SB Nation - Evan Royster

If College Football Had a Playoff: #12 Penn State NIttany Lions @ #5 Florida Gators

Jeremy Mauss — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:00:26 -0000

Continuing the new break out hit of the season "What if College Football had a Playoff" returns for game three of the playoff. Before we get to game three the previous matchup of #9 Georgia Tech at #8 Ohio State was a hotly contested matchup with the fan vote going to Georgia Tech upsetting the higher seeded Buckeyes.

This current matchup of Penn State traveling to the swamp against the Florida Gators will be another good game in this bracket (you hear that BCS). After losing the SEC title game we will all see if Tim Tebow can will the Gators through another four games to repeat as national champions.

Penn State will use their defense that gave up only 11.8 points per game to try to stop the Florida Gators which will only hold up for so long.

Penn State on offense will be the problem they will do their typical clam up into a shell and try to run against Florida. The Gator defense is too much, and will be able to stop the Nittany Lion offense. Neither offense will do much in this game as both have been spotty all year, but as mentioned above the Gator defense will be the key.

To give some help to those who are not sure who would win I turned to What if Sports to simulate this game. The outcome was as I expected which was a low scoring affair with Florida coming from behind to win 16-10. Florida scored the last 13 points after being behind 10 - 3 at the half. From the play by play the Gators were able to run the ball a little more effectively to pull out the win.

The What if Sports is not the decider in this game, you yes you! The readers of this site decide who moves onto the next round.

So gather your friends to stuff the ballot and check back daily at 12 PM eastern time to vote for the next matchup, and voting is only open for 24 hours. As they say in Chicago vote early and vote often.

Penn State Stats

Passing

		Passing									Rushing					Sacks
	G	Rating	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/G	Y/A	TD	INT	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Sack	YdsL
Daryll Clark	12	93.0	214	337	63.5	2787	232.3	8.3	23	10	73	191	15.9	2.6	7	-	-
Matthew McGloin	1	0.0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	-
Kevin Newsome	8	70.0	8	11	72.7	66	8.3	6	0	0	20	95	11.9	4.8	2	-	-

Rushing

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
Brandon Beachum	8	24	113	14.1	4.7	1	3	29	3.6	9.7	0
Brent Carter	5	13	46	9.2	3.5	1	0	0	0	0	0
Daryll Clark	12	73	191	15.9	2.6	7	0	0	0	0	0
Curtis Drake	5	3	27	5.4	9	0	7	86	17.2	12.3	0
Stephfon Green	10	64	284	28.4	4.4	3	5	79	7.9	15.8	0
Derek Moye	11	1	-3	-0.3	-3	0	45	732	66.5	16.3	5
Kevin Newsome	8	20	95	11.9	4.8	2	0	0	0	0	0
Chaz Powell	10	9	76	7.6	8.5	0	27	355	35.5	13.1	3
Evan Royster	12	188	1104	92	5.9	6	16	187	15.6	11.7	2
Devon Smith	6	4	33	5.5	8.3	0	4	30	5	7.5	0
Joe Suhey	12	19	59	4.9	3.1	0	21	186	15.5	8.9	1
Shaine Thompson	2	3	14	7	4.7	0	0	0	0	0	0

Receiving

		Receiving
	G	Rec	Yds	Y/G	AVG	TD
Brandon Beachum	8	3	29	3.6	9.7	0
Brett Brackett	3	3	13	4.3	4.3	1
Justin Brown	3	5	78	26	15.6	0
Curtis Drake	5	7	86	17.2	12.3	0
Stephfon Green	10	5	79	7.9	15.8	0
Derek Moye	11	45	732	66.5	16.3	5
Chaz Powell	10	27	355	35.5	13.1	3
Andrew Quarless	12	33	448	37.3	13.6	3
Evan Royster	12	16	187	15.6	11.7	2
Mickey Shuler	9	11	89	9.9	8.1	2
Devon Smith	6	4	30	5	7.5	0
Joe Suhey	12	21	186	15.5	8.9	1
Andrew Szczerba	1	1	6	6	6	0
Graham Zug	11	42	549	49.9	13.1	7

Kicking

		Field Goals								PAT
	G	0-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+	FGM	FGA	PCT	XPM	XPA	PCT	pts
Collin Wagner	12	-	-	-	-	-	11	18	60.0%	45	45	100.0%	78

Florida Stats

Passing

		Passing									Rushing					Sacks
	G	Rating	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/G	Y/A	TD	INT	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Sack	YdsL
John Brantley	6	113.0	36	48	75	410	68.3	8.5	7	0	13	67	11.2	5.2	0	-	-
Tim Tebow	13	103.0	182	279	65.2	2413	185.6	8.6	18	5	203	859	66.1	4.2	13	-	-

Rushing

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
Andrew Blaylock	1	4	6	6	1.5	0	0	0	0	0	0
John Brantley	6	13	67	11.2	5.2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Vincent Brown	2	3	1	.500	.300	0	0	0	0	0	0
Riley Cooper	13	1	14	1.1	14	0	44	780	60	17.7	8
Mike Gillislee	5	26	189	37.8	7.3	1	1	6	1.2	6	1
Aaron Hernandez	12	1	16	1.3	16	0	59	729	60.8	12.4	4
Emmanuel Moody	11	50	364	33.1	7.3	1	4	26	2.4	6.5	0
Chris Rainey	13	85	548	42.2	6.4	4	6	90	6.9	15	1
Christopher Scott	1	9	26	26	2.9	0	0	0	0	0	0
Tim Tebow	13	203	859	66.1	4.2	13	0	0	0	0	0
Deonte Thompson	9	1	-2	-0.2	-2	0	19	280	31.1	14.7	3

Receiving

		Receiving
	G	Rec	Yds	Y/G	AVG	TD
Riley Cooper	13	44	780	60	17.7	8
Mike Gillislee	5	1	6	1.2	6	1
Frankie Hammond Jr	5	4	57	11.4	14.3	1
Aaron Hernandez	12	59	729	60.8	12.4	4
Omarius Hines	5	14	172	34.4	12.3	1
Cade Holliday	4	6	102	25.5	17	1
Emmanuel Moody	11	4	26	2.4	6.5	0
David Nelson	10	23	254	25.4	11	2
Chris Rainey	13	6	90	6.9	15	1
Deonte Thompson	9	19	280	31.1	14.7	3
Justin Williams	4	6	50	12.5	8.3	2

Kicking

		Field Goals								PAT
	G	0-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+	FGM	FGA	PCT	XPM	XPA	PCT	pts
Caleb Sturgis	12	-	-	-	-	-	21	28	80.0%	38	40	100.0%	101
Jonathan Phillips	3	-	-	-	-	-	0	1	0	14	16	90.0%	14

Poll

Who wins this matchup?

Florida Gators

91 votes

Penn State Nittany Lions

109 votes

200 votes | Poll has closed

All-Big Ten Awards Announced, Swept Once Again By Toto

Oops Pow Surprise — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:00:45 -0000

by Charlie Neibergall - AP

about 1 month ago: Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz looks on during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Northwestern, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009, in Iowa City, Iowa. Northwestern won 17-10. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

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Good news, everyone!* The Big Ten announced its picks for the all-conference teams. Naturally, the offensive and defensive player of the year are both Terrelle Pryor. Okay, not true; he's not even honorable mention.

But there's plenty of actual good news. First, the devil media named Kirk Ferentz coach of the year, and here he is reminding them that they can go suck it and he hasn't forgiven them for the slights of the regular season.

Such language, Kirk!

As for the players, here's the link to the voting results. The media named Bryan Bulaga to the first team on offense, while the second team featured four of his friends from the line: Rafael Eubanks, Dace Richardson, Kyle Calloway, and Tony Moeaki.

On defense, the first team had a little more Iowa representation; Adrian Clayborn, Pat Angerer, and Tyler Sash all received their no-brainer merits. On the second team, Brett Greenwood and Amari Spievey. Iowa put eight players on the media's honorable mention team: Ryan Donahue, Broderick Binns, A.J. Edds, Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, Karl Klug, Daniel Murray, Adam Robinson, and Ricky Stanzi.

Not surprisingly, the coaches had a slightly higher opinion of the Hawkeyes; here's the link to their voting results. Bryan Bulaga was named their offensive lineman of the year(!!!), an award the media doesn't give out. Bulaga is joined on the first team by Moeaki and Richardson, both of which are worthy selections. Calloway and Eubanks didn't make the second team--not sure why on Calloway--but Derrell Johnson-Koulianos snuck in on a three-player tie for second-team WR.

On defense, the coaches agreed with the media in putting Sash, Clayborn, and Angerer on the first team roster. They also added Amari Spievey; as coaches, they're more likely to know that the reason Spievey didn't have a ton of picks wasn't that he's not good at football, but that there's just no hope in throwing at him; Spievey was a machine this season, and we're starting to lose hope that he's got more than one game left in an Iowa uniform. A.J. Edds is the lone Hawkeye on the defensive second team.

For honorable mention, it's as follows:Christian Ballard, Kyle Calloway, Ryan Donahue, Brent Greenwood, Karl Klug, and Adam Robinson.

Full All-BXI teams and a few thoughts are after the break.

MEDIA

POS.	FIRST TEAM	SECOND TEAM
QB	Daryll Clark, Penn State	Mike Kafka, Northwestern
RB	Evan Royster, Penn State	Brandon Saine, Ohio State
RB	JOHN CLAY, Wisconsin	Ralph Bolden, Purdue
WR	Tandon Doss, Indiana	Blair White, Michigan State
WR	Keith Smith, Purdue	Zeke Markshausen, Northwestern
C	Stefen Wisniewski, Penn State	Rafael Eubanks, Iowa
G	Justin Boren, Ohio State	Jon Asamoah, Illinois
G	John Moffitt, Wisconsin	Dace Richardson, Iowa
T	Bryan Bulaga, Iowa	Kyle Calloway, Iowa
T	Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin	Dennis Landolt, Penn State
TE	Garrett Graham, Wisconsin	Tony Moeaki, Iowa
PK	Brett Swenson, Michigan State	Stefan Demos, Northwestern

POS.	FIRST TEAM	SECOND TEAM
DL	Adrian Clayborn, Iowa	Jammie Kirlew, Indiana
DL	Brandon Graham, Michigan	Thaddeus Gibson, Ohio State
DL	Ryan Kerrigan, Purdue	Cameron Heyward, Ohio State
DL	O'Brien Schofield, Wisconsin	Jared Odrick, Penn State
LB	Pat Angerer, Iowa	Ross Homan, Ohio State
LB	GREG JONES, Michigan State	Josh Hull, Penn State
LB	Navorro Bowman, Penn State	Sean Lee, Penn State
DB	Tyler Sash, Iowa	Brent Greenwood, Iowa
DB	Donovan Warren, Michigan	Amari Spievey, Iowa
DB	Sherrick McManis, Northwestern	Brad Phillips, Northwestern
DB	Kurt Coleman, Ohio State	David Pender, Purdue
P	Zoltan Mesko, Michigan	Jeremy Boone, Penn State

COACHES

POS.	FIRST TEAM	SECOND TEAM
QB	Daryll Clark, Penn State	Mike Kafka, Northwestern
RB	Evan Royster, Penn State	Brandon Saine, Ohio State
RB	John Clay, Wisconsin	Ralph Bolden, Purdue
WR	Eric Decker, Minnesota	Tandon Doss, Indiana*
WR	Blair White, Michigan State	Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, Iowa* Keith Smith, Purdue*
C	Stefen Wisniewski, Penn State	Rafael Eubanks, Iowa* Joel Nitchman, Michigan State*
G	Dace Richardson, Iowa	Jon Asamoah, Illinois
G	John Moffitt, Wisconsin	Justin Boren, Ohio State
T	Bryan Bulaga, Iowa	Rodger Saffold, Indiana
T	Dennis Landolt, Penn State	Gabe Carimi, Wisconsin
TE	Tony Moeaki, Iowa	Garrett Graham, Wisconsin
PK	Brett Swenson, Michigan	Stefan Demos, Northwestern

POS.	FIRST TEAM	SECOND TEAM
DL	Adrian Clayborn, Iowa	Jammie Kirlew, Indiana
DL	Brandon Graham, Michigan	Thaddeus Gibson, Ohio State
DL	Jared Odrick, Penn State	Cameron Heyward, Ohio State
DL	O'Brien Schofield, Wisconsin	Ryan Kerrigan, Purdue
LB	Pat Angerer, Iowa Linebacker	A.J. Edds, Iowa
LB	Greg Jones, Michigan State	Ross Homan, Ohio State
LB	Navorro Bowman, Penn State	Sean Lee, Penn State
DB	Tyler Sash, Iowa	Donovan Warren, Michigan*
DB	Amari Spievey, Iowa	Sherrick McManis, Northwestern*
DB	Brad Phillips, Northwestern	Brandon King, Purdue*
DB	Kurt Coleman, Ohio State	David Pender, Purdue* Jay Valai, Wisconsin*
P	Zoltan Mesko, Michigan	Jeremy Boone, Penn State

Okay. While we're quite happy that Bulaga got such high accolades for the season, we can't be alone in thinking that he was hardly the best lineman in Iowa City, much less the Big Ten. He was either on the sidelines or out of sorts for the majority of the season, and we still haven't seen the elephant-tusk-covered road grader from last season on display. He totally would have deserved a preseason OL of the year, but his performance over 2009 didn't merit such superlatives.

This is hardly a new development from these postseason lists, however; generally, the lists are crafted off of the preseason lists, and anybody whose knee blew out with more than four games left was excised and replaced by someone else. After all, Bulaga was only a second-team All-BXI player last season, even though he was by far the best lineman on the team in 2008. Seth Olsen, meanwhile, had the good fortune to be a first-teamer to start the year, so he was on the first team after 2008, despite a relatively blah senior campaign; we'd have put him about fourth on the list of Iowa linemen for 2009, behind the two bookends at tackle and Rob Bruggeman at center.

Essentially, Bulaga won the award in 2009 for his play in 2008.

At the end of the day, this comes down to stats; there aren't any for linemen, despite the ill-fated attempt to get the "pancake" introduced about a decade ago (for this, we blame Orlando Pace). It's assumed that linemen are sure things, and that as long as they stay healthy, the narrative has stayed true. After all, without stats, most scribes have no time (or no idea) how to watch linemen individually.

Frankly, though it's a subjective stat, we'd love to see how linemen grade out per play (remember that Blake Larsen famously graded at 100% during his senior season at Atlantic; lord, had those knees survived...) Without having the means to undertake such an activity ourselves, we'd imagine that if you graded each Iowa offensive lineman, Kyle Calloway or Dace Richardson would probably be at the top.

If they're not, which is possible, then it would probably be the guy who didn't even get an honorable mention: Riley Reiff. He was stout in relief of Bulaga--hell, we're pretty sure O'Brien Schofield would not have batted Reiff around like a catnip mouse, unlike some Iowa linemen--and he basically forced his way into the starting lineup even before Big Dace went down. But since he wasn't even a projected starter, to say nothing of a preseason honoree, Reiff didn't have much of a chance for postseason mention. Shame, really; dude is legit, and he hasn't even filled out his frame yet.

As for the skill players, it's a little disappointing that Stanzi only made one honorable mention team. But we get how that can happen. Spievey only making second team in the media is flatly ridiculous. If he'd put together that same season in an Ohio State uniform, he'd be getting All-American talk.

Other than that, we don't have a ton of beef; Stanzi killed himself by leading the conference in interceptions when he went down to injury, and the rest of the offensive skill players were far too inconsistent or hurt to merit much consideration. Jeremiha Hunter not getting any honorable mention love is a little disconcerting, but the BXI was lo-ho-hoaded at linebacker this season; we're not quite sure whom we'd place him above. He'll get some love in 2010 if he stays healthy. Also--given the play of Jeff Tarpinian in relief--if Hunter stays healthy between now and next September, there's no position battle at weakside backer next season, right?

So, all in all, a fair list, even if the voting on offensive linemen is basically a year behind schedule. It's a year behind for everyone else, after all. Anybody else that you folks think got shafted? Did Marvin McNutt deserve a nod, or is he still a year away from recognition?

*/Farnsworth'd

Too Easy, Drill Sergeant! Penn State 42, Michigan State 14

Kevin HD — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:49:18 -0000

More photos » by Al Goldis - AP

Zug levitates into the endzone for one of his two touchdowns yesterday. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)

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Michigan State was doing something right early. The Penn State play calls weren't designed to pick up the blitz, and so when it came Clark was usually helpless to ward off an untouched attacker. It didn't help that Clark was often under center or not in a designed roll out. The coaches weren't adding extra blockers or even giving Clark a chance to out-run them.

So the first half was a struggle that included two missed Collin Wagner field goals, although one would have been a career long. Penn State was moving the ball but not finishing drives. Combined, there were ten scoreless drives between the two teams. Penn State put one together late, and thenTom Bradley - who for the most part called a very good game - went into a miserably pathetic prevent that literally gave away a touchdown before the end of the half.

But then this happened:

The Drake play pass was a beautiful spiral and excellent catch by Quarless. Daryll found time and rhythm. Zug, Quarless, and Moye all had four catches for over 50 yards. The running game opened up to the tune of 8.8 yards per carry from Royster. It became a blowout.

Newsome came in, wasn't allowed to throw, and the teams traded garbage touchdowns. In the end, though, it was exactly what we needed to start the Great Debate with Iowa, who sputtered to a 12-0 win against a Decker-less Minnesota that has given up at least 20 points to every FBS team on the schedule.

But for now let's enjoy the success brought to you by the end-of-game scoreboard: Penn State 42, Michigan State 14, and three timeouts remaining.

Preview: Michigan State vs. Penn State

LVS — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:20:02 -0000

More photos » by Al Goldis - AP

about 1 month ago: Michigan State's Keshawn Martin (82) scores a touchdown on a 48-yard pass reception during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game against Western Michigan, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009, in East Lansing, Mich. Michigan State won 49-14. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)

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Your MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS vs. the PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS

SPARTAN STADIUM, EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN

3:30 (ET), ABC (coverage map)

WEATHER: 52 DEGREES AT KICKOFF, TEMPERATURE FALLING AFTER DUSK.

Hey, a game that's not the most important of the season! Your Spartans obviously did the heavy lifting last week against Purdue; in all likelihood, this game is not about whether MSU will make a bowl, but rather, about whether we're going to San Antonio or Orlando or, of course, rollin' down Woodward to Ford Field (!). Penn State, after a season that has to be characterized as quite disappointing, amazingly still has a shot at a BCS berth. You know the backstory: last season, PSU absolutely demolished us; the season before, however, was good times:

It appears that the play-by-play guy attended the Joe Buck school of announcing excitement. Also, I miss Devin Thomas.

So, here cometh TEH GREATEST RIVALRY GAME IN ALL TEH LAND, and the opportunity to beat a team with a pulse for the first time this season. (Says the guy whose team's best win is against Temple. w00t.) The 8-million member PSU blogosphere and commentariat seems surprisingly reticent about this game. But, after last week's defensive fiasco I'm simply not comfortable picking us to win against teams with competent offenses. Penn State is such a team. I'd love to be proven wrong.

More, after the jump.

Big game plz, Colin.

WHEN MICHIGAN STATE IS ON DEFENSE: At this point, I think the secondary is probably going to suck no matter what we do, so we might as well stack the box to try to stop the run and get as much pressure on Darryl Clark as possible. Indeed, as RUTS told us, this is what you want to do with Clark:

He's like about any other good, but not great, quarterback. If he has a clean pocket and can set his feet, he's as good as anyone in the country. If he gets hit too much, he gets rattled and starts making bad decisions with the ball. In that sense, he can be knocked back into looking like a talented quarterback in his second or third start -- he thinks he can make throws that he can't actually pull off.

Clark struggled mightily in the Iowa and Ohio State games--and even in the Illinois game--because he was under pressure (ding ding ding da da ding ding). Pressuring him may allow Clark some opportunities to scramble (as Brian said earlier this year, he's "not Michael Vick but isn't John Navarre, either."), but it's probably the best chance to contain the PSU offense. PSU partisans seem to think that our defensive line will have success against their offensive line, and pressure Clark heavily; I'm not so certain. Many anticipated that Penn State's offensive line was going to be the downfall of the team this year, as it was the most inexperienced group in the conference. PSU has allowed only 12 sacks on the season, although it looked overmatched against Adrian Clayborn and Cameron Heyward, among others. But, uh, we don't have Clayborn or Heyward; we've got a defensive line which failed to pressure Joey Elliott (until the last play, of course), and hasn't proven the ability to apply pressure on its own. My suspicion is that, if PSU is content to throw from three-step drops, they'll have a lot of success: we won't have the ability to get to Clark that quickly, and our secondary is obviously vulnerable. Bottom line: stack the box, try to get pressure, hope for the best.

And, about those guys Clark will be throwing to: RUTS sez . . .

Starting WR Chaz Powell is out for the game with a shoulder injury. In his place, you'll see a rotating group including the very tall Brett Brackett and the very quick Curtis Drake. Maybe true freshman Justin Brown gets in the game, but I doubt it. Graham Zug had a nightmare game against Indiana last week, but that was mostly due to fumbling punts. He runs good routes and gets open against passive zone coverages. Really, that goes for the whole group -- if you can press and bump them, they become ineffective quickly. [ . . . ]

Derek Moye is probably our best receiver, but he was totally shut out by Ohio State's press coverage and only had two catches for 28 yards against Indiana. Because of that, I suspect PSU will make an effort to get him involved quickly.

Moye is indeed good: 41 catches for 676 yards and 5 touchdowns this season. He's 6'5", 195 pounds . . . and if you're thinking, "holy hell, he's Mike Floyd in disguise," well, yeah, me too. He's not quite there, talent-wise, but, erm, I wouldn't want to be fighting for a jump ball against him. I suspect that our cornerbacks wouldn't want to be, either. And, yeah, about that Quarless guy: he reminds me a lot of Kellen Davis in that he's ludicrous athletically, but the results don't quite meet the expectations. But, the same could be said of Garrett Graham, and that didn't end so well for us earlier this year.

This is probably Evan Royster's last regular season game for Penn State, as most expect him to jump to the NFL.
Last year, he only carried the ball 12 times against MSU, but those carries were relatively successful, as he averaged 6.6 yards per game. This season, he's been a bit up-and-down: he had big games against Northwestern and Minnesota, but not-so-good efforts against Iowa and Ohio State. MSU's rush defense has been mostly a positive this season, although last week was a bit of a regression. I suspect that Royster will approach 100 yards but not be the deciding factor in this game. His backup, Stephfon Green, has intermittently battled injuries and hasn't played much or well since the Illinois game much earlier this season.

Safe to say at this point: one of my all-time favorite Spartan football players.

WHEN MICHIGAN STATE IS ON OFFENSE: . . . we need for Kirk Cousins to have the best game of his career. As a preliminary matter, let's stipulate that we're going to get basically nothing against Penn State on the ground: the Lions are 8th nationally against the run, and our rushing offense is not good. The goal in this game should be to do just enough to semi-effectively set up play action.

Ah, so the main event: MSU's passing offense vs. Penn State's pass defense. It starts wtih the offensive line, obviously. Penn State doesn't have Tamba Hali or Courtney Brown or anyone of similar fear-producing ability, but the stats are certainly there: they lead the conference in sacks, and while Brian noted that:

[t]he numbers are impressive—PSU is 11th nationally with three sacks per game—but there is the whole schedule thing to take into account. Jack Crawford has four sacks, all of which come against the Akrons and Temples on the schedule. In Penn State's three real-ish games, they acquired one sack (Odrick) against Minnesota, three (Crawford, Latimore, Stanley) against Illinois, and two (Hull and Crawford/Lynn) against Iowa.

. . . Penn State sacked Forcier/Robinson 5 times, and then, the next week, sacked Mike Kafka 6 times. Since then, things have cooled down a bit: they weren't able to sack Terrelle Pryor (although Pryor is surely one of the most difficult sacks in the country), and were only able to get to Ben Chappell twice last week. Nonetheless, this is an impressive line; they're led by scary beast Jared Odrick, who has 6 sacks, and the aforementioned Jack Crawford, who now has 5.5. RUTS says that:

Penn State loves to just send the defensive line if they can get away with it. The defensive scheme actually depends on it, but PSU's defensive ends have been several notches below their predecessors. There's no Aaron Maybin, Maurice Evans, or Tamba Hali on this defensive line, so they'll send linebackers on occasion, and maybe mix in a corner blitz once or twice per game, but that's it.

We can't let them get tons of pressure from the front four alone. I know it's tempting disaster to say that I *want* Navorro Bowman, Sean Lee, and the corners to blitz, but Penn State blitzing and leaving the secondary exposed is how Cousins will be able to throw for lots of yards.

Penn State's defense is statistically impressive against the pass: 16th nationally in pass efficiency defense, and 17th nationally in pass defense. Once again, I'll let RUTS write my preview for me:

Penn State can be thrown on, but they do their best to protect any obvious liabilities in the secondary. Free Safety Nick Sukay has steadily improved throughout the year. Drew Astorino (#28) plays the other safety position, and it's no secret that he's trying to fight through a shoulder injury. CB A.J. Wallace sustained a concussion last week, he's listed as "possible" for Sparty. So there may be opportunities for you in the passing game.

So, PSU is good, but they're not scary in the way that Iowa is: this season, the Lions have allowed 252 yards passing to Northwestern, 263 to Illinois (!), and 298 last week to Indiana. (Note that they won all three of those games, however.) Quite frankly, our passing offense is better than any of those teams'. I think Cousins has a big day, and throws for at least 250 yards; look for B.J. Cunningham to play the Devin Thomas role this time around. If he's able to deliver, Cousins stands in line for first team all-conference honors, so there should be some personal motivation, too.

FINAL PREDICTION: Cut and paste, for starters:

Clark picked our defense apart last year, and while you don't have Derrick Williams anymore, our pass defense is even worse this time around. Also, I have distressing visions of Jared Odrick pwning whoever's blocking him and not giving Cousins enough time to be comfortable.

More generally, Dantonio has done a lot of good things during his time at MSU, but beating teams with appreciably more talent certainly hasn't been one of those things. So, I'll remain skeptical until we finally win one of these games. It's at home, which is good, and I could definitely see the special teams stats ending up very lopsided in our favor. But PSU is the better team, and you're playing for more: a win for us would upgrade our bowl game slightly, but a win for PSU might send you guys to the BCS. So, an upset isn't out of the possibility, but I'm not particularly optimistic.

I wrote that yesterday morning, and honestly, I'm a bit more optimistic now. Penn State fans seem quite worried about this game, and one columnist even questions whether Penn State's players even have their hearts into the game anymore. Which, like, what? Even if that's true, you're playing for the BCS! I'd dismiss it out of hand if the sentiment didn't seem to be a common one across the PSU internets.

One thing that doesn't fit into my normal preview format: if you've been reading previews of this game anywhere else, you'll know that PSU's special teams have been an unmitigated disaster this year, and ours have been very good. I'm normally skeptical that special teams play has any predictive value, but here the discrepancy between the teams seems so great that it may indeed be relevant this week. Keshawn Martin, Brett Swenson, Aaron Bates: keep on doing what you do so well. kthx.

Nonetheless, this is a pretty talented football team we're playing. PSU is excellent on defense, and the offense -- with many of the same players -- ripped us apart last year. It seems that I'm saying this every week now, but truly, our defense will determine whether we win this game. If they show up, we have a chance. If they play like they did last week, we don't. It's awfully tempting to say that MSU wins this game on the strength of the passing game and special teams play. But, visions of Quarless and Zug running rampant across the middle of the field prevent me from tempting fate, for now. Penn State 31, Michigan State 27.

Your thoughts welcome, of course.

Hoosier Headlines for November 16, 2009.

John M (The Crimson Quarry) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:23:49 -0000

Royster provides spark on ground, through air (The Daily Collegian Online)
"The stat has become as recognizable as Penn State's 9-2 record or his No. 22 jersey: The Nittany Lions are undefeated when Evan Royster rushes for at least 100 yards."
Late collapse culprit again (The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, Ind.)
"IU has led in the fourth quarters of three of its four Big Ten road games. "
Second half dooms Hoosiers (Indiana Daily Student )
"In the third quarter, Penn State had possession for more than 11 of the 15 total minutes. The final drive of the quarter for the Nittany Lions used the remaining 5:50 on 14 plays as they marched to the IU 2-yard line."
IU back off? Not likely (The News-Sentinel - Fort Wayne IN)
"Crean wants players fit enough to sustain the full-throttle pace he wants to play, fierce enough to overcome older and physically superior teams, and that won’t happen with practices your mom might run unless your mom happens to be Tennessee women’s coach Pat Summitt."
Hard work pays for IU's Jones (The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, Ind.)
Playing time at IU comes at a premium (The Indianapolis Star)

Wha Happened? Week Eleven

RossWB — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:30:24 -0000

There were other games played. Stuff happened. Dickheads won, dumbasses lost, many points were scored. So Wha Happened?

Even if they cheat, Michigan's defense can't stop anyone.

Wisconsin 45, Michigan 24
The Punch-A-Bully-While-He's-Down Tour stopped in Madison this week, and the Badgers were all too happy to take their pound of LOLverine flesh. For the fifth straight game, the Big Ten's worst defense gave up thirty or more points -- in fact, the Michigan defense has given up thirty or more points in all but one of their conference games (a 26-20 OT loss to Michigan State that began their current tailspin), an ignominious accomplishment that no other Big Ten team can match. Scott Tolzien had a fine day (16/24, 240 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT) and John Clay continued to firm up his resume for All-Big Ten first team and even Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year (if win-loss records didn't matter, Michigan State's Kirk Cousins or Purdue's Keith Smart might be shoo-ins, but win-loss records typically do matter), pounding away for 151 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. And assuming my crack research is correct, if Michigan loses next week and Indiana wins, then Big Blue will finish all alone in the Big Ten cellar for the first time since 1962. Good times ahead for RichRod, no doubt.

Mark Dantonio only looks like he's about to rip the official's throat out with his teeth.

Michigan State 40, Purdue 37
In what amounted to a playoff game for bowl eligibility (Purdue needed to win its remaining games to qualify for a bowl; Sparty needed only to split their remaining two games, and this was far more winnable than the season finale against Penn State), Sparty had one more bullet than the Fightin' Danny Hopes. The highest-scoring conference game of the season turned into a sometimes sloppy shootout between two teams with rifle-armed quarterbacks and inconsistent (to be charitable) defenses. Although, statistically, it was a damn odd game: Purdue killed them in total yards of offense (524 to 362), offensive plays run (92 to 49!), and time of possession (40:39 to 19:21). But Michigan State was all about the big play yesterday. Their first touchdown was a fumble return on the game's first play from scrimmage. Their second touchdown came on a three-play drive that featured a 55-yard pass. Their third touchdown was a one-play drive with a 73-yard touchdown bomb. Their fourth (and final) touchdown drive was set up by a blocked field goal and a 45-yard run. Plus, they made not one, but two 52-yard field goals. (I covet Brett Swenson. I covet him very much.) Joey Elliot channeled the spirit of Purdue gunslingers past and had himself a fine day -- 39/55, 373 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT -- but it wasn't enough and the Boilermakers will be sitting at home for a second straight season. At least their fans can enjoy basketball season.

Bill Lynch: not a fan of Big Ten officiating.

Penn State 31, Indiana 20
Indiana forced four turnovers in the first half, conceded none, jumped out to a 10-0 lead... but still found themselves in a 10-10 stalemate heading into halftime. Why? Because they are Indiana football and that is just what happens to them, especially this year. Bill Lynch again looked like he wanted to choke a ~~bitch~~ Big Ten official after they ignored a potential holding call on Evan Royster's game-tying touchdown run at the end of the second quarter, but the story of Indiana's frustrations this season isn't the screwjobs they've gotten from the refs on more than one occasion. No, it's in their dumbfounding inability to convert the staggering amount of turnovers they've forced into more actual points. Yesterday they converted those four turnovers into one touchdown. Two weeks ago, the six turnovers they forced against Iowa led to just three points (remarkably, none of their three touchdown drives came after Iowa turnovers). The week before that, they turned three second-half interceptions from Mike Kafka into zero points. In the only other game in that span, against Wisconsin two weeks ago, they forced only one turnover but did manage to turn it into a touchdown -- huzzah for efficiency! All told, that's 14 forced turnovers in the last four games, leading to a combined seventeen points. Not coincidentally, they're also 0-4 in those games and they've now been officially eliminated from bowl contention. As for Penn State, the first half looked like an ugly hangover from the Ohio State game, but the second half was a respectable effort that kept them on pace to win ten games this season.

It's all comin' up ZOOKER, baby.

Northwestern 21, Illinois 16
Oh who fucking cares. Did the ground open up and swallow both of these teams and their glorified Monopoly piece trophy and cast them into the deepest bowels of Hell? No? Meh. Watching Jim Tressel try to decide which sweatervest to wear would have been more entertaining than the first half of this game, which featured incompetent offenses and at least three missed field goals. Action picked up in the second half, but, again, who gives a fuck? Illinois locked up another bowl-free season, continuing the really positive run of momentum they've had since that Rose Bowl run two years ago.

PLAYING QUARTERBACK: UR DOIN IT WRONG.

Minnesota 16, South Dakota State 13
Another week, another dreadful offensive performance by the Gophers. Their lone touchdown was a fumble returned for a touchdown that they needed to take only three yards to get into the end zone. Two of their three field goals came from short fields set up by turnovers (Jackrabbit QB Thomas O'Brien was, sadly, a turnover machine yesterday: he had a pair of interceptions and a pair of fumbles). While some credit is due to SDSU for buckling down in the red zone, this sort of incompetence is hardly new to Minnesota's offense this year. Aside from that offensive explosion against Michigan State on Halloween (and considering how many other teams have sliced up Sparty's defense, Minnesota's performance against them doesn't look quite as impressive), their offense has been dormant for some time: they've amassed fewer than 300 yards of total offense in four of their last five games. But, hey, at least they got that crucial sixth win -- now they can start making travel plans to the Pizza! Pizza! Bowl.

Game 10: Indiana Hoosiers at Penn State Nittany Lions.

John M (The Crimson Quarry) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:38:40 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

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Penn State Nittany Lions

2009 record: 8-2 (4-2)

2008 record: 11-2 (7-1), Big Ten Champions; lost to USC in Rose Bowl

2008 Sagarin: 8

2009 Sagarin: 19

Coach: Joe Paterno (44th season, 391-129-3)

Series: Penn State leads 12-0.

TV: noon, Big Ten Network

Blogs: Black Shoe Diaries, Zombie Nation, The Nittany Line.

IU must win out to become bowl eligible, and the next obstacle is a team that IU has never defeated. Despite the 0-12 record, IU has been reasonably competitive with Penn State when playing at home. Of the five games played in Bloomington (plus the one game played in Indianapolis), four have been decided by a touchdown or less (although the 1994 game wasn't really that close). Of the six games in State College, only IU's first trip, a 38-31 loss in 1993, was competitive.

Penn State began the season with national championship hopes, but the Nittany Lions have dropped two home games, to Iowa and to Ohio State. The Penn State offense has been respectable, but a dominant defense has been the key to the Lions' 8-2 record. Penn State allows only 262 yards per game and barely ten points per game, both top ten figures. In the 21-10 loss to Iowa and the 24-7 loss to Ohio State, the Penn State offense has failed, not the defense. Quarterback Daryll Clark has been respectable as a passer, completing 61 percent of his passes and throwing for 18 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. He also has run for 168 yards and 6 touchdowns. Evan Royster leads the Lions with 895 yards and an incredible 5.7 yards per carry. Penn State spreads things around with the passing game: wide receivers Graham Zug, Derek Moye, and Chaz Powell, and tight end Andrew Quarless all have between 347 and 648 receiving yards. On defense, as always, there are too many to name for the Nittany Lions, but linebacker Josh Hull averages nearly 10 tackles per game.

The Hoosiers have struggled to run the ball, and despite moving the ball reasonably well in the air, have struggled to score. The Penn State defense has excelled at both stopping the run and keeping opponents out of the end zone. There's really no positive gloss to put on this game. IU is a decided underdog, and a win would be a big surprise. Despite a mostly competitive season, the Hoosiers have no more margin for error.

Royster And Bowman To Bolt?

Run Up The Score — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:00:59 -0000

Some Senior Day speculation -- is it also the last home game for Evan Royster and Navorro Bowman?

Bowman and Royster might not be in Maybin's class, but both of them are clearly NFL-caliber players. Both would go very high in next April's draft.

Todd McShay, a well-regarded talent evaluator who works for ESPN and Scouts, Inc., ranks Bowman as the 13th-best player in college football. He has Royster ranked 50th.

Bowman and Royster should at least think about leaving early.

They should think about it, yes. There's something to be said for Penn State's deficient offensive line and Royster's lack of success this season, but Royster can't be totally excused for his performance in 2009. He hasn't been the same cerebral, decisive runner we saw in 2008, even when given solid running lanes. Bob Flounders makes a hell of a point in that column, though -- just wait until you see opposing teams load up against Penn State's running game next year with Kevin Newsome under center.

Royster won't be a combine sensation and if McShay thinks he's the 50th best player on the board, it's further proof that McShay is certifiable. With so many NFL teams going to a by-committee approach to their backfields, only the true superstar running backs are going to be selected in the first two rounds. Royster is a fine player, but isn't in that class. If he projects as a 3rd or 4th round pick, is that enough for him to make the leap?

As for Bowman, he's a guy with a tough background who could be enticed by NFL money, but his play has severely declined this season. Coming into 2009, he seemed to be a sure-fire first or second round draft pick, and most of us had assumed that he'd be elsewhere in 2010. Legal troubles hampered him in the off-season and a groin injury slowed him down this fall. He still looks a few steps slower than in 2008, and was actually a weak link in the defense against Northwestern and Ohio State. Whether that's because of conditioning and other lingering effects from the injury, nobody outside of Lasch really knows. If he decides to declare for the NFL, he'll have to prove to scouts that he's fully recovered and can stay out of trouble.

They're both coin flips at this point. Royster may want to avoid the inevitable beating he'll endure behind a still-developing offensive line. Bowman may decide to get out before another lower body injury takes away his speed, or he runs into legal trouble again in Happy Valley. Both could easily justify going the Justin King route and trying to get a one-year head start on their second NFL contracts, where the big money really is for non-first rounders.

Making Big Plays?

BSD — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:30:27 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

about 1 month ago: Penn State head coach Joe Paterno, right, frowns as he looks at assistant coaches Larry Johnson, center, and Tom Bradley, left, during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Ohio State in State College, Pa., Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009. Ohio State won 24-7(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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We just couldn't make some big plays. -Joe Paterno

When I heard Joe Paterno mutter those words in his post game press conference, I just shook my head. What kind of big play were you hoping for, Joe? Were you hoping Evan Royster could run over right guard for four yards instead of two? Were you hoping tight end Mickey Shuler was going to turn that five yard pass into a seventy yard touchdown? Please don't tell me you were hoping the special teams were going to bail you out sooner or later. You can't return fair catches for touchdowns, you know.

It's not hard to figure out what went wrong on Saturday. Ohio State kept pinning the Penn State offense deep. The special teams couldn't buy them any room. Joe didn't want to take chances, so he played it safe by running right into the teeth of the Buckeye defensive line. Then they kept giving Ohio State the ball at midfield which allowed them to take some chances on offense. Once the Buckeyes got the lead, they shoved the dagger home. Or arm-punted it home. Whatever. Joe Paterno got suckered into playing Tressel Ball, and he lost again.

I felt bad for the players as the boos rained down in the fourth quarter. It's important that they know those boos were not intended for them. Though the players made their share of mistakes, they just ran the plays that were called. It's not their fault that the play calling did not put them in a position to succeed.

Nobody should pin this loss on Daryll Clark. He played well considering his offensive line stood about as stiff as a house of cards in a hurricane. He made some ill-advised throws late in the game, but you could tell he was pressing and trying to make something happen. You can't blame him for that.

Truthfully, the interception was the fault of Andrew Quarless for not paying attention and having his hands up. The ball went right past him to the defender. Quarless had an absolutely terrible game. His blocking was as bad as I've ever seen it. In his defense, there were times he was asked to block a defensive lineman all by himself. That's a mismatch, but truth be told, if you want to play in the NFL, you need to make those blocks, son. And maybe if you catch the ball once in a while that would be good too.

The offensive line is what it is: A decent left tackle, a center that is probably better suited to play guard, and three inexperienced guys out there hoping they don't screw up. I'm sure Ako Poti was a very fine junior college player, but he's clearly not Big Ten material. The right tackle position has been a disappointment all season no matter who plays there. At left guard, Johnnie Troutman was so bad he got pulled in the second half. In fairness to him, he obviously injured his leg somehow in the first half. Matt Stankiewitch wasn't much better, but he's just a redshirt sophomore so I'm not writing him off yet. Next year everyone returns except Poti, McCormack, and Landolt. I have confidence they'll get better, and if not there are some pretty good freshman who should push them. This was just a year where rebuilding the offensive line hurt us, and I think we knew it would going into the season.

The defense played pretty well considering the offense went three-and-out seven times and gave Ohio State a short field to work with all night. But they were far from perfect.

Based on the last two games, Navorro Bowman is nowhere near ready for the NFL. Maybe his leg is bothering him or something and we don't know about it, but all night long he looked slow and his tackling form was terrible. Terrelle Pryor made him look ridiculous on his touchdown run. And I noticed it looked like Bowman was struggling to catch his breath just midway through the first quarter. Remember his 90 yard fumble return against Eastern Illinois where he ran out of gas with 30 yards to go? And remember how Paterno called him out a few weeks ago for lousy conditioning? It showed on Saturday night. Bowman better start getting his butt out of bed at 5 AM and running steps if he wants to play in the league.

It's been pretty obvious to me all year that the weakness of this defense is the safeties. Ohio State was the first team capable of making them pay for it. It was obvious they were picking on Astorino all afternoon. It's been known for some time that Astorino has been nursing a shoulder injury of some kind. He's not his aggressive self and it's obvious he's avoiding contact. Nick Sukay is doing an okay job at the other safety spot, but he doesn't have the athletic ability to make up for a cornerback that blows his coverage. I'm completely disappointed that Gerald Hodges hasn't seen more playing time this year. All we heard about all spring and summer long was how great he looked in practice. Well, why couldn't he see a few series when a game actually meant something? Instead they moved him to linebacker as a knee jerk reaction to Sean Lee getting injured. Way to waste his redshirt.

It sounds like I'm pretty down on the team right now, but really I'm not. I predicted 10-2 with an outside chance at 11-1 or 12-0. We all knew it was going to be a tough year to go undefeated when you have no experience in the offensive line, wide receiver, and secondary. This was a rebuilding year, so to win ten games and go to a New Years Day bowl game should make us feel pretty good about the direction of the program. It sure beats the four loss seasons of 2006 and 2007. And it sure as Hell beats the unmitigated disasters we saw in the early part of this decade. So this loss hurts right now, but we will rise again. Look out for this team down the road.

I'm not going to break down the offense and defense this week as I usually do. I've said everything I want to say right here. And besides, it's my blog and I'll cry if I want to.

And Here Come The Pretzels

Run Up The Score — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:42:59 -0000

On yesterday's ESPN GameDay show, Chris Fowler and the crew passed along information that Penn State coaches indicated their offensive playbook would be uncharacteristically open against Ohio State. The coaching staff trusted the improved offensive line, and especially trusted Daryll Clark to win the game for Penn State. If such a strategy was ever in place for the Penn State offense, it was scrapped after their first offensive play of the game as defensive end Cameron Heyward bolted through Dennis Landolt and Evan Royster, defensive tackle Todd Denlinger spun around Johnnie Troutman, and defensive end Thaddeus Gibson hopped over a weak chop attempt by Ako Poti. The result, 2nd and 16, and 59 minutes of puckering.

And shame on you for not fighting through your doubleteam, Doug Worthington!

Sifting through the rubble this morning, and nothing has changed. Yesterday's game was an absolute owning of the home team -- coaches, players, fans, offense, defense, special teams -- from beginning to end. Cameron Heyward is an unblockable monster. No matter which Penn State offensive lineman he lined up against, they were quickly and embarrassingly thrown aside. Daryll Clark was hit and hurried, and again unable to carry the team in those circumstances.

Clark will take some justified heat for this loss. Fair or not, his place in Penn State quarterbacking history will be roughly alongside Wally Richardson's 1995-1996 run -- fondly remembered, but nowhere approaching legendary. Daryll will leave Penn State with a shared Big Ten title, love and respect from a vast majority of the fanbase, and gaudy stats against awful teams. People will be happy to see him when he returns to campus in 5, 10, 20 years. But he won't be a Penn State legend or anything close to it.

I suspect the coaching staff feels embarrassed this morning. There's absolutely zero excuse for the ongoing clusterfrick that is Penn State's special teams unit. If Joe Paterno expects to win games with defense and special teams, it's probably a fine idea to actually have good special teams. Given the athletes on this team, are we supposed to believe that Drew Astorino is our best ~~punt returner~~ designated fair catcher? Penn State's punt team practically handed Ohio State their first touchdown and took the life out of the crowd. And it's clearly not a matter of putting bad athletes on the field for kicking plays -- the players chasing Ray Small down the field on his first punt return are A.J. Wallace, Knowledge Timmons, Josh Hull, Chris Colasanti, Navorro Bowman, Brandon Beachum, and Andrew Quarless. And they were put in a bad position by an awful Jeremy Boone punt.

The playcalling was atrocious. If you don't have enough confidence to throw the ball on 3rd and 5, do us all a favor and kneel on the ball three straight plays and punt. Your defense will get the same amount of rest, and there's no risk at all! Beats the hell out of running the same tired crap right at Ohio State's strengths, or letting your quarterback get battered play after play.

Tom Bradley and the defense don't get a pass for this either -- they let the team down repeatedly on some crucial third downs. D'anton Lynn blew a coverage that led to DeVier Posey's long touchdown. On Pryor's rushing touchdown, Bowman had him dead in the backfield and was shaken off. They had their chances to turn the game around, or even just get off the damned field, and failed.

Finally, man up and give credit to Terrelle Pryor and Ohio State. This can't be stressed enough: they dominated every single aspect of the game. As for Penn State, they had their two toughest opponents at home and blew it. While 10-2 is still within reach and sounds great, this season has already been cast upon the disappointment heap. Penn State will end up in some middle-tier bowl with a cheesy sponsor. Don't worry. We'll pretend to care about it.