John Donovan has officially been fired as Offensive Coordinator. Yes, the man who can almost single-handedly be given credit for Christian Hackenberg's plummeting draft stock is no longer calling plays in Happy Valley. I doubt you'll find many people outside the Donovan family who are upset with this decision. I honestly didn't realize until now that he was also the TEs coach (that was one of the worst position groups on the team under Donovan after being one of the strengths under Bill O'Brien). Black Shoe Diaries put it best, "Franklin has been fairly clear that he prizes loyalty, but he obviously does not place loyalty above doing your job." I for one, applaud James Franklin for this! In fact, I'm of the opinion that James Franklin is doing a fine job as head coach, a job that entails making those kinds of tough decisions, delegating responsibilities effectively, and handling recruits/players/administration/alumni. Franklin has done well in these endeavors and deserves to stay. The Offensive Coordinator's job, however, is to develop a game plan and handle play calling. John Donovan was terrible at that, so he had to go. I think the general consensus of the fans is, good riddance. And if you don't run in coaching circles (I know I don't), BSD has put together a list of 40 potential candidates.
Now if you want to know what happened in the game you should've watched it. But if you couldn't (I know, Thanksgiving is a thing) then check out recaps here and here. Here are my takeaways:
They dominated us on both lines. Our defensive line couldn't get a push and registered zero sacks without Sickels and Nassib. Credit their o-line for giving Connor Cook and his WRs all day to pick us apart. This meant we couldn't blitz as often since so many guys were in coverage trying to stop the bleeding. Our offensive line was OK in pass protection (Hackenberg's quick passes helped) but couldn't open holes for Barkley. Next season is year 3 for both James Franklin and supposed o-line guru Herb Hand and it's going to be a big one. 3 years is about all you get in the modern world of college football coaching to prove yourself. The staff's first impressive batch of highly touted o-line recruits will be redshirt sophomores next year and should be able to begin competing for starting jobs. The second haul will be redshirt freshman who can serve as reliable backups. remember that only Angelo Mangiro (and possibly Gaia and Dowry) will be leaving, so there are veterans like Andrew Nelson and Brendon Mahon to anchor the unit. If they don't improve dramatically, the whole staff will be on the hot seat.
This game was actually closer than the score made it seem, especially at halftime. Take a look at the 1st half stats:
Hackenberg: 17-27, 166 yds, 1 TD vs Cook: 11-16, 121
yds, 1 TD
Barkley: 10 rushes, 86 yds
Godwin: 8 catches, 85 yds, 1 TD
Total yds: PSU 268 vs MSU 200
Time of Possession: 45 plays (17:41) vs 31 plays (12:19)However, costly mistakes at all the wrong times doomed the Nittany Lions. In the 2nd quarter, the offense was driving and Hackenberg delivered a perfect ball to Kyle Carter who proceeded to fumble it. Michigan State's Demetrius Cox recovered the live ball and wound up on plenty of highlight reels for his spinning TD return. In the 4th quarter, Penn State managed to get within 18 with a Chris Godwin TD (and failed 2 point conversion) and attempted an onsides kick. Of course, it was recovered by MSU who only had to drive 44 yds for the score. Just three plays later, Hackenberg nailed a lineman in the back and the ball bounced right into the hands of Malik McDowell, who took it 13 yds for a score of his own. But it wasn't over. Koa Farmer fumbled the ensuing kickoff at the 9, gifting a short field to the Spartans, who decided to let their fucking CENTER, Jack Allen, score the last points of the game. It was that kind of game.
In college, there are bad teams that you hope to play on Senior Day. You hope this because you want to be able to put your less talented Seniors in the game towards the end and let them have a little glory. Penn State, however, should NEVER be considered the type of team you can do this on. And yet as I mentioned, in the 2nd half, with the game far out of reach, the Spartans put their Senior center in at RB and let him score... scratch that, our guys let him score. It was embarrassing and I hope we never have to watch something like that again (although congrats to that guy for getting his moment in the spot light).
Coaching! It's year 2 for James Franklin, it's year 9 for Mark Dantonio, and that made all the difference. Although there were no end of game mistakes this week, that's only because the game was already so out of hand. There were more ill-advised timeouts because of miscommunication. And then there was the situation early in the game, down 6-0, having just watched Penn State drive the length of the field to the 1 yd line, when the staff decided to settle for a FG. Listen, if you can't make it in fromt he 1, in a game when you're supposed to be pulling out all the stops, just go home.
Chris Godwin and Saquon Barkley will be a lethal yet entertaining duo for years to come, regardless of the QB situation. With the help of a surprisingly aggressive offensive game plan, Godwin (11 catches, 109 yds, 2 TDs) had his best day ever. And thanks in large part to a handful of chunk plays, Barkley finished the day with a respectable 17 carries for 110 yds. He had the tougher hill to climb against a very stout Michigan State front four. Both are still young, so enjoy this ride while it lasts.
Speaking of Barkley, some of the post season awards have started to trickle out and the star RB was named BTN.com's Freshman of the Year, although he was snubbed for the same award by the Big Ten Conference (it went instead to Michigan's Jabrill Peppers). The Conference did, however, award Carl Nassib Defensive Player of the Year, as well as name Nassib, Austin Johnson, and Anthony Zettel to the various All-Defensive Teams. Congrats to all the winners and I'm sure more are on the way!
I did a piece on Christian Hackenberg a few days ago, but I think this one does better justice explaining why every fan should be thankful this young man came to Penn State. On a somewhat related note, the guy thought to be Hackenberg's successor, (but who transferred last year back to Canada) Michael O'Connor, is doing just fine for himself back in his home country. It's very interesting to see the paths these two young men have taken and where each has led them respectively.
Alright, that will do it for today. Check back tomorrow for my last regular season grades post. 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!
No comments:
Post a Comment