SB Nation - Josh Hull

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

Senior Day Haiku

BSD — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:00:33 -0000

by Carlos Osorio - AP

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This Saturday will mark the fourth senior day in the history of this fine blog. Tomorrow afternoon 18 seniors will run out of the tunnel for the last time wearing the Blue and White. Some of them will go on to try to earn a roster spot in the NFL. Others will go on to lead successful careers in business and life. Some are stars. Some are little known walk ons. They got up every day at 5 AM for four years to lift weights and run sprints so they could put on a show for us twelve Saturdays a year. They are heroes. They are legends. They are Penn State football.

If you're new to BSD this season, we have a tradition where we honor all of the senior players, from the All Americans to the third string long snapper, with a little ditty we call Senior Day Haiku. Feel free to add your own Haiku in the comments. We'll go in alphabetical order.

P - Jeremy Boone

He must hate the ball
Holy Cow did you see that?
He just hit the moon!

QB - Daryll Clark

Roll out and go deep
Never good enough for some
Just short of legend

TE - Brennan Coakley

You might have been good
Just too many injuries
We will never know

DE - Tom Golarz

Did you notice that
Golarz rhymes with solarz?
That is all I got

DE - Jerome Hayes

I still remember
You sacking Jimmy Clausen
Man, that was awesome

LB - Josh Hull

Went from suck to good
It must have been the mustache
Bow-chicka-bow-bow

OL - Dennis Landolt

Quiet performer
Right or left doesn't matter
I got your back, Clark

LB - Sean Lee

Your torn ACL
Brought you back another year
We're thankful for that

WR - Patrick Mauti

Sorry ‘bout the knee
Wait, you're not the linebacker?
Your brother is good

OL - Nerraw McCormack

You waited your turn
Got your chance but hurt yourself
Wasn't meant to be

CB - Shelton McCullough

Ran out the tunnel
I would kill to do that once
Gradulations, dude

DT - Jared Odrick

You know I own you
Double team? Doesn't matter
Running back is mine

LS - Andrew Pitz

The unheralded
Long snappers are people too
You did a good job

OL - Ako Poti

Please don't let Clark die
Nightmares of Heyward haunt me
Please, God, make it stop

TE - Andrew Quarless

Crossing the middle
Missed a block and dropped a pass
Joe's dog house must suck

TE - Mickey Shuler

Like father like son
All you did was play steady
Paterno likes that

CB - Knowledge Timmons

What was that blue streak?
Knowledge gunning the sideline
Look out return man

CB - A.J. Wallace

High expectations
Joe says too loosey goosey
Cover-3 just blows

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.

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.

Grading The Penn State Defense Against Northwestern

BSD — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:30:23 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y. Huh - AP

about 1 month ago: Penn State's Eric Latimore, right, looks down at sacked Northwestern quarterback Dan Persa during the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game in Evanston, Ill., Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009. Penn State won 34-13. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

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It was a rocky start, but the defense clamped down and did the job holding the Northwestern Wildcat offense down until the Penn State offense could come to life. Let's grade them out and discuss their performance.

Defensive Line

It's a little disappointing to me that Penn State gave up 119 yards rushing to Northwestern after I said they have a pretty sad running game. But 84 of those yards were gained by the quarterbacks, which should be no surprise considering Mike Kafka came into the game as Northwestern's leading rusher. The Wildcats were running a lot of short crossing and hitch routes which didn't give the defensive line much time to get to the quarterback, but they still managed to record six sacks as a unit.

Jack Crawford had an okay game. He had a sack and recovered Kafka's unforced fumble, but there were a few times where he got sucked inside on a fake handoff and gave up a big gain to the quarterback. I could see his inexperience there. No matter how much it looks like he's handing it off to the running back, you gotta stay home and drill that quarterback, big guy. He made some nice adjustments and played a few option plays really well where he would force the quarterback to make the pitch and then he would slide outside to make the tackle.

Odrick had a slow first half but really turned it on in the second half. He just had to stop being cute and go to the bull rush. He had a sack to go with five tackles, and he blocked a field goal.

I was really impressed with Jerome Hayes and Eric Latimore in this game. Each of them got a sack, but I thought he looked really good in defending the run. The few times Northwestern tried to run the ball to the outside, these guys did a good job of getting up field and forcing the ball carrier to bounce outside. This allowed the pursuit to get there and usually drop the play for a loss.

Final Grade: A

Linebackers

I was not impressed with the linebackers in the early going, but in their defense this had a lot to do with the playcalling. More on that later.

Bowman looked slow to me. He just wasn't jumping the passing routes, and he whiffed terribly on several blocks. This was just not his best game, but he did still manage to record nine tackles.

Sean Lee saw his most extensive action since tweaking his knee against Temple. He led the team with 12 tackles (10 solo). I thought he looked great in playing against the run, but like Bowman I thought he looked just a step slow in covering the Northwestern short passing game. Much more so in the first half than the second half.

Did Josh Hull even play? He was out there in the early going and didn't look good in either defending the crossing routes or in stopping Kafka why he tried to tuck and run. After Northwestern's long scoring drive it looked to me like Penn State switched exclusively to the nickel defense, and Hull was the odd linebacker out.

Final Grade: B

Secondary

Kafka and Persa did most of their damage in attacking the linebackers over the middle. I thought the secondary held up well against Northwestern's highly ranked passing offense.

D'Anton Lynn was fantastic in breaking up the screen passes. He was really aggressive and shed the blocks to either stop the play for no gain or only gave up a few yards.

The rest of the secondary was pretty unmemorable, and frankly, I'm happy with this performance. I'd rather not notice Astorino and Sukay are on the field than to see them trailing the wide receiver on a 50 yard bomb than to see them helpless chasing their man downfield. Much of the credit for the six sacks by the defensive line has to go to the defensive secondary. The Northwestern quarterbacks couldn't find anyone open.

Final Grade: A

Defensive Coaching

I thought Penn State came out with a poor game plan. They tried to sit in their Cover-3 with three linebackers on the field. But the coverage was too soft, and three linebackers trying to cover four or five wide receivers is a mismatch in Northwestern's favor every time. Mike Kafka picked them apart with short crossing routes and hitch patterns designed to attack the linebackers. It was a lot like watching the Michigan game last year. You could tell the Wildcats weren't doing anything special. It was just a matter of making some changes and manning up. Penn State adjusted by going almost exclusively with the nickel defense and bringing the corners up a little tighter.

I also noticed some delayed blitzes by Odrick and Bowman. These worked really well because it gave the defender time to see what's going on and react to it. We saw this against Illinois and Michigan, and I suspect you will see it next week against Terrelle Pryor too.

Final Grade: B

Special Teams

It's like a broken record every week, but the special teams are not very special. Unless you mean "special" like the kid who wears head gear all the time to protect him from punching himself. In that case, yeah, the Penn State special teams are special.

Before I rip into them, let's acknowledge the blocked field goal by Odrick. That was a good play.

What's up with 12 men on the field on the Northwestern punt? This is the third or fourth substitution issue in the past two weeks. We're in week 9 now. This stuff shouldn't be happening.

Last year I called Nate Stupar our special teams MVP. Not so much this year. He had the Northwestern punter dead to rights after he fumbled the snap. But he overran the play, and the punter did a chest heave to a short fat guy with stubby legs who ran for a first down. It was a play that could have given Penn State tremendous field position, but instead it allowed the Wildcats to move the ball further. Eventually, they would have to punt again on that drive, but Graham Zug made a fair catch on the six yard line. What the hell is up with that?

Chaz Powell had a big kick return. It's his second big return in two games. Oddly, on both plays he gained his yards by completely disregarding his blockers and going the opposity direction on his own. That should tell you something.

But let's end on a positive note. Collin Wagner had some nice kickoffs where the ball landed around the five yard line, but more importantly the kick was angled to the corner allowing the coverage to use the sideline to stop the play for a short gain.

Final Grade: C

The Rivalry Is Watching You: Minnesota MLB Lee Campbell v. Ohio State

grahamfiller10 — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:50:40 -0000

Minnesota gave up over 500 yards to a previously struggling Buckeye team. I'm going to take a concise look at Lee Campell, one of the senior leaders on defense for Minnesota. How did the second leading tackler in the Big Ten factor into this defensive breakdown on Saturday? What are the NFL chances for the Big Ten's second leading tackler? Can the 240 lb. Campbell run with Pryor?

First Possession, First Half 0-0

He's the MLB in this 5-3 formation on first down. Mini puts everyone in the box, stopping OSU for a two yard gain. After a Pryor scramble, LC blitzes from his MLB position but makes no impact on the Pryor incompletion. Punt time

Second Possession, 0-0

Again the MLB, OSU is in shotgun one back formation, while the Gophers have walked five men up to the line dating Pryor to throw. LC moves smoothly in the backfield, onlto to find Brandon Saine running free to the other side. After a quick first down throw by Pryor, the Bucks have a first on their own 19. The Gophers aren't moved by a Buckeye power run and on second down, Campbell drops deep into zone coverage. It's third and long and LC goes into man on the tight end, physically bodying up on the TE. It doesn't matter - Triplett is beaten badly on a Pryor scramble and it's OSU first down on their own 33.

Mini has backed off of their 5 man front, switching to a 4-3 stack, with the LB's focusing on the middle of the field. Spread Read right and Campell is sucked up into the blocking zone, but a Gopher cornerback pops up to make a great TFL. On second down, LC drops into zone coverage and forces another Pryor scramble for three yards. Third and long, Pyror finds a hole in this Mini zone and its first down on the 50.

Tradition I by the Bucks, LC doesn't bite on the play fake and follows Pryor on the rollout before Pryor completes a 17 yard pass. The Bucks are driving thanks to TP's arm and Campbell hasn't made an impact play yet. First and ten on the MN 34: Pryor option runs right. LC picks up his first tackle after fighting off two blocks, but he finds TP 7 yards downfield. Second and short and the Bucks run right at Campell, who falls back under the weight of Browning and a knocked over Gopher DT. First down again.

Quick slant to Posey, who gets smacked in the face by LC, forces the pass incomplete. I'll call that a pass breakup. On second zone, Saine runs righ, hurdles over a blocker and is leveled by Campbell for another tackle. We hear LC yell CMON into the HD mics. That play made me feel alive. It's third down and Pryor runs right before getting dragged down to cause fourth down. The Bucks go for it on a power dive with Saine - LC gets blocked right before he almost makes a TFL. You can't deny that this guy has a nose for the ball.

This drive is making my fingers hurt from all the typing. God. First and ten on the 13, Pryor runs away from LC's side and Triplett and Sherrills contain the play. After a TP incompletion, the Gophs blitz on third down and stuff Pryor. Field Goal MISS, the Gophers have held.

Third Possession, 0-0

A zone read doesn't fool LC, but he gets sucked into the zone blocking hole and vacates middle. Saine runs for 15. First mistake by LC. First and 10 on the OSU 37. Again LC gets sucked in middle and Saine makes a small cutback for 5. After a PI call - a really bad PI call, Pryor challenges the Gophers zone pass coverage and throws over LC incomplete. Quick pass right and its third and five. Minnesota runs a clever defensive formation, putting Triplett and LC into blitz lanes, than only sending Triplett, who knocks the ball down. No impact plays for LC, but its punt time.

Fourth Possession, 0-0

Mini is not in the 5 or six man line anymore, figuring OSU can throw the ball a bit today. A reverse is sniffed out by LC and another Mini defender for a TFL. That great play is wiped out by a personal foul...Everyone knows what happens next, Posey touchdown deep.

Fifth Possession, 7-0

First and ten on the Bucks own 33, basic 4-3 from Mini. Tackle by LC (his third), but Saine gets 6 anyways. The DT's are being moved any which way. Second and short and LC smacks Saine at the first down marker while someone causes a fumble, which apparently wasn't a fumble. Fourth tackle by LC and third and inches, Pryor sneaks for a first down.

Pryor goes deep on first down after a Minnesota blitz is stopped easily. Second down, LC misses his first tackle as Pryor shakes him off in the backfield on route of a 12 yard gain. Negated due to holding and after another incomplete deep ball by Pryor, it's third and long hasn't challenged LC in the middle zone. TP scrambles and I would like to make an observation - Triplett has looked lost today against Pryor.

First and ten, OSU runs up the middle by Small, Triplett and LC stuff him. Another TP incompletion, third and long and a bit longer thanks to a false start. Short completion and another Buckeye punt.

Sixth Possession, 7-0

Mini stunts and blitzes on first down, but TP gets away and throws over LC. First down and Mini has dropped into a zone, TP rolls around until he gets sacked. A surprisingly accurate throw right in front of Sherrills leads to third and short, when TP drives forward for a first down. After Pryor breaks two sack attempts and throws a ball away, Mini blitzes but TP throws the ball to a breaking Posey. The Minnesota man defense is giving up mucho yards. Tired of his success on this drive, TP throws the ball to Kyle Theret and the half is complete.

At the half - 279 Buckeye yards, 7 points, one missed FG, one interception

Seventh Possession, 7-0

A Gopher fumble hands OSU the ball deep in Mini territory. LC and Triplett get sucked into the middle again and Jordan Hall gets a first down before LC late hits him oob - no call. First down on the OSU 15 - a simple off tackle picks up four before Campbell makes a big hit. On second down, Minnesota plays the zone read perfectly, except TP stiff arms a defender in the face and glides in for a TD.

Eighth Possession, 14-0

Zone read is stuffed by the DL, but second down sees a TP scramble right for a first down. No way Campell is catching TP from the side pursuit. First and ten from around the OSU 40, everyone takes a shot at Jordan Hall and then LC cleans up - 5 tackles, 1 TFL. Incompletion, punt time

Ninth Possession, 14-0

Weber fumble and I'm back already. Buckeye ball on the MN 22. Finally, an effective Gopher blitz and a dump down leads to a loss of four. Second and long, Pryor runs for a TD on a cutback - this is quickly negated by a holding call. First down on the MN 16, power run up the middle and Campbell wards off a block to drag down the RB before the chains can be moved. Third and one, Campbell gets another tackle, grabbing Small's foot and tripping him after a two yard run. OSU is running downhill now, as the momentum has tipped to the Bucks. Hall runs away from LC's side and #4 of Minnesota gets sucked in horribly. LC drags Hall into the end zone and pops up to stare menancingly at the side of the Gopher defense which showed so little panache on the last run.

Tenth Possession, 21-0

Campbell hides between two blockers and stands up Hall for a one yard run. Another LC tackle, he is a monster run stopper. Second and 9, TP throws a strike to the sidelines on a rollout, first down OSU. Rollout pryor on first down and #27 got beaten like a mule. Game over flip flip flip.

In other news, Bob Griese cannot imagine why fans would be upset with Tressel after OSU imploded against a 1-5 Purdue team. In other news, Bob Griese went to Purdue in the 1960's and can't imagine why any team would be upset after losing to that superpower program.

Eleventh Possession, 28-0

A power I formation for OSU leads to a power run up the middle. Campbell is set as the MLB and slams into Jermil Martin for another tackle, but Martin gets six yards. Second down and short, OSU is just pounding the ball and it's another Buckeye first. The Bucks haven't fallen asleep and run a reverse - the ball carrier is pulled down by Triplett but LC had smelled it out also. Second down and here comes Martin again - the Gophers are worn out and LC is eaten up by an unimpeded blocker while Martin rolls into the endzone for a long TD run. I've had enough of this, time for conclusions.

Conclusions, Statistics, etc...

Stats: 10 tackles, 1 TFL

Discussion: Campbell hits with all of that 240 lb. frame and he is rarely overrun by lineman (except on the final TD). He missed one tackle all day, whiffing on Pryor in the backfield. His lateral movement is not as fluid as Greg Jones, but that's expected of a 240 lb. man. As run stopping linebackers go, Campbell is right there with Pat Angerer as the complete package.

One issue I have is the schematic problems that Minnesota's defense sets up. The two stud linebackers, LC and Triplett, are grouped too closely together in the middle of that 4-3 when they should have had more space between. This bad spacing led to about 5 instances where they both flowed to the play and then watched the ballcarrier cutback for big yards.

Campbell will quickly find himself in the discussion for All-Big Ten. As of now, I say: First Team: Pat Angerer, Greg Jones, Brian Rolle. Second Team: Some combination of Campbell, Triplett, Jeremiha Hunter, Navarro Bowman, Josh Hull...

Gettin' Familiar With: Penn State.

Rodger Sherman — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:52:47 -0000

Alternate title: Gettin' Familiar With: The people about to murder us and ransack our houses and probably also hurt our friends.

At some point in your life, you've probably wondered, "what exactly a nittany lion, anyway?" Well, it's like a regular lion, but it doesn't have a mane, enjoys thrusting, and wears boots.

So far this year: The only blemish on PSU's schedule is a 21-10 loss to Iowa in week four, other than that, they've been dominant. In their seven wins, they're outscoring their opponents 232-50, including a current three-week stretch in which they've beaten Eastern Illinois 52-3, Minnesota 20-0, and Michigan 35-10. They've only allowed double digits three times: Iowa, Michigan, and a 35-17 win over Illinois, while putting up at least 20 every game except Iowa. Yup.

Us and them: Our history with PSU is short, and sweet, well, for them. We're 3-9 against the team that made the Big Ten the Big Eleven. As you've probably noticed, we haven't played them in three years. The last meeting was a 33-7 beatdown in Happy Valley that was Pat Fitzgerald's first Big Ten game, and featured a memorable performance by rookie QB, uh, Andrew Brewer in which he went 14-30 for 157 yards and a pick, as well as leading the team with 41 rushing yards in his first start. Brew didn't remain our QB for much longer, as evidenced by the fact that he had 8 catches for 135 yards and a touchdown last week. Also in the game, a freshman QB named Daryll Clark took his first Big Ten snaps, going 1-2 for seven yards. He's still around at PSU.

Offense: Daryll Clark is a monster of some sort. He's a dual-threat quarterback, but with an arm that makes you kind of forget that, as he's got 1884 yards passing with 17 TD's and only seven picks. He's probably the best offensive player in the Big Ten this year, and he could kill any given player on Northwestern's defense in 13 different ways at any given point in the course of play. And with interchangeable wide receiving droids Graham Zug (KNEEL BEFORE ZUG), Derek Moye, Andrew Quarless and Chaz Powell, he has targets. He leads the Big Ten in passer efficiency, and because Penn State also has a great offensive line, and he's a great runner, he has been sacked less than any other Big Ten quarterback. Oh, and they also have the highest third-down conversion percentage.

Be worried.

Penn State's running game often goes unheralded, because Daryll Clark could probably throw a football hard enough to disembowel you while running 15 miles an hour in the opposite direction, but it's pretty good, in part thanks to that o-line, in part because they have great running backs: Evan Royster, who you may remember from his 1236 yards on 6.3 per carry last season, is back at it, with 741 yards on 5.7 per carry. He's had four games of over 100 yards, and four games of under 90 yards. If you enjoy watching safeties make tackles on running backs, saturday's your game. PSU averages 5.0 yards per carry as a team, which puts them 15th in the nation.

So, yeah, be worried.

Defense: Done being worried about the offense? Get worried about the defense!

PSU leads the Big Ten in passing defense (160 yards per game) rushing defense (79.8 yards per game) total defense (do the math) scoring defense (8.9 points per game) opponents third-down conversion percentage (the one they lead offensively, remember that) and sacks (26, putting them fourth in the nation, with DE Jack Crawford and DT Jared Odrick leading the way with 5.5 and 5, respectively.) Yeah.

They have ten picks (AJ Wallace and Josh Hull have two each, a bunch of people have one) and have only allowed three passing touchdowns. They've recovered five fumbles and allowed three rushing touchdowns. They're preposterous.

Basically, don't get too excited for Saturday.

Anyway, fear. I'll get at y'all tomorrow.

BSD Staff Predictions: Michigan Wolverines

BSD — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:17:31 -0000

More photos » by TONY DING - AP

2 months ago: Michigan offensive lineman Mark Ortmann (71) watches as quarterback Tate Forcier (5) is hit by Eastern Michigan linebacker Neal Howey (40) and defensive tackle Javon Reese (90) during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009, in Ann Arbor, Mich. Forcier was helped off the field but returned to the game in No. 25 Michigan's 45-17 win. (AP Photo/Tony Ding)

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It's Michigan week. It's your BSD staff predictions. You know the drill.

RUTS Says...

Brain says Penn State, heart says Michigan. Looking at the Wolverines, their defense seems poorly equipped to handle Penn State's attack. You know, other than the fact that Brandon Graham is lining up against our 3rd team offensive right tackle. There's that. Still, their linebackers are prone to jumping on play-action fakes and the secondary isn't great. If Penn State can move the ball on the ground with any sort of competence, Clark could conceivably turn that into a big day (in fact, both teams have significant issues at both safety positions). It'll be up to the interior group of Eliades, Wisniewski, and Troutman to open up holes. Eliades looked downright menacing pulling around the line and leading Royster against Minnesota.

Defensively for Penn State, there's bad news. Tate Forcier may be a mistake-prone freshman, but he's still not Nick Sheridan. He played poorly against Iowa and became rather skittish under pressure. If Penn State can get to him, he'll turn it over. Odrick and Ogbu will be their usual disruptive selves, but what will PSU get from the edge? Denard Robinson is a concern, naturally, but Penn State tends to be rather disciplined on defense. Dynamic and surprising? No, but disciplined.

But it's Michigan, and Michigan Means Puckering from the coaching staff. Even when Penn State has a clearly superior team, like last year, it's a horrific struggle. This is not a clearly superior Penn State team, but it's good enough to be a 4 1/2 point favorite on the road. They're a bad matchup for Michigan, save the obvious Graham v. Poti battle. Insert kicking game caveat (I'll be shocked if Michigan doesn't score or set up an easy touchdown on a kick return) and crackpot officiating conspiracy theory here (however, if I see Dave Witvoet's face, all bets really are off and I'll spend Saturday afternoon in the fetal position if Penn State leads by any less than 20 points).

Like it or not, this game goes down to the wire. I will not be remotely surprised if Penn State loses.

Prediction: Penn State 21, Michigan 20

BSD Mike Says...

If you've been paying attention around the interwebs, this preview shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.

On paper, I don't see any reason why Penn State should lose this game. They have better talent, more depth, more experience, and I would even say better coaching. But, it's Michigan, where officials don't seem to give us any calls. It's Ann Arbor, where Nittany Lion dreams go to die. So that has me scared.

I think the Penn State front seven should be able to contain the Michigan running game. On his podcast, Brian asked me how confident I was in this and I mentioned this isn't the first zone read option team Penn State has played and I pointed to Illinois as an example. Brian, perhaps rightfully so, kind of scoffed at the remark suggesting Illinois is not a true test. This is true since I think Michigan has more athleticism at running back and Forcier is a better passer than Juice Williams. But I should have expanded my statement to say this is a very experienced front seven for Penn State. Guys like Navorro Bowman, Josh Hull, Sean Lee, Jared Odrick, and Ollie Ogbu have been the anchor of the defense for three years now. These guys have been around the block. They know the drill by now. They will not be fooled.

But the defensive ends are another story. Jack Crawford, Jerome Hayes, and Eric Latimore do not have a lot of experience. How well they keep up with Rich Rodriguez's cat-and-mouse game will determine how well Penn State contains the Michigan offense.

When Penn State is on offense I believe they have the balance to take advantage of what Michigan gives them. I think the Wolverines will try to take away the running game by stacking the box and hope they can force Daryll Clark into making some turnovers. This could open up some big plays to Chaz Powell and Derek Moye off of play action. And after our discussion with Maize-n-Brew this week where he mentioned their weakness in covering tight ends, I'm interested to see if Andrew Quarless can have a big day.

The wildcard in all of this will be Joe Paterno. Will he allow the offense to open up the playbook? Will he let the Tom Bradley defense attack the freshman quarterback? Or will he pucker up at the first sign of trouble and hope to hang on for a 13-10 win like he did in 2007? I have a good feeling about this game, but I think it will be closer than we all care for it to be.

Prediction: Penn State 27, Michigan 24

KevinHD Says...

The general feeling is uneasiness, and I’ve been trying to figure out all week if that is the reality of the situation or just the annual lead up to the Michigan game. The 2002 and 2005 games will die hard.

But it’s important to be levelheaded here. The defense has been playing lights out, seven games in and not a single first half touchdown. Yeah? Well Rittenberg has your Debbie Downer right here:

We've seen Penn State rise to No. 2 nationally in scoring defense (8.7 ppg) despite facing no FBS offense ranked higher than 79th.

Michigan, on the other hand, is second in both rushing and passing yards per attempt in the Big Ten, although helped by 700-something total yards against one of the worst teams they are eligible to play against. But it wasn’t just Delaware State that showed up to play Michigan with a sub-part defense. The average rank of the D1-A defenses they’ve faced is 68; that includes two teams at 100+.

Basically, something has to give. Either Penn State can’t continue to dominate on defense or Michigan’s two thousand percent year over year increase (rounding) in offense will come to a halt. Vegas (47.5 o/u, PSU -4.5) is effectively predicting Michigan to hit around 21 points, which would be a season low for them.

So to run with this scientifically questionable analysis: can Penn State score more than 21 points? I suspect a slow start but persistent ground game will get them there. Super-soft cover-3 keeps Michigan in it in the 4th, but I remain cautiously optimistic.

Prediction: Penn State 34, Michigan 24

The Rivalry Is Watching You: MSU Linebacker Greg Jones v. Northwestern

grahamfiller10 — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:59:10 -0000

You all better treat this installment of Watching You with special care. I had to sit through the musings of Pam Ward to bring you this extensive look on Greg Jones. I mentioned to Law Buckeye the other day that sometimes I just don't believe people when they talk. When Pam Ward talks about a defensive scheme, I don't believe she knows what she's talking about. I think she's reading the notes her assistant typed up and that annoys the hell out of me.

I do believe that Greg Jones has been dynamite this year. He has been especially effective sideline to sideline, showing impressive speed and instinct. The Spartan run defense has followed Jones' example, giving up only 99 rush yards per game, third in the Big Ten. Of course teams have been able to throw all over the Spartans shaky secondary, but that's another matter. Enjoy this extensive play by play breakdown of Greg Jones versus Northwestern.

Ed note: This is going to be interesting because the Spread passing of Kafka and the Wildcats is a different challenge than Notre Dame, CMU, or U of M. Jones will, I assume be challenged by a heavy dose of crossing routes, short sit down routes, and the occasional draw.

First Possession, First Half

The Wildcats are pinned on the Spartan 1/2 yard line - Jones is the MLB. He will play OLB at the next level. After a QB sneak and a short completion, Kafka fires a bullet opposite side for a first down. On first down, Jones is sucked in by a draw fake while Kafka completes a short pass to Markshausen. GJ recovers quickly enough to make a tackle on the play. Incomplete pass, fumble, and the Wildcats have to punt.

But you see the magic of the Spread here. Even the quick, athletic Spartan linebackers don't match up well on short routes against the slippery Northwestern receivers who bear a strange resemblance to some of my intramural flag football teams from Miami OH.

Second Possession, 0-0

Option right and Junior Eric Gordon, who is a legitimate stud, makes a nice pursuit tackle on the option. 2nd and four, NW runs up the middle for the first time in the game only to be stuffed by Jerel Worthy. Jones was double teamed at his MLB spot. On third down, the Wildcats convert on a short pass to the middle of the field. It looks like the Wildcats are avoiding GJ so far. And just as I say that, backup NW quarterback Dan Persa eludes the rush and it looks like he might have some running room until Jones fights off a block and makes a great open field tackle. Gordon cleans up on the option again and it's third down. Jones blitzes for the first time ineffectively because of a quick Kafka release, first down. All you Spartans don't worry, I thought to myself, the NW line will break down as the game goes on.

The Wildcats run into a wall at midfield. After a stuffed QB draw and an eight yard completion, a third down screen is stuffed by Gordon and Chris L. Rucker. Jones had read screen and flowed to the ball also.

Third Possession, 0-0

A traditional off tackle run from shotgun opens up this series, but Decker and Jones clean up on Arby Fields. Two quarterback runs give NW a first down around midfield. Ah, finally an impact play by Jones. A swing pass to Brown and Jones moves fluidly towards the ball; a missed tackle by a Spartan CB allows GJ to clean up with a solid tackle, his third. End of the first quarter and I've only stabbed myself 21 times for each sentence spoken by Pam Ward.

2nd and 2 at midfield, Jonesy crowding the line and NW picks up the first down with an off tackle three yard run. Eric Gordon with his eighth tackle - maybe I spotlighted the wrong guy? Nope, I didn't; the NW Spread almost always results in mucho tackles for OLB's because it's an outside edge focused offense. On first and ten, GJ vacates middle to go with a veering WR and Kafka runs into the space that was left. 16 yard run, but not really Jones' fault, just a great run by Kakfa. Still, someone should have had contain. First and ten on the 30 - Jones run blitzes, stops the pitch and clamps down for his fourth tackle, this one for no gain. Textbook way to blitz and adapt. 2nd and ten, another Jones blitz and he hurries Kafka into the waiting arms of Gordon, who now has 9 tackles and a sack. Fourth and 15, punt time.

Fourth Possession, 0-0

Tired of just being on the Lombardi and Lott Award lists, Jones directs the drum line in a rousing rendition of "Hollaback Girl." On first down, Kafka zips a ball into Jones' vicinity for a 26 yard gain. Again, not really Jones' fault, just a weak zone coverage. Another GJ blitz but the quick swing pass negates any effectiveness. This is followed by a great across field throw by Kafka, who is something like 11-14, 120 yards by now.

First down and Jones drops into coverage, moving his hips well and running with a tight end on a Go route. Kafka throws elsewhere incomplete. After a lone line of completions to the sideline, Kafka finishes the drive with a touchdown pass.

This drive is a great example of Spread football - take on a team with superior athletes (Jones, Worthy, Anderson, Gordon) and stay completely away from those studs.

Fifth Possession, 7-0 NW

As I predicted, the NW O-Line breaks down and Anderson breaks through for a 7 yard sack. Kafka finally throws into the soft zone for eight yards, 3rd and 9. Then comes a great play by Jones: He blitzes, gets cut down by a back, springs up, watches Kafka sprint past him, turns his hips and catches Kafka by the sideline, dragging him right through the chain gang and into the wall. Flags fly, but Jones smartly initiated contact in bounds and the refs decide not to penalize him for being a hard ass. Punt time, and Jones has his fifth tackle.

Sixth Possession, 7-0 NW

A couple of time killing runs and dump offs take us to half...

Seventh Possession, Second Half, 7-0 NW

Michigan State rolls up on of it's corners, probably a good idea considering Kafka has complete about 8 passes in front of backpedaling cornerbacks or soft outside zones. Jones is lined up as an OLB and Gordon cleans up the running back with a big shot. 2nd and 9, here's a wrinkle from Narduzzi - Jones as a left side DE. Jones throws in a spin move and gets his first QB hurry of the day - not surprisingly, Gordon cleans up again. 3rd and 7, GJ lined up as DE again, but a quick slant to Andrew Brewer gives the Wildcats a first down. On first, Drake Dunsmore (that's a name straight out of Gossip Girl) gets stripped by Rucker, Spartan ball.

Good to see Narduzzi tossing in the occasional changeup with Jones. GJ was looking bored against the sideline out routes and slants.

Eighth Possession, 7-7

Option right with Kafka and GJ holds his ground, spying Kafka nicely and forgetting about the pitch back. Kafka sees Jones spying him and reverses field, picking up 1 yard. A baby bump out of bounds draws one of the weakest personal foul penalties I can imagine. 1st and ten at midfield and Stephan Simmons runs outside right, only to get his clock cleaned by Jones after a two yard run. Good ol' fashioned smack right there, six tackles on the day. 2nd and eight, Jones trips on the blitz and gets pancaked blocked. 3rd and 8 and Kafka scrambles for five yard - I think Jones sat out that play, It's the first play he's taken off.

Punt time and Pam Ward shows a complete lack of football knowledge by chastising the Northwestern punter for a perfect punt that is fair caught at the MSU 13. In response, I mute the TV and toss the remote out the window, Ah, silence is golden.

Ninth Possession, 14-7 MSU

The Wildcats have Kafka in the shotgun in a one-back set. A pass is drilled between Gordon and GJ for a five yard gain - seven tackles on the day. 2nd and five, a delayed GJ blitz leads to an unimpeded sack.

3rd and long, here comes GJ on a blitz AGAIN. He pinballs off two blocks and is primed to sack Kafka when he's cut down from behind by a big lineman. Penalty declined, punt time. That's five straight stops by the Spartan defense.

Tenth Possession, 24-7 MSU

Great swing pass, but the Wildcats aren't going to make a comeback with 7 yard passes. Jones with a quarterback blitz, but an effective dump pass leads to a Wildcat first down. The refs miss an obvious hold and Kafka rushes outside left for a nine yard run. It's 2nd and one on the MSU 40, how will Narduzzi stem the onrushing Wildcats? A short run leads to a first down, but Jones is yards away. With a big lead, it seems that Jones is lined up 5 yards off the LOS and is playing a bit of a prevent pass coverage.

After a short completion, Kafka throws a beautiful lob for a 20 yard gain. It's first and ten on the MSU 16 - a Jones blitz leads to a false start, this is the second time a GJ blitz has led to a false start. 2nd and 15, GJ matches up with a superback and baits Kafka into an incompletion. Smart, smart play. Man to man across the board and Kafka completes a ball to everyone's favorite walk in, Zeke Marshausen. First and goal on the one and the Spartans make two stops, leading to a big third and goal. GJ blitz again and Markshausen catches a slant for TD.

Eleventh Possession, 24-14 MSU

Jones picks up a streaking WR in coverage and easily follows him. The 4-3 has been effective today against Northwestern, keeping a steady stream of pressure (three sacks), stuffing any inside runs, and allowing the zone coverage to halt any possible big plays. Brandon Denson and GJ follow a swing pass and stuff it for two yards. On second down, Trevor Anderson chases down a running back to cause third down. Another Jones blitz is mitigated by a quick slant for first down.

Jones goes back to DE and beats his man again with that ever present spin move. He gets his second quarterback hurry. Not satisfied, Jones blitzes from the MLB position, beats a double team with another spin move to get his third quarterback hurry. 3rd and long, no impact by Jones on the blitz, but it's 4th and long after an incomplete pass. Will they blitz GJ again? Yes and the quick out is two yards short. Turnover on downs.

(Jones also made two solo tackles on the final drive, which I was unable to watch because my DVR did not record it)

Conclusions, Statistics, Etc.

Greg Jones Stats: 14 tackles (9 solo, 5 assisted), 1 official quarterback hurry, 2 sacks, 1 pass breakup.

Positives of Greg Jones: Moves laterally unbelievably well. Obviously the defensive leader, instructing his teammates where to go. Loves the concept of hitting people, dragging ball carriers down, etc. When allowed to pin his ears back, GJ destroyed the offensive tackles with a simple spin move, causing havoc in the Wildcat backfield and leading to sacks - who knew he was such an effective pass rusher from the DE spot?

Conclusions: Because of the high number of plays that NW ran, the tackle totals are a bit inflated for Jones. But the sheer fact that he didn't miss any tackles speaks volumes to the solid presence he's been for the Spartans. I balked at calling GJ a "freakish athlete" early in the season, but the speed and high IQ make him pretty damn NFL ready.

Is he the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year so far? I say he's in the top five right now, along with Brian Rolle (OSU), O'Brien Schofield (UW), Adrien Clayborn (Iowa), and Josh Hull (PSU). Leading the Big Ten in tackles won't hurt, but the 30+ points allowed to Wisky, CMU, and ND won't help his case (even if it was mostly on the secondary).

Penn State Freezes Minnesota 20-0

BSD — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 04:00:19 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

about 1 month ago: Penn State wide receiver Derek Moye (6) catches a pass in the end zone for a touchdown as Minnesota cornerback Marcus Sherels (24) moves in on the play during the first half of an NCAA college football game in State College, Pa., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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It was a cold and wet day for mid October with several inches of snow on the ground from the day before. The homecoming crowd was subdued from the cold drizzle falling on their faces, but their hearts were warmed by a dominating performance by the Nittany Lions as Penn State turned in a rare shutout over the Golden Gophers of Minnesota.

The Penn State defense set the tone for the day on the opening series when Josh Hull intercepted an Adam Weber pass, giving the Lions excellent field position at the Minnesota 34 yard line. Though the offense sputtered and couldn't advance the ball, the Gophers were put on notice that every yard would have to be earned.

Evan Royster ignited Penn State's second drive with a 35 yard gain down the right sideline out of a Power I formation. But a few erratic throws by Clark and a sack on third down stalled the drive. Collin Wagner salvaged the effort with a career long 47 yard field goal that looked like it wouldn't have been good from 47.5 yards.

Starting from their own 20 on their next drive, Penn State methodically drove down the field in 13 plays, but the drive stalled at the Minnesota 10 yard line where Wagner punched in his second field goal in as many drives. Though Penn State was dominating, it was a nervous feeling to only be up by six points.

But six points would prove to be all the defense needed. Minnesota failed to find success in the running game or the passing attack. As a team they rushed for only 37 yards and a 2.1 yard per carry average. Adam Weber only threw for 101 yards with his star receiver Eric Decker only catching one pass for 42 yards late in the third quarter when the game was comfortably in hand. For the day the Gophers only ran 40 offensive plays and managed only seven first downs.

Penn State's fourth possession was killed by a holding penalty on Lou Eliades and an offsides call on Chaz Powell. Collin Wagners 49 yard field goal attempt fell short by two yards, so it's safe to say his range has been officially established at 47 yards.

Penn State's final drive of the half started at their own nine yard line. Ten plays, later they found themselves facing a 3rd at 2 play at the Minnesota 13 yard line. Clark dropped back to pass and faced heavy pressure. He dumped the ball off to Graham Zug who had to go low to make the catch. The play was originally called incomplete, but video replay showed that Zug managed to get his arm under the ball and make the catch, so Penn State was awarded a first a goal. Even still, it looked like a holding penalty on Wisniewski was going to stall another drive. But on 2nd and goal from the 13 Clark threw to Moye in the endzone. The officials ruled the catch out of bounds, but again the play was reviewed, and again the call on the field was overturned. Replays showed Moye indeed caught the ball and dragged his right foot inbounds for the touchdown. Penn State would take a 13-0 lead into the half.

Both teams traded insignificant possessions to start the third quarter. Then the Penn State offense got in gear again. Starting from their own 15 yard line they marched on a 13 play drive that consumed nearly eight minutes off the clock. Daryll Clark punched the ball in the endzone on a quarterback sneak to give the Nittany Lions a 20 point lead to end the scoring.

But there was still work to be done to protect the shutout. Minnesota responded with a drive of their own, highlighted by the 42 yard pass to Decker over the middle. A few plays later the Gophers had a 1st and goal at the PSU 8 yard line. But some stellar play by the cornerbacks would prevent Minnesota from scoring. On first down, D'Anton Lynn blanketed Brandon Green in the endzone forcing an incomplete pass from Weber. On second down Stephon Morris showed good aggressiveness in breaking up a wide receiver screen for little gain. An Adam Weber scramble on third down came up short setting up a fourth and goal play from the half yard line. Weber handed off to Kevin Whaley who raced toward the right pylon. Jerome Hayes got up field taking on two blockers and forcing the play to the outside. Then Navorro Bowman and A.J. Wallace converged on the play and stopped Whaley for no gain. The shutout was safe, and the celebration began. Minnesota never threatened to score again.

Overall it was a solid performance by Penn State. They dominated the Gophers on offense and defense. The final score may look disappointing to those just cruising the headlines, but considering the weather conditions and the fact that Penn State started most of their drives deep in their own territory I think Joe Paterno will be pretty happy with this performance.