3 sacks in a row by 3 different Penn State players: Nassib, Lucas, and Johnson.  The end result was a hilarious 4^th and 39!

Oh, did I mention Penn State ran the ball well?  Yeah, you might have heard a little bit about this kid, Saquon Barkley.  Enjoy this guy while he's here because he is something special.  A former Rutgers commit, Barkley had huge runs pretty much every time he touched the ball.  Realistically he should have had 3 TDs in this game, but had to settle for just 2.  He had a fantastic night, coming just 5 yds shy of 200 total and averaging 9.3 yds/carry!  His performance was good enough to earn his 2nd consecutive Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors.  Akeel Lynch (the actual 1st string back) also ran for 100+ yds and had his own TD.  They became the first Penn State RB duo to rush for 100 yds each since Royster and Redd 7 years ago!

A big help to that running game was the offensive line who went a second week in a row with ZERO sacks!  I know, I'll give you a second to stop gasping... Even without their best player, Andrew Nelson, who remains out with a knee injury, the line put together their most complete game yet.  Paris Palmer looked like a totally different player.  I guess he finally got all those first game jitters out of his system.  Running lanes were wide open seemingly all night and pass protection was much better.  It can definitely still improve, seeing as there are much better defensive lines on the schedule, but the big boys up front showed that they aren't nearly as awful as we thought following the Temple game.

On special teams, Chris Gulla got a second chance by replacing the struggling Danny Pasquariello and he was absolutely awesome!  He pinned Rutgers deep on every possession and never once let them get past their own 25 yd line to start a drive.  He was helped by the fantastic play of Jordan Lucas on “gunner” duty.  Gulla averaged 41 yds/punt with a long of 52.  More impressively, he held Rutgers’ explosive return man Janarion Grant to -1 yd and only allowed him to attempt a return once!  In the return game, Nick Scott is averaging nearly 30 yds per return and just itching to break one for a TD.

So how did I do with my prediction?  I was only off by 1 point on Penn State's score, but I vastly overestimated the Rutgers offense (or underestimated our own defense).  A win is a win, though.  Unfortunately I was right about Hackenberg.  He threw for just over 100 yds and had an interception with no TDs.  Akeel Lynch and Saquon Barkley both had TDs (in fact Barkley had 2) but Godwin couldn't find the endzone.  The defense played exactly the kind of lights out style I was anticipating.  The crowd definitely got involved, especially when Rutgers was backed up right in the heart of the student section.  It was Marcus Allen, coming back from injury, not Austin Johnson who led the team in tackles.  Johnson and Nassib each recorded sacks, but Sickels and Zettel were both shockingly absent most of the night.  Grant Haley and Brandon Bell did return from injuries but only Haley got a pick.  And it was John Reid who got a fumble recovery, not Troy Reeder.  Still, all things considered I did pretty darn well!

Sorry for the length of this one.  I was just so excited to write about all the awesomeness that happened that I got carried away.  I think I was still trying to get the sour taste of the Temple loss out of my mouth.  I'll have my grades post out later this week.  In the meantime, keep up to date with all things Penn State football over on my Facebook page.  Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!

Week 3 Prediction

The Nittany Lions are still reeling a little after a stunning loss to Temple in Week 1 and a string of key injuries in Week 2 that depleted an already thin roster... but that's absolutely nothing compared to the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week that the "State University of New Jersey" is currently experiencing.  Yes, poor Rutgers is having one of the worst weeks ever for a college football team (and trust me, Penn Staters know about rough weeks).  However, no amount of bad news is going to stop the much anticipated start of the Big Ten conference schedule in front of the first ever, full-stadium Stripe Out.  Don't know what a Stripe Out is?  Here's a photoshopped image to give you an idea of what it should look like on TV:

Pretty cool, huh?  Things kick off between Penn State and the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers at 8pm this Saturday night on the Big Ten Network.  This will be a homecoming of sorts for a surprising number of PSU players who hail from the Garden State, and I'm sure they're all looking forward to taking on "New Jersey's one true team."  Here's a list of the prominent PSU players from New Jersey:

LB: Brandon Bell, Jason Cabinda, Manny Bowen
WR: Saeed Blacknall, Irvin Charles, Juwan Johnson
TE: Mike Gesicki
DL: Austin Johnson, Garrett Sickels, Antoine White
OL: Angelo Mangiro, Brandon Mahon, Wendy Laurent, Steven Gonzalez
CB: John Reid
P: Chris Gulla

I'm sure each of those guys will know at least one player on the opposite sideline and they're probably all looking forward to a win over their home state team.  There's a lot to talk about with this one, so let's jump straight into this week's breakdown!

The Good
Let's start off with the fact that the game is at home this year.  Rutgers put on quite a show for the cameras last year in their first ever Big Ten game (despite losing).  Now they step into the proverbial hornet's nest that is Beaver Stadium under the lights.  The fans should be jacked up and ready to affect each and every snap, especially after hours of tailgating.  So put on your big boy pants Rutgers, because it's time to play some real football!

Last week, while the Lions were slogging through the mud against Buffalo, Rutgers was busy losing to a pretty awful Wazzu team (the nickname for Washington State) who got beat at home by an FCS school the week before.  Head coach Mike Leach's potent aerial attack proved too much and I'm sure James Franklin is salivating at the chance to unleash Hackenberg on a decimated Rutgers secondary.  Long time starting QB Gary Nova is gone, and according to head coach Kyle Flood, Chris Laviano will get the start against the Nittany Lions.  It will be Laviano's 2nd collegiate start ever.  Last week, he threw for 204 yds and a TD, which is fine, but he also had 2 turnovers that cost the Scarlet Knights 10 points and arguably the win.  He'll need to clean things up if the Knights have any chance of winning.

Now, we'll get to this more in the Story section, but 5 Rutgers players have been dismissed from the team following their arrests for a string of criminal offenses.  Among them are 3 defensive backs.  In terms of game planning this week, expect the staff to take advantage of this with a lot more passing plays than we saw against Buffalo.  Additionally, Rutgers WR Leonte Carroo, possibly their best player, has been kicked off the team for an apparent assault involving his ex-girlfriend that led to criminal charges.  Athlete Janorian Grant, who usually lines up at WR, looks to be the most likely option to replace Carroo's productivity.  And if all of that still wasn't bad enough, head coach Kyle Flood has been fined $50,000 and suspended for 3 games for inappropriate contact with a professor to try and influence a player's grade.  Oh, and Rutger's best defensive player, DL Darius Hamilton, who harassed Hackenberg all game last year, is out with an injury.  I know it's weird to see all of this in "the Good" section of my breakdown, but all these distractions can only help Penn State's chances of winning, so this is where I put them.  Deal with it.

The Bad
First of all, I just checked and John Donovan is still our Offensive Coordinator.  As long as that is the case, Penn State will be at a severe disadvantage against most teams on the schedule.  This will unfortunately remain the case until I see something resembling a competent offense on the field.  Sorry coach, get better.

Additionally, many PSU players are still out with injuries, although James Franklin said at his weekly press conference that he's hopeful about the return of starters OL Andrew Nelson, CB Grant Haley, and LB Brandon Bell.  Franklin gave the classic politician's response, saying he'll rely on the trainers advice to determine if any or all of those guys will play.  Grant Haley will be particularly helpful on punt coverage.  He served as a "gunner" last year, getting downfield on returns and leveling big hits.  We'll need that because despite PSU being the second-best kickoff return team in the Big Ten, Rutgers is #1.  They average an impressive 31.2 yds/return and have already taken two to the house.  How well the coverage teams play will go a long way in determining the final result of this contest.

The Story
Normally, here is where I would talk about how Rutgers wants to be our rival.  I would say that they put on a good show last year at their home stadium and almost beat us.  We would discuss how their fans were huge jerks to our fans (man were they jerks!), how this year we get them at home, and how we're constantly fighting with each other for the same recruits.  These are all interesting story lines... but we're not going to talk about any of them here today.  Instead, we're going to delve into the dumpster fire which the Scarlet Knights seem to have found themselves in off the field.  If, like me, you couldn't keep up with all the bad press coming out of Piscataway lately, please allow ESPN to fill you in with this handy timeline they created (although, it's already out of date since its publication).  Onward State has also compiled a brief summary of Rutger's recent criminal history for all your Schadenfreude needs.  As I alluded to earlier, in addition to all the players being suspended and dismissed, head coach Kyle Flood has been suspended for 3 games including this week.

Unlike Penn State's own recent off-field issues, these issues are all internal and self-inflicted.  This doesn't involve former coaches and university administration, these issues directly involve current coaches and current players behaving badly.  That's why it's hard to imagine this Rutgers team "circling the wagons" the way Penn State's 2012 team did, at least not enough to go into a hostile environment and pull off the upset.  On the other hand, this is college football and strange things happen all the time.

The Prediction
Penn State is actually favored to win by 10 points.  ESPN's Big Ten bloggers unanimously predicted a Nittany Lion win, which is good, but most analysts are in agreement that we won't cover the spread.  Despite the win over Buffalo, I think most Penn State fans have pumped the breaks on all those preseason expectations now that we've actually seen our offense play.  If it weren't for all the turmoil going on at Rutgers I would probably pencil this in as a loss.  However, combining the off-field distractions, their loss to a very bad Wazzu team, and the fact that the game is in Beaver Stadium at night, I'm going to say this is a win.  It's going to be close, though, so don't get too giddy.

So far this year I've incorrectly predicted big things for Hackenberg.  This week, I'm taking the opposite approach in the hopes he'll continue proving me wrong.  Therefore, I'm calling for a terrible night as Hack throws for 100 yds or less with more INTs than TDs.  Your move buddy.  As for the other players, I foresee TDs for Chris Godwin, Akeel Lynch, and Saquon Barkley.  Defensively, this is the week the world once again recognizes the dominance of this group.  The crowd helps get into the collective head of Rutger's offense, and the entire Penn State defense goes into Beast Mode.  Austin Johnson leads the team in tackles while every member of the starting defensive line records at least 1 sack.  Grant Haley and Brandon Bell both return from injuries to pick off passes, and Troy Reeder get a fumble recovery.  The sounds of Zombie Nation wash over Happy Valley all night long.  Penn State wins and hits the spread directly on the nose.  They move to 1-0 in conference play with a final score: 27-17.

Alright, that will do it for today's post.  Enjoy the extra tailgating time tomorrow night.  Hopefully no more Rutgers players get arrested between now and kick off.  In the meantime, keep up with all things Penn State football over on my Facebook page.  Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!

Week 2 Grades

Florida’s stadium is affectionately known as “the swamp.”  But it was Beaver Stadium that looked like the swamp on Saturday.  The Nittany Lions pulled out a 27-14 win over the Buffalo Bulls in monsoon-like conditions to reach .500 on this still very young season.  It was the prettiest game, but we got the W.  Let’s get right to it and roll out some grades!

Offense

QB: (C+) Hackenberg went 14-27 for 128 yds and a TD.  Not the best numbers, not the worst.  However, his grade goes up because he went interception free!  Either way we can’t really fault him too much as the rain made throwing difficult and the WRs/TEs were to blame for many of the drops.  Even more importantly…

OL: (C-) The offensive line didn’t give up a single sack!  Paris Palmer’s benching shuffled the line until Andrew Nelson went down with a knee injury at the end of the first half.  Palmer returned to action at LT in the second half and performed admirably protecting Hack’s blind side.  The line as a whole also woke up as the game wore on, which allowed…

RB: (A) Who are we kidding?  This grade is all about just 1 of the 4 backs used in the game.  Big Ten Freshman of the Week, Saquon Barkley!  The former blue-chip recruit out of Whitehall, PA burst on the scene in a big way with spins, jukes, cuts, and even hurdles.  He finished the day as the leading rusher with 115 yds and a TD on only 12 carries.  Now that was against Buffalo, but the future looks bright for this kid.

WR: (B-) Chris Godwin led the way again with 5 catches for 75 yds, but it was Daesean Hamilton who got the TD.  They get a little slack due to the rain, which meant fewer targets and a greater chance for drops.  With the news this week that three of Rutgers’ defensive backs have been dismissed from the team, Saturday presents Penn State's WRs with their best chance so far to show just how much they’ve grown in hopefully more ideal conditions.

TE: (F) Normally 5 catches for 27 yds wouldn’t be that bad for this group… but if you actually watched them play you’ll know what this grade is all about.  Drops in key moments or for guaranteed TDs, getting onto the field late, poor blocking, they were simply a mess.  Try again this week guys.

Defense

DL: (A+) Holy Carl Nassib, Batman!  The former walk-on played like anything but against Buffalo, compiling a staggering stat line that includes 5 tackles, 3 for a loss, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and even an interception!  Nassib was the defensive star of this game, and per usual, Austin Johnson’s outstanding play was overshadowed by a line mate.  Johnson actually led the team with 9 tackles, including 2.5 for a loss and 1.5 sacks.  The rest of the line combined for 14 more tackles as they held the Bulls rushing attack to nearly half the yardage accrued by Penn State's RBs.

LB: (B+) Taking into account the fact that the unquestioned leader of this unit is out for the season, the second in command was out for this game, and the resulting starting three consisted of a walk-on, a redshirt freshman, and a true sophomore at middle… they actually weren’t too shabby.  Troy Reeder was second on the team in tackles with 7, and Jason Cabinda was tied for third with 6.  Freshman Jake Cooper also contributed with 3 tackles and a sack.  Reeder and Cooper look and play like classic LinebackU guys, while Cabinda’s vocal personality lends itself well to commanding the middle.  Maybe this can work?

DB: (B-) Marcus Allen tied for 3^rd on the team in tackles with 6, despite injuring his shoulder and briefly being taken out of the action.  Veterans Jordan Lucas and Trevor Williams each added 5 tackles.  It will be interesting to see when Grant Haley comes back and what kind of impact he can have on this group.  Thankfully freshman John Reid has filled in nicely in his place.  Moving forward, the defensive backs will need to work on generating turnovers.  Last year DT Anthony Zettel led the team in INTs, and against Buffalo the only INT was by DE Carl Nassib.  Those should be unacceptable stats for the unit that actually covers the opponent's WRs.

Special Teams

K: (A+) The lovefest for Joey Julius continues.  He made 2/3 FGs (there was a botched snap on a 4^th), all of his extra points, and boomed it an average of 63 yds on kick offs!  Keep it up Big Toe!

P: (D) There isn't as much love for the punting game where Danny Pasquariello continues his barrage of shanks.  I think the staff needs to give the Punter From Down Under one more try this week.  If things don’t improve, though, Chris Gulla probably deserves a shot.

Bonus grade: (F) This grade goes out to injuries.  Seeing some of your best players go down when you already have a depleted roster really sucks.  It’s especially hard to take when you know the backups are good but extremely inexperienced.  It’s time for James Franklin to act like a real head coach, manage his roster, and make it work.  This is why he gets paid the big bucks!

Alright, that will do it for Buffalo week.  This Saturday is when things really get interesting as the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers come to town for a prime time clash in the first ever full-stadium Stripe Out (more on that in the Prediction post)!  In the meantime, head on over to my Facebook page and maybe give it a like.  Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!

Week 2 Wrap Up

Ok, I did not anticipate the torrential downpour.  It made the crowd even worse than I expected, and it caused issues for both teams all day long.  Wet balls were hard to throw and apparently even harder to catch.  Slipping and sliding around seemed to play at least some role in the abundance of injuries (more on that in a minute).  And I can only assume that the sloppy weather played a part in the sloppy penalties by both teams.  I think Buffalo’s offensive linemen are still false starting (7 penalties) and chop blocking (4 penalties) people as we speak.  So let's get to what happened.

The big story, especially early on, was the pile up of injuries for Penn State.  You can learn a lot about a coaching staff by how they respond to an injury epidemic.  We'll see moving forward if James Franklin's staff can adjust and reload, or if they crumble under the pressure.  Now is when he earns that $4 million salary.

Let's start on the offensive line, which was already the team’s weakest link.  As the game kicked off and the Lions’ offense went to work, we saw a pretty dramatic shuffling of the line.  Juco transfer Paris Palmer was benched in favor of Andrew Nelson who moved from RT to LT.  LG Brendon Mahon moved over to take Nelson’s RT spot, and Derek Dowrey came in at LG to replace Mahon.  Then the unthinkable happened.  Nelson was violently rolled up on by a defensive lineman and went down with what appeared to be a season-ending knee injury.  By rule, it ended a promising drive and the 1^st half.  Penn State’s most consistent lineman was out, and when the team emerged from the locker room after halftime, the line looked like this: Palmer, Dowrey, Mangiro, Gaia, Mahon.  This would remain the first string unit for the rest of the game.

On defense, obviously, Nyeem Wartman-White was still out at LB, as was perennial back up Ben Kline.  Unexpectedly, Brandon Bell was also out.  This forced sophomore Jason Cabinda to take over in the middle, flanked by walk-on Von Walker and freshman Troy Reeder.  Following with the theme of the day, they played well in spite of the shuffling.  In the secondary, CB Grant Haley sat out for the second game in a row.  True freshman John Reid started in his place but was eventually replaced by Jordan Lucas.  Malik Golden took over at safety in Lucas’ stead.  Early in the 3^rd quarter, Golden’s counterpart at strong safety, Marcus Allen, also went down with a shoulder injury and was replaced by Troy Apke.  However, Allen would return later in the game.

So what happened?  Well, the first half in particular wasn’t the prettiest.  Penn State showed that they still have tons of kinks to work out if they hope to have a successful season.  Thankfully, they were given a comfortable warm up against a Bulls squad that looked overmatched from the get go.  The staff will have to build off the momentum of their first win and the many promising take aways that gave me hope.

Let's start with freshman WR/RB Brandon Polk who finally made the jet sweep work in the 2^nd quarter and scored his first collegiate TD!  He made it work again for a big gain at the end of the 3^rd quarter but the drive was stalled by the TEs and resulted in a FG.  Speaking of TEs, Mike Gesicki was terrible.  He had 2 sure fire TDs on the same drive and managed to drop them both.  Immediately after the second, he was late onto the field for the FG try and almost caused a penalty.  After that he sat dejected on the sidelines with his head hung low for the rest of the game.  Kyle Carter also dropped a potential TD in the 3^rd and a clear 1^st down in the 4th.  Needless to say, it was not a good day for the TEs.

It was, however, a fantastic day for break out freshman RB Saquon Barkley!  He woke up the entire offense and gave the fans something to get excited about in the 4^th quarter.  After a huge run complete with spin move for a 1^st down, he hurdled a defender (something he promised to do all throughout camp) during his first of hopefully many video game moments at Penn State.  This set up a nice pitch and catch to Daesean Hamilton who made a cut back for his first TD of the season.  Barkley ended the day with 115 yds and a TD on only 12 carries, good for nearly 10 yds/carry!  He gave me flashbacks of Evan Royster and Silas Redd, coincidentally the last Penn State freshman to rush for 100 yds in a game.  Barkley and Polk were also the first freshmen tandem to score TDs in the same game since the “smurfs” in 2005.  Although, let’s not get too excited seeing as he did all this against Buffalo.  We’ll see how things shake out against Rutgers next week.

Polk and Barkley weren’t the only young weapons making a difference.  In a game where the patchwork line somehow managed NO SACKS (you read that correctly), Hackenberg finally had time to distribute the ball and make use of all the shiny toys around him.  After not attempting a single big play last week, Hack had more than a few opportunities to take some shots down field this week.  The results were mixed, but the point was that they tried to utilize Hack’s cannon for a change.  Geno Lewis and Mike Gesicki did drop their long passes, but I have confidence they’ll clean that up.  Chris Godwin, on the other hand, was interfered with on his, and on the very next play when Hack tried again, Godwin caught it in stride for a big 1^st down inside the 10.  The aforementioned Saquon Barkley TD polished off that drive.

Now for those playing at home, THIS is what our offense CAN BE!  Franklin and his staff truly have brought “SEC speed” to this roster, I swear!  They’ve been hampered by issues with the line and their own playcalling ineptitude, but the talent is real and abundant.  Even if 2015 proves to be a rebuilding year, 2016 and beyond looks incredibly bright.  Now, Buffalo was probably the weakest defense we’ll see all year.  In fact, this was one of those games that makes you question whether the good things we saw were because Franklin and his staff actually figured things out, or the opponent was just that bad.  Either way, it’s nice to see glimpses of the future in live action.

In "no duh" news, the defensive line continues to impress.  DT Austin Johnson was absolutely unblockable all game, leading the team in tackles while wreaking havoc in the backfield and terrorizing QB and RB alike.  But the real superstar was DE Carl Nassib with 5 tackles, 3 for a loss, 3 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles.  He also combined with DT Anthony Zettel on an interception that was possibly the best play of the afternoon.  All told, the line had 6 sacks and 7 tackles for a loss.  If the season continues to disappoint in the W-L column, at least we get to see these guys play big boy football all year long.

Finally, special teams continues to leap forward.  Joey Julius did miss a long FG and there was a botched hold on another, but Big Toe made his other 2 attempts along with all his extra points.  Where things get interesting, though, is in the return game for both punts and kicks.  Guys like DeAndre Thompkins looked electric and are the best we’ve had in a long time.  Thompkins would have taken one to the house had he not gotten tripped up by the punter.  And Nick Scott looked fearless, refusing to fair catch even with defenders right in his face.  These guys might be the difference between a winning and losing record.  Danny Pasquariello continues to disappoint, though, with two more shanked punts.  He’ll need to get better in a hurry or the staff will need to look into other options.

As for my prediction, I didn’t do half bad.  If Buffalo had settled for a FG instead of a TD, I would have nailed the score!  The offensive line did show signs of cohesion, going from 10 sacks to 0 in only a week's time.  Hackenberg throw for almost exactly half of my predicted yardage, and only 1 TD instead of 2, but he did go interception free!  Hamilton and Godwin were the leading receivers, but only Hamilton got a TD.  Everyone was shocked as it was freshman Saquon Barkley, not starter Akeel Lynch, who ran for 100+ yds and a TD.  And Joey Julius made 2 FGs instead of 1.  On defense, Bell was injured and it was Carl Nassib with the big day, not Zettel.  But I was right about shutting down the run and letting up on the pass a little as the Bulls had 205 yds passing to only 69 yds rushing.  All in all, a decent effort.

I’ll have my grades out later this week and that will wrap up our Buffalo coverage as we prepare for the prime time clash with Rutgers.  In the meantime, head on over to my Facebook page for all the latest news and notes on all things Penn State football.  Maybe even give it a like or a share.  Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus (where I was killing it during the game), and as always, go State!

Week 2 Prediction

This week, Penn State returns to the friendly confines of Beaver Stadium for the 2015 home opener against the Buffalo Bulls (not to be confused with the Buffalo Bills, who are owned by Penn State uber-donor Terry Pegula).  The game is set to kick off at noon and will be nationally televised on ESPN2.  After last week's humiliating loss to Temple in Philadelphia, this should serve as a nice bounce back opportunity for the Nittany Lions as they try to "right the ship" and get things moving in a positive direction.  Now, I'm beginning to think that my #14 jersey is bad luck (since I keep wearing it for important games and we keep losing them), so I'll be doing my part by wearing my lucky #31 instead.  I suggest all of you join me and perform at least one superstitious act on Saturday prior to kick off.  We can't lose to Buffalo!!!  Anyway, let's get to the break down!

The Good
On paper, this is yet another game we should not only win, but dominate.  We're also playing at home, which usually bodes well for PSU.  Then again, we were supposed to beat Temple so what do any of us know?  The Buffalo Bulls are a perennial MAC bottom-feeder with no real superstars to speak of.  But they do have a new head coach, Lance Leipold, who transitioned from Division III powerhouse Wisconsin-Whitewater.  And no, I'm not being sarcastic when I say "powerhouse;" Leipold's record while coaching there was an astounding 109-6, including 6 National Championships.  That's right, he had the same number of losses as National Titles!  Talk about impressive!  Still, new coaches are always at a disadvantage as they try to install their systems and get players to buy in.

We didn't learn much from their stomping of Albany last week.  Now we see how they handle a real opponent.  As for their roster, the defense was pretty bad last year despite bringing back loads of experience.  This year they have the opposite problem with a very young and inexperienced defense that has yet to prove themselves.  CB Boise Ross and LB Okezie Alozie are both from Bethlehem, PA and might be the only real threats, although, with our offense, every defense is apparently a threat.

On the injury front, hopefully we see the return of CB Grant Haley to the lineup, and a healthier Brand Bell would help to ease nervousness about the LB position.

The Bad
John Donovan is still the offensive coordinator, the starters on the offensive line don't appear to have changed, and Nyeem Wartman-White is still out for the season.  The few "answers" we got at practice this week didn't exactly inspire confidence that the necessary adjustments had been made to put a fully functioning offense on the field.  We can only hope that we don't see a repeat of last week.  The basic gist from the staff was, "we didn't play well, we're still young, we have to solve these problems, James Franklin is going to get more involved"  At least they're acknowledging they have problems, I guess.  Still no word on who will start at middle LB in place of Wartman-White.  Gary Wooten filled in last week, with spotty results.  Unfortunately, behind him are a whole bunch of freshmen who aren't nearly ready to be the vocal leader of a defense.  I have a lot of trust in DC Bob Shoop, but he doesn't exactly have a lot of bodies to plug in yet as the effects of the sanctions continue to linger.  Oh, and to top it off, between the Temple loss and the fact that it's a noon kick off, the atmosphere in Happy Valley may prove to be somewhat sleepy.

Buffalo's strength is on offense where they bring in 5th year senior gunslinger, Joe Licata, who has started 29 games already in his career and will probably graduate with every conceivable school passing record.  He's a fairly underrated QB who makes up for his lack of physical gifts with a firm grasp on the mental aspects of the game. He might give our defensive backfield everything they can handle.  There is no standout WR on the Bull's roster, but Licata is great at distributing the ball, connecting on passes to 8 different players last week.  Too be fair, that was an FCS team.

The Story
Hmmm, stories, stories... not much in the way of stories for this game.  Penn State has only squared off against Buffalo twice before, and one of those games was all the way back in 1900.  Realistically, I think the fans just want to see the offense, and particularly the offensive line, play better than they did against Temple.  As long as we don't see another complete meltdown, this should be a relatively quiet weekend with an easy win before we open up conference play against Rutgers next week in prime time.  There will be plenty of storylines in that game, trust me.

The Prediction
No matter what I say here I'm going to be horribly wrong, but I also don't think anyone will care.  So I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the Nittany Lions bounce back in a big way this week.  The offensive line takes advantage of a weak defense and starts to show some signs of cohesion.  With time in the pocket Hackenberg throws for 250 yds and 2 TDs with no INTs.  Daesean Hamilton and Chris Godwin receive the bulk of those passes and score a TD each.  Akeel Lynch has a nice day with 100+ yds rushing and a TD of his own.  And of course, Joey "Big Toe" Julius puts at least one FG through the uprights.  On defense, things are shaky at times as the middle LB situation works itself out.  Brandon Bell gets an interception, and Anthony Zettel forces a fumble.  They let up some yardage and points, but mostly through the air as they completely shut down Buffalo's running game.  Penn State starts their string of 5 consecutive home games with their first W of the season and John Donovan survives another week on the hot seat.  Final score: 27-10

Check back either Sunday or Monday (whenever I get time) for the weekly Wrap Up post.  Head on over to my Facebook page for all the latest news and notes on all things Penn State.  Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!

Week 1 Grades

That game was so ugly team captains Christian Hackenberg and Jordan Lucas got the players together, found some shovels, and buried the game film under the practice field (it probably looked something like this).  Afterwards they said, "we will never speak of Temple again."  Hopefully that means they'll never play like that again too.  Either way, today's post should go fairly quickly so let's roll out the unfortunate first grades of the season...

Offense
QB: (D+) Hackenberg went a measly 11/25 for 103 yds, 0 TDs and 1 INT... not good.  He lost all confidence somewhere around the fifth sack.  His coaches either don't know how to use him or just don't want to use him correctly out of spite at this point.  It's that simple.  I feel so bad for him; he's literally losing millions of dollars in draft potential with every game.  It really sucks that we were finally able to recruit an elite QB but our line is too incompetent to protect him.

OL: (F-) 10 sacks.  That is all.

RB: (B-) Akeel Lynch is for real if he's ever given adequate running lanes to work with.  Despite the break down of the o-line, he still managed 78 yds and a TD on only 10 carries.  As for his backups, I have a feeling you'll know pretty much all their names by the end of the season (hint: they're all pretty good).

WR: (N/A) Who knows?  Chris Godwin seems to be good with 5 catches for 81 yds.  It would sure be nice if we could find out how good the rest of them are.

TE: (N/A) See WRs above.  Literally no TE caught a pass.  Don't know what else to say here.

Defense
DL: (A) These guys actually lead the entire country in tackles for a loss!  The scoreboard (with 7 points coming from a Hackenberg pick-6) was deceptive.  The defensive line did their job and for the most part shut down Temple's run game.  Unfortunately, they can't do everyone else's job for them.  Coming into the season, everyone knew we were set at DT.  It was at DE, where we were replacing both starters that people had questions.  Well Carl Nassib provided answers in a big way!  He is set to become the next star defensive lineman at PSU.  He led the team in tackles with 10 including 2.5 for a loss and a sack.  His partner on the other side, Garrett Sickels, wasn't too shabby either with 4 tackles of his own including 1 for a loss.

LB: (C-) Brandon Bell is legit, especially if he heals up and plays at 100% the rest of the way.  Along with fellow LB Jason Cabinda, Bell was 2nd on the team in tackles with 7.  However, unlike Cabinda, he also had 2.5 tackles for a loss, a sack, and a forced fumble!  As for the other LBs, they're all still too young.  Gary Wooten, who took over for the injured Nyeem Wartman-White, is the lone veteran amongst the backups, but he's also always been a backup for a reason.  His leadership abilities, especially from the middle, just aren't up to par.  He'll need to improve if this defense hopes to reach the level they hit last year.  It's hard to judge a unit when their best player goes down, but we should get a better reading this week.

DB: (N/A) Trevor Williams highlighted this group with 6 tackles including 2 for a loss.  After him was true freshman John Reid who impressed in his collegiate debut with 5 tackles.  Senior captain Jordan Lucas added another 4 while Marcus Allen underwhelmed slightly with only 3 tackles to his name. Overall, the defensive backfield wasn't horrible, but they didn't record a single pass breakup or interception either.  They also allowed Temple's WRs to get open all afternoon and rack up 168 passing yds on only 16 completions.  Hopefully, CB Grant Haley will be back in the lineup this week and, like with nearly every other position, we'll get a better read on how this group has progressed.

Special Teams
K: (A+) Joey "Big Toe" Julius is going to be a star!  He played well in limited action completing his lone FG and extra point.  He also killed it on kickoffs, averaging 65 yds.  If the season really starts to go south, we've always got the Toe!

P: (C-) Daniel Pasquariello, on the other hand, has some work to do.  He looked better than last year, but that may not be good enough considering how hard this offense may force him to work.  He'll need to work on his hang time and direction if he hopes to stave off Chris Gulla.  The good news is he should get plenty of in-game practice.

Your bonus grade for Week 1 is a big, stinking F- to John Donovan and the rest of the offensive coaching staff.  I really wish there was an even lower grade I could use.  In fact, I wish there existed a grade so low that receiving it felt like a punch to the gut.  They deserve that grade and they should all be ashamed of themselves.  They'll have one last shot this week.  If things don't improve, James Franklin may need to start trimming the fat.

That should wrap up my coverage of Temple week.  Much like the players, we're burying this game (at least in our minds) and moving on to Buffalo!  My Prediction post should be up sometime on Friday.  In the meantime, head on over to my Facebook page and give it a like or even a share.  Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!

Week 1 Wrap Up

I've said it before and I'll say it again; these are the posts I HATE to write.  I love Penn State football, and I especially love talking about it with all of you.  But boy oh boy do I despise trying to write about games like this.  I want to take a moment and apologize in advance for my language in this post, but trust me when I say that it is completely justified.  It was a complete and utter shit show out there.  A clusterfuck of epic proportions.  I can honestly say that might be the single worst game of football I've ever witnessed and I was there for the 6-4 loss to Iowa in 2004.

On offense, Akeel Lynch didn't look half bad and ran the ball well.  He looks to be a solid option as the feature back moving forward.  As for the WRs and the TEs, it was hard to tell if they had actually improved.  The jury is still out because we simply didn't get to see them.  In academic terms, they get an Incomplete.  For example, last year's leader in receptions, Daesean Hamiliton had just one catch on two targets.  TE Mike Gesicki, one of the most athletic guys on the roster only got one target.  Senior TE Kyle Carter (the only remaining member of the "Supa Six") wasn't even targeted that much!  Chris Godwin performed admirably, but even he wasn't used in any meaningful way until late in the 4th quarter.  All that talent and it was like the coaches accidentally left them in State College.  Hell, the players probably would have preferred that because then they wouldn't have a 3 hour bus ride to look forward to after the humiliation they suffered.

Then there was the big story that garnered most of the attention this offseason: the offensive line.  I'm not going to sit here and pretend to know the ins and outs of o-line play, but frankly I don't have to.  After the line gave up 5 sacks in a single game last year, people acted like the sky was falling.  Giving up that many sacks was unheard of, and many beat writers began to fear for Hackenberg's safety.  Well, how are we supposed to act when they give up 10?!  In one game!  And that's just the ones I was able to count (no exaggeration, I lost track by half time)!  I had to look it up there were so many.  To put that into perspective, Kerry Collins was sacked 8 times ALL SEASON in 1994!  Last year, the line broke a school record when they allowed 44 sacks.  At this pace, they'll break that record by the start of conference play!!!  Emblematic of the futility of the line, look at the GIF below.  Under normal circumstances, the offensive line already has a built in advantage over the defensive line because it should be 5 against 4.  But in this play, Temple puts themselves at an even more incredible disadvantage, starting in a 3 lineman set, then dropping one of them into coverage.  The end result is a nearly unthinkable 2 man rush on the QB.  More importantly, with the TE back to block, it is now 6 on 2 in Penn State's favor (also notice the size difference between the Penn State players and the Temple players... yeah).  There should be 3 giant white jerseys blocking each tiny red jersey and no conceivable way for said red jerseys to get to Hackenberg...yet somehow, someway, they STILL manage to pick up the sack!  WTF?!

Hackenberg is somehow sacked by a 2 MAN RUSH!  Unbelievable!

Meanwhile, the defense looked like a shell of their former selves.  They played well against the run, but pass coverage was a joke.  This was due, in large part, to the absence of middle LB Nyeem Wartman-White (who will apparently miss the rest of the season with an apparent leg injury).  Without their "field general," the entire defensive backfield was out of sync and out of position for most of the afternoon.  Backup Gary Wooten simply couldn't cut it, and by the end of the game Bob Shoop was forced to burn the redshirts of two freshmen LBs in a vein attempt to get things back on track.  Regrettably it didn't work as Temple's WRs easily got wide open all day long.  Also not helping matters was the loss of CB Grant Haley (who was in street clothes) and a noticeably hobbled Brandon Bell, probably our best LB in pass coverage.  Those injuries are expected to be healed up for this week's game against Buffalo, but will it make a difference?

Overall the team looked disinterested, unprepared, and poorly coached.  It was an embarrassment, and there are no excuses.  James Franklin's press conference needs to have gone something like this:
"This starts and ends with the coaching staff.  We did a terrible job of putting our players in the best position to make plays.  We were out-coached, plain and simple.  There is no reason for that.  I can't say in this very moment what the problem is, but I can promise you that we will figure it out, we will fix it, and we will regain your trust.  This will NEVER happen again!  Our fans, our school, and our players deserve so much better than what we put on the field today.  It was inexcusable and I'm sorry."

Speaking of the coaching, I usually hate when people have knee-jerk reactions to bad games, particularly when they call for the firing of coaches.  These guys have families and are almost always genuinely trying to do the best they can.  It's all the more disheartening when people do it in the middle of a season, let alone after the first game... HOWEVER, with that said, John Donovan needs to be fired immediately.  There's no way around it anymore, he is just an awful football coach.  He should be made to clean up all the parking lots by hand, and then walk back to State College in shame.  Seriously, it was that bad!  To only score 10 points against fucking Temple when you have elite weapons all over the field and a surefire 1st round draft pick distributing the ball is completely ridiculous!  We haven't lost to this team since 1941!  His scheme looked like a mediocre high school team, only less inspired.  It was predictable, it was ineffective, and in a just world it would spell the end of his career.  James Franklin is known for his loyalty, and usually I admire that.  Not in this case, though.  Blind loyalty is a problem and cannot be encouraged.

Now if there was one bright spot, it may have been the Special Teams.  New kicker and fan favorite Joey "Big Toe" Julius became an instant internet star with his rotund frame and big leg.  He nailed his extra point and only FG of the day, and managed a 65 yd average on his kick offs.  The returners for both the punting and kicking teams were noticeably better than last season, and the coverage units were equally improved.  I guess the only area of concern might be the continued struggles of the "punter from down under," Danny Pasquariello.  He shanked at least two of his punts and didn't really impress on the ones that did manage to stay in bounds.  Considering the chaos on offense, he'll be relied upon often this year, so he better shape up.

Well, I almost got the score right, although with the teams reversed.  Other than that, we probably shouldn't talk about my prediction... or any prediction for this game for that matter.  It sucked, we were all wrong, better luck next time.  Instead, I'll leave you with some words from the players themselves.

Ok, a little later this week I'll see if I'm up for handing out grades.  Awards are unfortunately a thing of the past.  I should have my Prediction post for the Buffalo game up by Friday.  Head on over to my Facebook page in the meantime for all the latest news and notes.  Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!