Week 10 Wrap Up

Well, the prognosticators nailed it again.  They had called for a Wildcat victory by 2, and that's exactly what we got.  Northwestern pulled out the win on a last second FG for a final score of 23-21.  But no one could have guessed HOW it would all go down in one of the crazier defensive battles of the season.  No, this was not your stereotypical last second heartbreaker; the sad truth is Penn State didn't deserve to win.  And yet, with the way they overcame first half mistakes and admirably fought until the very end, they kind of did deserve it.  What's worse is that had it not been for clock management issues, they were in a position to win and might be sitting at 8-2 right now.  Instead, let's take a look back at yet another disappointing loss under James Franklin.

Before we do that, though, I wanted to quickly share a lighter story.  When I was a kid, I loved LEGOs.  So I was super excited when I found out about one fan who makes mini LEGO replicas of iconic stadiums.  And when he decided to design five Big Ten versions, you can bet Beaver Stadium was one of those chosen.  He even sells them on Etsy!

Anyway, let's get into what happened by starting with an injury report.  TE Adam Breneman, backup CB Christian Campbell, and backup LT Chasz Wright all didn't make the trip to Evanston.  Kicker Joey Julius didn't make the trip either, although for performance reasons.  Instead, Tyler Davis and walk-on Robbie Leibel handled kicking duties.  During the game, S Jordan Lucas and DE Carl Nassib would both leave and not return.  Good thing we're on a long overdue bye week!

So, what happened?

Well, Penn State started with the ball, and Hackenberg immediately nailed a referee in the head on what looked like a surefire 1st down pass.  Oops.  After an offsides penalty, Danny Pasquariello made his first of many appearances.  Meanwhile, on their first possession, Northwestern’s QB Clayton Thorson turned out to be a decent passer.  He got the Wildcats deep into PSU territory but it would ultimately end with a missed FG, leaving the score at 0-0.

An otherwise forgettable pass to Chris Godwin, on an otherwise forgettable drive, helped Christian Hackenberg set another Penn State single-season record, this time for completions.  Punt.  Back on defense, Brandon Bell got his first of two sacks, while Austin Johnson’s 56th tackle of the season made him the national leader for tackles by a DT.  Punt.  Neither Barkley nor Hackenberg could really get anything going on their own.  In fact, Penn State's first 1st down of the day came by way of a questionable roughing the passer penalty.  It wouldn't mean much.  Punt.  Clayton Thorson also tried his best to wake up his team, but spent most of the time getting punished by our defense.  Punt.

By this point it was clear that both defensive lines were exceptional; they just did it in different ways.  While Penn State gets in the backfield and puts pressure on the QB, Northwestern gets their hands up and swats down anything that comes their way, particularly Hackenberg's passes.  It seemed like they tipped every other throw!

Thorson would try to carry his team, but also paid the price for doing so.  He took his second massive hit of the day and went down hard, this time winding up in the locker room being evaluated by trainers.  He would not return.  So his back up, senior Zack Oliver took over.  Punt.  Godwin proved once again that he can make clutch receptions... Mike Gesicki proved once again that he cannot.  By Onward State's count, he dropped 3 catches on Saturday.  Punt.

At the start the 2nd quarter, Northwestern's Warren Long had a nice 35 yd run that got his team into the redzone where Zack Oliver delivered a dart to the back of endzone for a 7-0 lead.  Penn State would punt, then Northwestern's Justin Jackson took over the game.  He got his team inside the 5 where Oliver faked a handoff and punched it in himself.  A missed extra point, gave the Wildcats a 13-0 lead and things were starting to look dire.

It was time for Saquon Barkley to wake the offense up.  He made his presence felt with a 31 yd completion, and after a 20 yd pass to Chris Godwin, lined up in the wildcat.  I hated this formation last year, but with Saquon in charge?  I've slowly come around.  Sure enough, he kept it, cut around the outside, and took it in for the touchdown and the Lions' first points of the day.

The celebration was cut short as Solomon Vault took the ensuing kickoff 96 yds to the house, even after initially fumbling the return.  Everything was bouncing Northwestern's way.  Koa Farmer tried to answer with his own impressive return out to the 38 yd line.  Unfortunately, a sack on Hackenberg would stall the drive.  Punt.  The defense would hold into halftime.

With the ball to start the 2nd half, Zack Oliver couldn't really do much.  Punt.  Surprisingly, neither could Barkley.  Punt.  Despite good starting field position, NW stalled again.  Punt.  Another PSU three-and-out.  Punt.  Are you sensing a theme yet?  Finally, with Justin Jackson firing on all cylinders, the Wildcats put together a drive long enough to attempt a FG... but once again, they missed.

Now contrary to the announcer's comments, the offensive line had actually played fairly well to this point.  In most cases it was Hackenberg holding the ball or WRs dropping passes that had caused the offensive futility.  All the punting must have tired out Pasquariello, because Chris Gulla took over at punter.  Also around this time, Northwestern started to make uncharacteristic mistakes.  Gulla drew a roughing the kicker penalty that gave the Lions a 1st down at the 45 yd line.  Hackenberg took off on a rare QB sneak and drew a hit late penalty.  It would all set up the single most amazing play of the day, and possibly the season.  It was so ridiculous I'm still trying to process what exactly we all witnessed.  Here's the gist: Hackenberg handed the ball off to Brandon Polk, who in turn tried to hand it off to Geno Lewis on a double reverse... except Polk fumbled it.  Luckily, the ball bounced off the ground and right into Lewis' waiting arms.  Geno planted his feet, wound up, and launched a bomb down the sideline to fellow WR Daesean Hamilton who dove for the pylon for the touchdown!  The score was now 20-14 and momentum had completely swung in Penn State's favor.

On the next drive, LB Jason Cabinda got his first interception of the year, and although the Nittany Lion offense couldn't capitalize for points, it completely flipped the field position.  More penalties on Northwestern would end the 3rd quarter.

Carl Nassib started off theg final quarter in a big way, setting a record in the process.  His 15.5 sack of the season came in the form of a bone-crushing clothesline to Zack Oliver and set the all-time Penn State mark which had stood since the late 70s!  Congrats Carl!!!

That's when the Saquon Barkley show began.  He took a run up the middle for 23 yds, followed by another gain of 13 yds right afterwards.  Chris Godwin got his hands under a low pass for 26 more and all of a sudden Penn State was at the Northwestern 12 yd line.  Just like before, Barkley lined up in the wildcat and ended it the same way, only more impressively!  The kick by Tyler Davis gave Penn State its first lead of the day, 21-20!

PSU's fifth sack of the day and a near interception by Troy Apke kept hope alive.  Punt.  Barkley kept things rolling with two 1st downs, but came up limping and went to the sideline.  With his RB out, Hackenberg dropped back and was sacked, then intercepted by Nick VanHoose on the next play.  It was Hack's first turnover in 203 attempts, which is disappointing, but simultaneously impressive.  Penn State's sixth sack of the game came at the hands of Garrett Sickels.  Combined with an epic all-out blitz on 3rd and 17, it was just too much pressure.  Punt.  Penn State took over with 3 minutes left, nursing a 1 point lead, and starting at their own 5 yd line.  This time the wildcat formation didn't work and Pasquariello came back out.  A favorable roll pinned NW at their own 45.

Grant Haley almost intercepted his second pass of the day, which would have not only fulfilled my prediction, it would have effectively ended the game.  Instead, on 3rd and 15, WR Austin Carr went for 25 yds but more importantly got Northwestern into FG range.  After another 1st down, it was obvious that Pat Fitzgerald would drain the clock and try a last minute FG.  However, despite having all 3 of his time outs, James Franklin stood firm on the sidelines and waited -- 2nd down and only 22 seconds left (time out); 3rd down with 18 seconds left (time out); 4th down with 13 seconds left (time out).  Afterwards, all the coach had to say was "that was my missed opportunity."  Sure enough, Jack Mitchell put it right down the middle to give his team a 23-21 lead and the win.

Obviously, this was not Penn State's finest hour.  It also wasn't their low point either.  As Cari Green from Black Shoe Diaries puts it, the sky isn't falling.  This program has been here before, and they'll be here again.  You can still be a fan, you can still be proud, and you can still have one heck of a time doing both.

Ok, how did I do?  Well I basically nailed the score, but for the wrong teams.  Hackenberg did have over 200 yds (205 to be exact), but he threw his first pick since week 3 instead of another TD pass.  Barkley "only" had 133 yds rushing, but if you add in his 50 yds receiving, he more than eclipsed the 150 yds I predicted, plus he scored 2 TDs like I called!  Thankfully special teams wasn't a problem as Tyler Davis nailed all his extra points, including the one that gave Penn State a late lead and hope for a win.  On defense, Carl Nassib only had 1 sack, but he also had a forced fumble.  Austin Johnson actually led the team with 10 tackles, and it was Jason Cabinda, not Grant Haley, who recorded the interception.  Overall, probably one of my better weeks.

Alright, that will do it for today.  Check back in on Wednesday for my weekly grades before we head into the much anticipated bye week.  I'll see if I can come up with something special for then.  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!