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!

Week 5 Prediction

Penn State continues their unusual 5 game homestand this week by hosting the Army Black Knights from the United States Military Academy at West Point.  Things will kick off at noon on ESPNU and the WatchESPN app.  The weather report says even more rain is on the way (whether that's a good or bad thing depends on who you ask).  That makes 3 out of 4 home games so far this year with rain, and it will apparently affect the parking situation this week.  While the administration contemplates renovations to Beaver Stadium, I think this year should serve as a notice that weather considerations might want to be a big part of that discussion.  But enough about rain, there's football to be played, so let's get to the breakdown!

The Good
All of the service academies have trouble recruiting because, well, you have to serve in that branch upon graduation.  Not putting a value judgement on this, but 5-star recruits tend to be more interested in the NFL than military service.  Still, even by those low standards, Army has fallen behind Navy and Air Force in recent years.  They're always well coached and disciplined, but because of the talent gap, they're generally considered a rather easy opponent.

Things could get even easier with the uncertainty at QB for Army.  Two players are currently splitting reps at the most important position on the field (although, to be fair, starting QB Ahmad Bradshaw appears to be suffering from a lingering injury).  They're also having issues on defense in their 3-4 scheme (3 DL, 4 LBs).  Having only three guys up front should allow PSU's offensive line to get some much needed push, especially if Lynch and Barkley are held out of action.  Army's nose tackle T.J. Atimalala (who essentially plays the part of both DTs in a standard 4-3 scheme) just hasn't lived up to his potential yet.  This should be good news for Nick Scott and Mark Allen.

The Bad
What's not good news is defending against the triple option, which James Franklin touched on at his weekly press conference.  This is an offensive system where the ball carrier is not assigned based on the play call.  Instead, upwards of 3 offensive players could get the ball depending on how things develop.  This puts a ton of pressure on the QB to make good decisions and execute, but it also puts pressure on the defense to shut down every possibility all at the same time.  Luckily, some of the Nittany Lion players and coaches have experience with the triple option.

The apparently wet weather set to hit Happy Valley around game time plays right into Army's strength on offense, which is the running game.  In their only win of the season last week against Eastern Michigan, the Black Knights had six RBs each rush for 60 yds or more.  Look for any combination of Matt Gianchinta, Aaron Kemper, Joe Walker, or John Trainor to test Penn State's normally stout defensive front.  On defense, keep an eye out for LBs Jeremy Timpf and Andrew King, who have combined for 61 tackles so far this year.

Since James Franklin doesn't discuss injuries (unless they're season ending), we're left to guess who may or may not play against Army.  Any or all of the following players could be held out of Saturday's game: RB Saquon Barkley, RB Akeel Lynch, TE Adam Breneman, OL Andrew Nelson, CB Grant Haley, S Jordan Lucas, S Marcus Allen, LB Brandon Bell, and DE Evan Schwan.  Read into all of that at your own peril.

The Story
Well the big story is that it's Military Appreciation Day.  That's a nice gesture and all, but I wonder how many schools have military appreciation days when a service academy comes to town, and do the academies get tired of it?  I know a lot of soldiers get upset constantly being told "thank you for your service."  Is this the same basic concept?  Anyway, Lions247 breaks down the military connections of the team in preparation for Saturday's festivities (interesting side note: Daesean Hamilton was born in Japan?!).

Hackenberg actually comes to State College by way of Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia.  So he's had at least some experience with the military lifestyle.  Not sure if it will help him prepare for this game, but it will definitely give him a solid appreciation for the men he's playing against.  It also explains his incredibly mature demeanor and ability to rise above adversity, qualities that make Penn Staters everywhere love him that much more.

The Prediction
Alright, so how do I think things will shape up?  Well, between the rain and the weak front 7 on defense, I think Penn State will primarily stick to the run.  So I'll call for Hackenberg to throw for about 100 yds or fewer and at most 1 TD.  I'll also predict that we won't hear much from the WRs and TEs.  The RBs, on the other hand, should have a very productive day.  Unfortunately, with the injury situation being what it is, it's hard to tell who the RBs will even be for this game.  Regardless, I expect to see two 100 yd rushers and a plethora of TDs.  Defensively, stuffing the run game is this group's bread and butter.  They'll continue doing what they normally do, hopefully with their usual flashy style (i.e. fumbles returned for fat guy TDs, long interception returns, and cringe-inducing hits).  Like all Americans, I respect our armed forces, but they aren't going to win this one.  Penn State improves to 4-1 on the year, final score: 37-10.

Enjoy the game everyone, and try to stay dry!  I'll be back with my wrap up either Sunday or Monday.  In the meantime, head on over to my Facebook page to keep up with all things Penn State football.  While you're there, feel free to give it a like or even a share.  Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @PSUOptimus, and as always, go State!

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!