SB Nation - Nick Sukay

Preview: Michigan State vs. Penn State

LVS — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:20:02 -0000

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.

Conversations With the Enemy: Talking Penn State with Run Up The Score

LVS — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:07:03 -0000

More photos » by TONY DING - AP

2 months ago: Penn State tight end Andrew Quarless (10) scores a touchdown after a 60-yard reception in the second quarter of an NCAA college football game against Michigan, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009, in Ann Arbor, Mich. (AP Photo/Tony Ding)

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Hello again. I traded a few questions about Saturday's EPIC rivalry game with Run Up The Score from Black Shoe Diaries, SBN's leviathan Penn State blog. My answers to his questions should be up at BSD shortly.

Below, I'm in bold.

MSU-PSU: great rivalry or greatest rivalry?

Greatest, of course! How else could you explain two teams fighting over a pre-school arts and crafts monstrosity like the Land Grant Trophy?

Penn State allowed almost 300 yards passing against Indiana last Saturday; that statistic alone gives MSU fans at least some hope, as our offense is essentially pass-or-bust this year. How has PSU's pass defense been this season? Are there any clear vulnerabilities in the secondary?

Keep in mind that Indiana threw the ball 51 times and was playing from behind in the second half last week, but yes, the larger point is that teams know it's better to throw on Penn State than attempt to run. I would not be remotely surprised if MSU attempts close to 50 passes on Saturday, although I doubt they'll reach the 61 passes thrown by Brian Hoyer against PSU back in 2006 -- and that was in a 17-13 game. 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.

[More, after the jump.]

PSU leads the conference in sacks. Does the pressure come primarily from the defensive line, or will the Lions regularly mix in blitz packages?

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.

The book on Darryl Clark seems to be that he's fantastic if given time, but quickly becomes very average if he's subjected to pressure. Is that mostly correct? What are his major strengths and weaknesses?

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.

Can you tell us a bit about PSU's receivers and tight ends? Our pass defense has been atrocious, and Andrew Quarless, in particular, worries me greatly.

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.

As for Quarless, he has all the talent in the world but had squandered it until this season with various off-field issues. He scares a lot of teams, although he's only broken 50 yards receiving once this year, due to a 60 yard touchdown catch against Michigan. 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.

Special teams have seemed to be a major problem all season long for PSU. Have things improved at all in recent weeks? If not, which areas are the most dire? (Happily enough, MSU's special teams have been mostly fantastic all season long.)

Improved? No, no. It's a worsening nightmare by the week. Penn State is 113th in kickoff returns, 107th in punt returns, 114th in net punting, 57th in kickoff coverage, and 117th in punt return yardage allowed. On top of that, our punt returners (Zug and Astorino) went from being Designated Fair Catchers to dropping everything in sight last week. So relatively speaking, we're downright awesome in covering kickoffs. In our two losses, the game turned on a blocked punt for a touchdown against Iowa and a punt return inside the 10 yard line by Ohio State's Ray Small.

Is there anyone on offense or defense for PSU that MSU fans probably haven't heard of, but that we should keep an eye on?

Curtis Drake is a good candidate on offense. He's a true freshman receiver, and is extremely elusive with the ball in his hands. Last week, PSU's offense was jumpstarted by a long gainer on an end-around by Drake. Defensively, freshman Stephon Morris has seen a lot of time in Penn State's nickel package and has played well beyond anyone's expectations. Given Michigan State's propensity to throw the ball, you'll see a lot of him Saturday.

Finally, generally speaking, how are you feeling about the game?

Justifiably nervous. I don't like hearing that Michigan State excels on special teams -- that's a huge point that can't be overlooked. Penn State tends to start slowly, especially on the road, and that seems to be an especially bad idea this week with a possible BCS at-large bid on the line. Michigan State will be plenty motivated, given the beating they received last year at Beaver Stadium and Mark Dantonio's pissy-pants antics of calling two defensive timeouts during the waning seconds of the game in sub-freezing temperatures. And every Penn State fan is expecting a minimum of two special teams disasters.

Thanks to RUTS, and I wish his team only the absolute worst luck this Saturday.

Malicious Internet Interrogation: The Only Colors

Run Up The Score — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:29:20 -0000

More photos » by Amy Sancetta - AP

8 months ago: Peanut the dog, dressed in a Michigan State Spartan costume, is seen outside Ford Field before the semifinal game between Michigan State and Connecticut during the men's NCAA Final Four college basketball tournament Saturday, April 4, 2009, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)

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Part one of an exchange between myself and LVS of SBNation's fine Michigan State blog, "The Only Colors". His questions, my answers. The other half of Malicious Internet Interrogation will likely be up later today or tomorrow. And don't forget this afternoon's basketball game against UNC-Wilmington. Tip-off is at 4:00 p.m., game to be broadcast on ESPNU (and ~~presumably, ESPN360~~ yeah, apparently not). We'll have an open thread.

1. MSU-PSU: great rivalry or greatest rivalry?

Greatest, of course! How else could you explain two teams fighting over a pre-school arts and crafts monstrosity like the Land Grant Trophy?

2. Penn State allowed almost 300 yards passing against Indiana last Saturday; that statistic alone gives MSU fans at least some hope, as our offense is essentially pass-or-bust this year. How has PSU's pass defense been this season? Are there any clear vulnerabilities in the secondary?

Keep in mind that Indiana threw the ball 51 times and was playing from behind in the second half last week, but yes, the larger point is that teams know it's better to throw on Penn State than attempt to run. I would not be remotely surprised if MSU attempts close to 50 passes on Saturday, although I doubt they'll reach the 61 passes thrown by Brian Hoyer against PSU back in 2006 -- and that was in a 17-13 game. 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.

[For the rest of our Q&A, including discussion of SPECIAL TEAMS FAIL and much more, please head over to The Only Colors.]

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.

The Big Ten at the Midpoint (Part 1 of 3)

Bama Hawkeye — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 07:45:50 -0000

We've made it through six weeks of the college football season. For everyone but Illinois (who moved a non-conference game to the end of their schedule), we're halfway home. Here at The Rivalry, Esq., it's a perfect time to step back and assess what we have seen so far. So, in 11 questions, let's analyze what we know about the Big Ten.

The Rivalry, Esq. asks:

What one Big Ten player would you import onto the Michigan Wolverines' roster to give them the best chance of winning the Big Ten next year?

Graham Filler Answers:

A decent safety would instantly change the complexion of the Wolverine defense. Michigan's secondary is injured, inexperienced, and just lost Boubacar Cissoko to suspention. His backup, JT Floyd, was ineffective, forcing Greg Robinson to move safety Troy Woolfolk to cornerback. The Wolverines are giving up the third most passing yards in the Big Ten, having been torched by Jimmy Clausen, Ben Chappell, and most recently Ricky Stanzi. I would remedy this situation by leaving Woolfolk and Donovan Warren at the corners and importing Kurt Coleman from OSU onto the Michigan team. Coleman is a ballhawking, hard hitting strong safety who would give Michigan a veteran presence in the middle of their secondary and stop the big plays that killed them against Iowa.

Here's Part II and Part III of the midpoint assessment.

The Rivalry, Esq. asks:

What team has been the biggest disappointment this season?

Jerdogg1 Answers:

Without question it has to be Illinois. In fact, anybody who would answer this question differently probably deserves a quick kick to the seeds. This very blog predicted that the Illini would be an 8 or 9 win team, and go to play Georgia in the Outback bowl. The fact is this team is not good. The early line is that they are favored over the Hoosiers this weekend by a couple of points, and I would have to question why? The Illini SHOULD have more talent than the Hoosiers, but Indiana has played better than Illinois this season. Ron Zook is a good recruiter, but that might be where his talent stops.

The Rivalry, Esq. Asks:

What team has been the most pleasant surprise this season?

HMLee Answers:

I may get some flak for writing this, since I am the quasi-Wisconsin writer around these parts, but I have to go with the Badgers. Sure, arguments can be made for Iowa and Michigan. But, let's be honest here, while we may not have expected (save for perhaps Bama Hawkeye) Iowa to be 6-0 right now, we all knew they'd be good this year. Michigan, of course, came out of nowhere when most of us expected them to be enjoying the Rotel at the bottom of the conference. Yet, lately it seems as though Forcier has turned back into a freshman pumpkin, and it looks like they'll realistically be a 7-5 team going into bowl season. Wisconsin, on the other hand, realistically could be 10-2, or 11-1 with a well placed upset going into the bowls.

This, to me, qualifies as the most pleasant surprise given the surrounding circumstances. Many a Wisconsin fan had been at least considering calling for Bielema's head after last year, especially if we had another abysmal season. Many of us were questioning the selection of him as successor to Alvarez and wondering if he could win games when relying on his own recruits instead of those he inherited with his head coaching title. Beyond the coaching, there were questions a plenty about a QB who seemed like a career backup and a defense that was comprised largely of freshman and sophomores. Wisconsin is of course a few stupid mistakes away from being that 7-5 team again, but as we are only talking about the first half here, they are my most pleasant surprise of this season.

The Rivalry, Esq. asks:

How does Ohio State's defense, with all those new faces, stack up with some of the wrecking crews that the Buckeyes have had this decade?

Law Buckeye Answers:

While every Ohio State defense since the holy grail unit of 2002 has played smart, and fundamentally solid football under the "bend but not break" banner, not all have possessed the core grit, and swarming intensity of this year's squad. Let's start by considering how the other defenses this decade stack up:

9. 2000

8. 2004

7. 2001

6. 2008

5. 2007

4. 2005

3. 2003

2. 2006

1. 2002

My gut feeling is that there's been two high points this decade (2002-2003 and 2005-2006) with relative re-loading periods in between. I think we're on the cusp of another summit in 2009 and 2010.

Some readers might be surprised that I put the 2007 and 2008 classes as low as I do considering they were populated by household names like James Laurinaitis, Marcus Freeman, and Malcolm Jenkins. While those units had textbook form, I've always felt they lacked the earnestness and aggressiveness of the 2005 Bobby Carpenter/A.J. Hawk squad. For the last two seasons, our defense has played to not get beat, rather than to smother, intimidate, and wreck. This is one of the reasons I think they struggled against spread offenses.

This year feels like a return to 2005. Preseason no-names like Brian Rolle and Adam Spitler are flying all over the field, popping pads, and jumping routes. Arguably the deepest defensive line of the decade is mangling blockers at the line of scrimmage, twisting, contorting, and having its way with centers, guards, and tackles. (If you need any proof of this go back and look at what they did to USC, the "best" offensive line in the country). Unlike the 2007/2008 classes, this year's troops are regularly getting pressure without having to blitz, and are forcing turnovers in key game situations (think early in the Illinois game, and all day against Wisconsin).

This defense just might be the meanest and fastest of the decade, but to compete with the star spangled units of 2006, and 2002 it needs an offense that's proficient enough to keep it off the field, and keep its legs fresh for late game stands.

If that offense materializes by 2010, the unit is primed to end the decade on a high note.

The Rivalry, Esq. Asks:

What was the defining moment of the first half of the 2009 season?

Bama Hawkeye Answers:

With a 10-5 lead over Iowa in the 4th Quarter, Penn State lined up to punt on a 4th and 3 from near midfield. Iowa played it cautious and had a "Punt Safe" coverage in place. There was one player assigned to catch the punt, nine players assigned to play defense against a possible fake, and one player assigned to rush the punter. Luckily for Iowa, Adrian Clayborn was the player assigned to rush. He made an inside move on blocker Nick Sukay, extended his giant, bear-like paws and swatted the punt of Jeremy Boone. Blessed with a perfect carom, Clayborn scooped up the punt and strode 53 yards into the endzone. 11-10 Iowa. Penn State would not lead again.

That play did more than just win the game for the Hawkeyes. It shattered the preconceived notion that the entire Big Ten season could be boiled down to the date in November when Ohio State traveled to Happy Valley to face the Nittany Lions. Suddenly, the league race looked a whole lot more open. This wasn't going to be the two team race that we had las year.

Now, Iowa could lose their next two games and make their Penn State victory moot. But today, at the halfway point, no moment looms larger than the instant in which Adrian Clayborn decided that Iowa would contend for the Big Ten title too.

Grading the Penn State Defense Against Eastern Illinois

BSD — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:00:39 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

Penn State defenders Jack Crawford, right, and Jared Odrick, celebrate Odrick's sack of Eastern Illinois quarterback Jake Christensen by hugging as grown men do during the first half of an NCAA college football game in State College, Pa., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009. Penn State won 52-3. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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This is going to be short and sweet because, well, it's Eastern Illinois.

Defensive Line

The defensive line dominated as you expect against an opponent like this. The Panthers only managed 59 yards rushing on 32 attempts. Crawford, Ogbu, and Odrick combined for 4 sacks, 6 TFL, and 9 tackles. Odrick was particularly dominating, and Ogbu forced the fumble Navorro Bowman returned for the touchdown.

A bunch of the younger guys like James Terry, Sean Stanley, Chima Okoli, Jordan Hill, and Kevion Latham all got significant playing time.

Final Grade: A

Linebackers

Josh Hull and Navorro Bowman looked good. Hull had 11 tackles while Bowman had five. But Eastern Illinois really tried to run away from Bowman (wouldn't you?). Still he managed to get 2 TFL and of course he had fumble return for the touchdown. Bani Gbadyuand Nate Stupar did nothing to impress me.

A lot of the younger guys got in the game late, but to be honest I lost interest at that point and didn't see anything remarkable in their performance. I was glad to see Chris Colasanti get in there and get a sack. He's a good kid that just hasn't had his Penn State career go the way I'm sure he pictured it.

Final Grade: B

Secondary

I felt like the secondary took a step back in this game. Christensen only threw for 137 yards, but they just didn't look very tight. A.J. Wallace was making a lot of tackles 10-15 yards down field. He did have the interception, but I credit that to Ogbu who pressured Christensen forcing him to lob a ball up for grabs. It's not like Wallace baited him or read the play perfectly and anticipated it was going there.

I was really disappointed with Drew Astorino and Nick Sukay. They both just looked slow in getting to the ball, and Astorino flat out dropped a pick. Maybe it's time we give Gerald Hodges a look or two in the backfield. I was disappointed to not notice him in the game until late in the fourth quarter, and that was at outside linebacker. I guess we need the depth there right now, but I'm worried that the coaches' knee-jerk reaction to some linebacker injuries is going to stunt his development at safety. He had a really nice teeth-rattling hit on his lone tackle.

But once again I thought D'Anton Lynn and Stephon Morris played really well. Add Knowledge Timmons to that list as well. I'm not at all worried about our cornerback situation next year.

Final Grade: C

Special Teams

Penn State only punted twice all day which is an indicator of just how dominant they were. Boone only punted once for 37 yards which you would think dooms the special teams for a failing grade this week. Ryan had the other punt for 43 yards. Breen also got a shot at a kickoff, and nailed it in the endzone for a touchback. I think he deserves another shot, and Wagner needs to be put on notice that just getting it past the ten yard line isn't going to cut it anymore. The real season is starting, so if he can't get the job done, we'll give it to someone else who can.

But overall the special teams actually wasn't that bad this week. The kick off return coverage still looks a little soft. There were too many returns getting out to the 30 yard line, but I don't recall any kicks where we were a shoe string tackle away from giving up six points. For the most part they did a good job of filtering the play into the middle and containing it. Now they just have to get more aggressive at it. Maybe it's time to put Stupar back out there and let him destroy the wedge like he did last year. Curse you, Penn State linebacker knee hating God for putting us in the depth situation.

Both of Penn State's kick off returns went for touchbacks, so we can't evaluate the kick return game this week.

But the punt return game may have a new star. Justin Brown caught three punts on Saturday and his 20 yard return was the longest play Penn State has had all year.

Final Grade: B

Defensive Coaching

Nothing special to report here. They were fast and aggressive in the beginning until the game was in hand. Then they called off the dogs and put the younger guys in. Kudos to the coaches for keeping the intensity up against a lesser opponent. I was also glad to see a few cornerback blitzes in the package. This is a welcome new wrinkle.

Final Grade: A

Joe Paterno Press Conference Recap

BSD — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:54:54 -0000

More photos » by Pat Little - AP

2 months ago: Penn State coach Joe Paterno listens to a question during his weekly news conference on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009 in State College, Pa. Penn State takes on at Illinois in an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Oct. 3, in Champaign, Ill. (AP Photo/Pat Little)

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Here are the bullets from Joe Paterno's press conference today.

Obviously, Joe was disappointed with the results on Saturday. He blamed turnovers and field position as the major contributors, but didn't want to take anything away from Iowa who played a good football game. He really liked the effort by the team.
When asked about the blocked punt Joe said he warned the kids all week it was going to come down to a kicking play. Joe reminded the team that the 1982 team lost to Alabama on a blocked punt and came back to win the national championship. Nice story, but I don't think this team has the umph in the schedule to climb that high in the polls.
Joe stressed the blocked punt was not Jeremy Boone's fault.
Obviously he was disappointed with the turnovers. Pointed out they came from some of their most dependable kids. Can't do much to fix it other than just work through it.
Sean Lee is still day-to-day. Lee says he can go, but it's up to the medical staff.
Joe thinks Collin Wagner is doing a good job on the kickoffs. Earlier in the year the coverage was bad and let a few opponents get back to the 40 yard line. The coverage was better on Saturday and he's pleased with the kickoff coverage game now.
Joe says when you get knocked down you have to get up angry and fight. Says we'll find out if this team has some fighters. He thinks they'll be alright.
Joe thinks the defensive line did an excellent job.
Some reporter asked Paterno if Joe Suhey was excited to be playing in his home state of Illinois this weekend which prompted this major piece of pwnage.

Really, you guys (laughing). You know we’ve got a football team that just got licked. If you think I’m going around saying are you happy? Are you happy? Are you happy? What would you like to do? Would you like to — me to come over and brush your teeth for you tomorrow morning because you’re going to be going home. No, come on, knock it off, will you.

When asked about Juice WIlliams, Paterno gave the canned "He's a heck-uf-a athlete" response.
Joe is pleased with the performance of Andrew Quarless
Joe sidestepped a question about Wisniewski's low shotgun snaps just saying Wiz is doing fine.
The conservative playcalling on Saturday night was more a function of the poor field position than wet conditions. Joe hinted that the Iowa defensive backs were doing some things that hindered the receivers, and the officials were letting them get away with it.
Brandon Ware is still a "couple weeks" away from being healed from his broken foot.
Stephon Morris is playing really well. The coaches are "anxious" to get him more playing time.
Joe appreciates the expectations of the fans, but he's more worried about the psyche of his team right now. Says a loss like this is harder because he thought they were pretty even with Iowa in talent and coaching. It's not like they got blown out by a superior opponent. He mentioned how he got in trouble years ago after a loss to a superior Texas team he made a comment in the press conference about how he was going to go home and beat his wife over it. Some people still won't let him live that down so he's more careful in how he responds to losses now.
Nerraw McCormack would be the starter at right tackle if they played today. He has earned the right to play in front of DeOn'tae Pannell.
Last week Joe mentioned he would like to see the defense force more turnovers. On Saturday they forced two. Joe thinks that's a good number and he's satisfied with it.
Joe thinks Nick Sukay played well on Saturday despite the punt block and roughing penalty. He thinks the loss will end up helping young players like him.
Joe thinks it might be a good time to take the team on a road game to get them away and focused.

Grading the Penn State Defense Against the Iowa Hawkeyes

BSD — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:00:34 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

2 months ago: Iowa running back Brandon Wegher flips over Penn State defenders Drew Anderson, left, and A.J. Wallace during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009, in State College, Pa. Iowa won 21-10. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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It's hard to evaluate the defense when your offense goes out and lays a turd on national television. When your offense keeps putting you on the field with your back against the wall you can only hold out so long.

Defensive Line

The unit wasn't it's dominating self, but then the level of competition was about 1000 times better than the first three games. Jared Odrick and Ollie Ogbu went pretty much unnoticed, but they did a good job in occupying blockers so that Josh Hull and Navorro Bowman could combine for 26 tackles and 5 TFL.

The defensive ends didn't impress me much. I noticed that Jerome Hayes got the start, and Iowa went to work attacking him right away. He was lined up on the side with Bani Gbadyu when Brandon Wegher ripped off his 32 yard run on Iowa's second drive. On the next drive he was replaced with Eric who I thought did a much better job in run defense. Jack Crawford didn't make a big impression on me. He's still a year away from being a monster.

But overall I felt like the line held their own against the powerful Iowa offensive line. The Iowa running game averaged 4.4 yards per carry and gave up two sacks.

Final Grade: B

Linebackers

Navorro Bowman returned, but Penn State is still waiting to see their two All-Big Ten linebackers on the field at the same time as Sean Lee sat out with a sprained knee. So his spot was filled by Bani Gbadyu and Nate Stupar. Stupar came into the game nursing a sprained ankle, and I noticed Gbadyu got a little dinged up himself in the game. It sure would have been nice to have Mike Mauti out there. It seems like the deeper Penn State is at any particular position, the more injuries they tend to get. See defensive tackles.

Bowman and Hull looked fantastic. Both of them had 13 tackles in the game. Bowman tackled three ball carriers behind the line while Hull had two TFL and a sack. After that blocked punt you could tell by the body language on the team that they had given up, but Hull and Bowman kept playing hard to the end.

Personally, I think the bashing Josh Hull sees is no longer justified. He's a tremendous player and a tenacious linebacker that goes hard every play. He's not the best in pass coverage, but then neither was Paul Posluszny.

Final Grade: A

Secondary

I thought the secondary played an excellent game. Ricky Stanzi was held to just 135 yards and completed less than 50% of his passes while throwing two picks. But it should be pointed out that Stanzi wasn't helped by his own guys dropping several passes.

Two guys that really impressed me were Nick Sukay and Stephon Morris. Sukay had nine tackles, broke up four passes, and caught an interception. Unfortunately, it was his missed block that led to the punt block, but that shouldn't completely negate a solid game. Morris has basically solidified himself on the first team nickel package; a truly amazing achievement for a true freshman in only his fourth game. And remember that Morris did not enroll in the spring and just joined the team in July. He's going to be a special player.

I was disappointed in Drew Astorino. Normally he's a pretty sure tackler, but he overran some plays and looked silly in whiffing on some arm tackles. I chalk that up to a wet field where he wasn't able to plant his feet and set himself.

Final Grade: B

Special Teams

I was worried going into this game that special teams were going to liability, and they were. Colin Wagner is not getting it done as the place kicker. His kickoffs aren't going past the five yard line, and I don't think he's made a field goal over 40 yards yet. I'm officially on the Give-Anthony-Fera-A-Chance bandwagon.

Once again Jeremy Boone was the lone star averaging 53 yards on his two punts. But other than that everything was atrocious. Iowa averaged 24 yards per kick return, and they returned a blocked punt for 53 yards. Penn State averaged 17.2 yards on five kick returns, but that was with one good return for 36 yards by Chaz Powell. The Nittany Lions only averaged only 12.5 yards on their other four returns.

Remember everything I said about Nick Sukay's play on defense? Yeah, well, none of that applies to special teams last night. He blew the blocking assignment and also drew the questionable roughing the kicker call on the Iowa punt. But he's still a good player who will get better.

Final Grade: F

Defensive Coaching

I happened to be sitting next to a few Iowa fans in the stands during the game. They were nice guys and very friendly complimenting us profusely on how awesome our stadium was. Anyway, right after Clark hit Powell for the 79 yard touchdown the place was rocking and they were obviously standing there with that "Oh Crap" look on their face. I leaned over to the guy and said, "This probably works to your advantage. With a seven point lead Joe is going to go conservative and let you get back in it." Today it kind of frightens me how accurate that was.

I paid particular attention to the secondary since it's hard to tell what they're doing while watching a game on television (I'll save my rant on television coverage as it relates to football strategy for another day.) They pretty much played Cover-3 the entire first half, and just like the fourth quarter last year in Iowa City, Stanzi picked them apart for eight or nine yards on every second down to set up a short yardage situation for third down. In my opinion, this is inexcusable.

Back in 2004 Joe Paterno came to the realization that if he wanted to be competitive he had to change his offense so it wasn't so predictable. Out of this was born the Spread HD with multiple formations, plays, and personnel to keep the opposing defense guessing. The new offense has been a tremendous success (last night notwithstanding), but yet Penn State hasn't changed a thing on defense. I know the defense still manages to do quite well, but why put them at the disadvantage of being so predictable? Why let Iowa march down the field and hope you can tighten up inside the 30 yard line? Would it kill us to play man-to-man once in a while? Or even a Cover-2 where the corners are in man and the safeties are covering deep zones?

I was pleased to see more blitzes in the second half and I thought it worked well to keep Stanzi off balance. I thought that was a nice adjustment. I also liked pulling Hayes in favor of Latimore.

Final Grade: B

Daily Links - Penn State Q&A's Galore

Sean Keeley — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:46:49 -0000

Orange have tall order in Happy Valley - Big East - ESPN
No one would expect Syracuse to apologize for losing to Penn State this weekend. In fact, no Big East team has a tougher assignment than the one the Orange are facing.

Orange::44: Penn State Q&A
Devon from Nittany White Out and Mike from Zombie Nation, two excellent Penn State blogs, answered some questions for Orange44 on the upcoming match.

Syracuse Q&A with Three Idiots on Sports
Andrew Rush of The Three Idiots on Sports shares his feelings on the upcoming game between Syracuse and Penn State.

Sukay has extra motivation against Orange | Penn State News | Sports - Centre Daily Times
When Penn State hosts Syracuse at noon Saturday, Nittany Lions’ safety Nick Sukay will try to prevent his old friend and former teammate, Syracuse tight end Cody Catalina, from catching passes.

The Daily Orange - Before he taught his team to play, Doug Marrone showed the Orange how to win
Doug Marrone is instilling messages from the 1959 National Championship team in his current one.

Syracuse's Paulus plays different transition game
Greg Paulus was the starting point guard for Duke University's basketball team as a true freshman, which means he knows a little something about handling pressure both figuratively and literally.

Tickets for Syracuse-Florida game in SEC/Big East Invitational will go on sale Saturday - Orange Basketball Blog
Tickets for the third annual SEC/BIG EAST Invitational, including the doubleheader at the St. Pete Times Forum featuring Syracuse vs. Florida, will go on sale Saturday, Sept. 12, at 10 a.m.

Niagara Gazette - BASKETBALL: Paul Harris invited to Utah Jazz training camp
Paul Harris has been invited to compete for a roster spot at the Utah Jazz training camp later this month, according to former coach Sal Constantino.

Syracuse University Athletics - Sid Smith Goes No.1 In NLL Draft
Former Syracuse All-American Sid Smith was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 National Lacrosse League (NLL) Draft held Wednesday, Sept. 9 at the HSBC Arena. Smith was selected by the Rochester Knighthawks

Syracuse University Athletics - A Good Sign
The Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center had a very important piece added to its construction puzzle over the weekend -- the name of the building was mounted on its side.

Syracuse University Athletics - Orange Laxers Begin Fall Practice
The Syracuse University men's lacrosse team, winners of the last two national championships, returned to the practice field today. The Orange will play scrimmages on Saturday, Oct. 10 with scrimmages against Navy and Harvard in Annapolis, Md.

Oregon Ducks have starring role in Bottom 10's rocked band - ESPN
Guess who's NOT in the Bottom 10 this year (so far...)?

Quick Hits with Joe Paterno. Honestly, there's nothing quick about them.

Grading the Penn State Defense Against Akron

BSD — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 12:00:33 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

3 months ago: Penn State's Eric Latimore, left, sacks Akron quarterback Chris Jacquemain during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009, in State College, Pa. Penn State won 31-7. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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It was a thoroughly dominating performance by the Nittany Lions for the first 30 minutes of play. Akron failed to register a first down until the third quarter. Penn State held the Zips to 8 total yards in the first half with minus 15 yards rushing. The second half was a different story, but we'll get into that. Let's grade out the defense.

Defensive Line

This was as dominating performance I can ever remember by a Penn State defensive line. Ollie Ogbu set the tone on Akron's first snap when he dropped Zips running back Norman Shuford for a three yard loss. Jack Crawford followed that up on the next play by blowing up a sweep to the right for a four yard loss. And so it was all afternoon for Akron. They couldn't open any holes to run through. and Jacquemain couldn't find any time to throw getting sacked four times.

Odrick and Ogbu were particularly dominating. Ogbu recorded 2.5 TFL while Odrick had 2 TFL and half a sack. There were also numerous times when they flushed Jacquemain into the arms of the outside pass rush.

The defensive ends had solid days. Jack Crawford looked good in his debut with 2 TFL and a sack. Eric Latimore also had a sack. But perhaps the best sight of the day was Jerome Hayes just being on the field and making plays again. He finished the day with 1.5 TFL.

They looked pretty sluggish in the second half of the game, but then so did the entire defense. A lot of young guys got to play including Devon Still, Chima Okoli, and Sean Stanley, and the coaches called off the dogs and played straight up basic defense. So I'm not going to count the second half against them.

Final Grade: A

Linebackers

It was The Nate Stupar Show on Saturday. The redshirt sophomore was forced into action early when Navorro Bowman was shut down to rest a nagging groin injury and made the most of the opportunity with a game high 12 tackles and a sack to go with them. Stupar had a huge play midway through the third quarter. Akron was attempting to get on the scoreboard by going for it on fourth down at the Penn State two-yard line. Jacquemain hurried the offense to the line and tried to catch the Penn State defense off guard. Jacquemain faked inside and tried to bounce it off tackle. Stupar met him there and shut him down one yard short of the goal line to keep Akron off the scoreboard. His play yesterday makes me feel okay about resting Bowman up for Big Ten play. We'll be just fine with No. 34 in there.

Man, was it great to see Sean Lee back in there. I think he looked faster than I remember him. And he looked as sharp as ever in anticipating the play and reacting. He had seven tackles and two TFL almost recording a safety down on the goal line.

Josh Hull wasn't spectacular, but he wasn't a liability either. As I suggested somewhere in the comments before the game, it's easy to play middle linebacker when you have Odrick and Ogbu lining up in front of you. It was rare that Akron could get a runner past those two, so Hull was never really called upon to make plays.

Final Grade: A

Secondary

It's really hard to judge the secondary in this game. Jacquemain couldn't find any time to throw in the first half, so they were never really tested. In the second half Penn State called off the dogs and sat back in deep zone coverages giving up a lot of yards in the process. But there were some key plays of note.

A.J. Wallace worked himself out of the doghouse a few weeks early and saw considerable playing time. Akron challenged him a few times and he got his hands on a few balls to break them up. But he could have had an interception or two if he had softer hands. I guess that's why he's on defense.

Andrew Dailey was Johnny on the Spot when Jacquemain sailed a first quarter pass deep over the middle and pulled down his first career interception.

Nick Sukay blew a coverage and gave up Akron's lone score on a 40 yard bomb.

Other than those two guys the secondary was pretty invisible all day.

Final Grade: Incomplete

Special Teams

It was a mixed bag on special teams. Everybody wants to focus on Colin Wagner shanking two field goals. One was admittedly bad missing from 28 yards, but in his defense it was a tough angle in close from the left hashmark. The other miss was a perfectly excuseable 49 yarder. Even the pros miss those more often than not.

Jeremy Boone was once again a terrific weapon averaging 43 yards on his two punts.

Nate Stupar absolutely blew up a kick return in the second quarter. He's easily my favorite player to watch on kick return coverage. But the kickoff coverage gave up a big return to open the second half giving Akron the ball at midfield.

Andrew Dailey and the entire punt coverage team executed a perfect fake punt to pick up 37 yards and a first down.

Final Grade: C

Defense Coaching

It's hard to fault anything with what the coaches did in the first half. The results speak for themselves. But they didn't just call off the dogs in the second half. They left them in the lockerroom and came right out in the BBDS defense. Jacquemain picked them apart with a nice drive to start the half. And then he torched them getting behind Sukay. I would have liked to have seen the defense keep the foot on the gas until the fourth quarter. I blame that on the coaches for letting the pressure off.

What was up with the pooch punt on 4th and 1 from the 35 late in the third quarter? Wagner booted it in the endzone for a touchback and a net 15 yard exchange of field position. I would have preferred going for the first down there since the offense was sputtering and Akron was picking up momentum. My next choice would have been trying the long field goal. I understand you are trying to boost the confidence of your new kicker. I'm not sure giving him a bunch of chip shots is the way to do that. Imagine the confidence boost he would get from hitting a 50 yarder. Just seems the reward outweighs the risk there in my opinion. And my third option would have been sending Boone in there to pin it deep. Don't leave it to your place kicker. Read my lips: Some team later on is going to anticipate this move again and have a return man back there waiting. And Penn State is going to pay for it.

Final Grade: B-