Week 5 Wrap Up

On another rain-soaked, sloppy afternoon in Beaver Stadium, the Penn State Nittany Lions notched their 4th win of the season, defeating the Army Black Knights 20-14.  As originally thought, the weather played a big part in this game.  RBs and return men slipped under their own power, WRs dropped passes, and Hackenberg’s throws tended to come out of his hand poorly.  I’d mention the issues that Army’s QB had too, but seeing as he only attempted 1 pass all day, it didn’t seem to warrant consideration.  Either way, it was clear that both teams struggled with the conditions, and at the end of the day, a win is a win.

*Before I continue, let me briefly say that Army has apparently changed their official name from “Army” to “Army – West Point.”  This gave the announcers difficulty all afternoon, and it’s a lot to type.  So I will be referring to them as simply Army today. #SorryNotSorry*

With that said, Military Appreciation Day seemed to go off without a hitch.  It was nice to see members of the ROTC mingling with Army personnel on the sidelines.  The Blue Band got some air time with their military themed halftime show, complete with moving tank treads!  And of course the Nittany Lion mascot was decked out in his best camouflage attire.

Alright, before I get to the game summary, unfortunately I have to give a rather lengthy injury report.  LB Brandon Bell, S Marcus Allen, and OL Andrew Nelson were all out, along with both Akeel Lynch and Saquon Barkley.  To give you some idea, coming into the game the difference in production between Barkley/Lynch vs Allen/Scott was 635 yds, 7 yds/rush, and 5 TDs compared to 27 yds, 1.5 yds/rush, and 0 TDs, respectively.  The game’s final stats (108 yds and 1 TD between 3 backs) would continue to reflect this dropoff in talent.  It’s now clear that Penn State will need at least one of the starting RBs for Big Ten play or they might not make it to a bowl game.

So what happened?  Well, things started about how you would think with this team.  Hackenberg was sacked on the first possession and it would eventually end in a punt.  Thankfully, Army fumbled on their very first play from scrimmage and PSU recovered on the 42 yd line.  With the ball back, TE Brent Wilkerson started things off with his first catch of the season.  WR Chris Godwin took a while to get going in the rain, slipping on his first target and straight up missing on his second.  Daesean Hamilton made up for it when he made a grab on 4th down to preserve the drive.  Nick Scott then took the handoff up the middle for his first collegiate TD!  Not only did Penn State score first, but they capitalized on a turnover and a short field.  That hasn’t always been a guarantee with this team as the Lions have a tendency to stall or settle for FGs after turnovers.  This was a good first step.

On their second offensive possession, Army showcased the power running game they're known for with some decent results... that is until Jason Cabinda forced another fumble on a sack.  Austin Johnson was unable to recover but regardless, the Knights would be forced to punt from their own endzone.  About 9 minutes in, Johnathan Thomas made his Penn State debut.  He started with three nice runs in a row leading me to believe that the lack of film on him was his best asset.  Per usual, though, the drive stalled and Chris Gulla came out to punt.  I use the term loosely, of course, to refer to the 11 yd abomination that came off his foot.  Gulla did not have a good day.

Now I'll say this about the triple option: it's just as tricky as everyone claims.  You could literally see defenders looking around mid-play, wondering who had the ball.  Nonetheless, this is a defense that currently leads the nation in fumble recoveries, is 3rd in sacks (with DE Carl Nassib leading individual players with 8), and is 4th in tackles for loss.  In case you haven't noticed, they're really good!  So inevitably, they got the hang of things and pushed Army right back.

Hackenberg started the 2nd quarter off rather well, completing three passes in a row.  It wouldn’t last long, though, as yet another drive stalled forcing a punt.  An otherwise promising drive for Army was ruined once again by a fumble, this time recovered by LB Von Walker.  Unlike earlier, Penn State couldn't capitalize and would, you guessed it, punt.

Deep in their own territory, Army’s QB pitched the ball at the last second to his RB for a 22 yd gain.  However, CB Grant Haley swooped in and laid a BIG hit on the QB right as he was making said pitch.  It must have knocked something loose because on the very next play, that same QB fumbled a similar pitch and freshman LB Manny Bowen recovered.  Now with the ball, Hackenberg must have gotten upset with the multiple drops by his WRs and decided to run it himself for 19 yds and the 1st down.  Still, it would end in a 37 yd Joey Julius FG and the disappointment continued into halftime with Penn State leading 10-0 entirely off turnovers.

To start the 2nd half, Anthony Zettel forced a fifth Army fumble, although the Knights would maintain possession.  After a 25 yd punt return by DeAndre Thompkins gave the Lions the ball back deep in Army territory, they were helped out by a "disconcerting signals" penalty that I’ve never even heard of.  Then the unthinkable happened.  Angelo Mangiro, the only senior on the offensive line and one of their most important pieces, went down with an injury; he would not return.  This deflated the offense and Penn State would once again settle for a 27 yd FG by Joey Julius.

Around this time I began thinking to myself, “I know Army loves to run the ball, but they haven’t even ATTEMPTED a pass yet this game.”  That thought proved to be as prophetic as ever when mere seconds later, QB A.J. Schurr not only attempted, but completed his only pass of the day for 32 yds to Edgar Allen Poe (I’m dead serious, that's his name).  Three plays later Schurr would punch it in himself and put Army on the scoreboard.

The teams would exchange punts and then it was finally time for Hackenberg to show off his arm with a 39 yd bomb to Chris Godwin.  He followed that up with a 33 yd strike to Mike Gesicki along the sideline.  It was Gesicki’s first collegiate TD, and it just so happened to come on his birthday!  Army answered with another methodical drive to start the 4th quarter.  It ended with QB A.J. Schurr breaking tackles and going 56 yds for his second TD of the afternoon.  That's where the scoring would stop.  Penn State would punt again, and Army would turn it over on downs after a sack by Jason Cabinda.  Hackenberg took a few knees and the Nittany Lions moved to 4-1 on the season.

In his post game presser, James Franklin did his usual routine.  He talked about how he wouldn't go negative, but instead would stay positive because he loved Penn State.  How about instead of positivity, we try honesty for a change?  For his part, I respect Franklin's loyalty (something a certain bespectacled former coach was also known for), but that's a hard sword to fall on.  There's no more escaping the fact that this offense is a train wreck under beleaguered OC John Donovan.  Other coaches may need to go too.  There are plenty of legitimate excuses, and as a blind fan I'll gladly make them when appropriate, but it's not appropriate right now.  There are some easily fixable things that aren't being fixed and it's starting to feel purposeful.  Black Shoe Diaries summed up the play calling situation brilliantly with one of their hilariously self-deprecating pieces.  The best line?  "It was so incoherent as to be utterly indistinguishable from a 9-year old playing Madden and just mashing buttons."  As the old adage goes, you're never as bad as you think when you lose, and you're never as good as you think when you win... although this time it's more like, you're never as bad as you think when you narrowly beat an inferior team.  At the end of the day, 3 of the next 4 games look winnable and Penn State only needs two of them to make a bowl.  We’ll see.

So how did I do?  I’ll start by saying that I wasn’t close on the score.  You'll get over it.  Hackenberg actually threw for 156 yds and a TD, so I was close there.  The RBs did not perform as well as I had hoped, though.  Nick Scott led the team with only 54 yds and a TD.  That's nowhere close to the 100+ yds I envisioned.  The defense, on the other hand, gave us plenty of theatrics as promised turning 7 fumbles into 3 turnovers and once again holding their opponent under 300 yds of total offense (thus continuing their streak). Also, we won, so I get points for that.

I'll be back with my grades hopefully on Wednesday and then we start real Big Ten play!  In the meantime head on over to my Facebook and give it a like or even a share.  Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!