SB Nation - Sean Lee

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

Top Five All-Big Ten Football Team Errors

Pete Rossman — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:04:01 -0000

The picks are here.

And here are the travesties:

5. Jared Odrick, Coaches' Defensive Player of the Year. There's no doubt that Odrick was one of the top five or six defensive linemen in the conference. However, here were the other All-Big ten first team defensive linemen named by the coaches: Adrian Clayborn, Brandon Graham, and O'Brien Schofield. If I gave you those names, where would you rank Odrick? Third? Fourth? And he's the one the coaches named defensive player of the year?

4. Eric Decker, Coaches' First team Wide Receiver. If Decker had stayed healthy all year, I'd have no problem with this placement. However, he only played two-thirds of the season, and I'm certain that there are least two wide receivers out there - Keith Smith of Purdue and Darrell Johnson-Koulianos of Iowa - who deserved the honor more than Decker.

3. Seriously, Jared Odrick? I mean, Pat Angerer can't get some love? Tyler Sash? If you were asking me, "Name two players on the same team who deserved the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award", those would've been the first two names out of my mouth.

2. Brett Swenson, non-unanimous selection. I promise this is the only section where I'll be a homer. Apparently making 90% of your field goals and being far and away the most consistent kicker in the Big Ten wasn't clear cut enough. Was it that extra point he missed in September? Is it because his kickoffs only made it to the ten? I don't get it.

1. JARED ODRICK? I don't want to bash Odrick, he's been a great player for Penn State all season. I'm happy that Greg Jones got the honor from the media, but I would've understood if he didn't receive the award. After all, I'm pretty sure Graham Zug scored again on a wheel route, and the failures of the MSU secondary drags the whole defense down, fair or unfair. However, I would've named Schofield, Graham, Angerer, Sash, Amari Speivey, Navarro Bowman, or Sean Lee DPOY before Odrick. Once again, Odrick deserved the honors he received as All-Big Ten, but there were several more deserving players this year in the Big Ten to be defensive player of the year.

Disruption Percentage: The Saga Continues

KJ@theonlycolors — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:00:38 -0000

More photos » by Tom Strattman - AP

A nondisruptive play by the MSU defense.

Browse more photos »

OR "Statistics That Will Help Bring You Down from the Post-Bowl-Game-Clinching-Win High"

Premise:

Boiled down to its basics, playing offense successfully in the sport of football is pretty simple:

Gain 10 yards in 3 tries.

Repeat until you reach the the end zone.

. . . At the hypothetical extreme, a team that could gain exactly 3.5 yards on every play could achieve that goal. Alternately, two rushing plays of 5 yards each or a single pass completion in three attempts for 10 yards does the trick.

The goal of any football defense, then, has to be to disrupt the opposing offense's rhythm, with the goal of creating a situation where picking up 3-5 yards per play isn't enough to keep a drive going.

In an attempt to quantify the success (or lack thereof) of the Michigan State defense in disrupting opposing offenses, we here at TOC have developed a new-fangled metric we call "disruption percentage." The percentage is calculated by summing the five defensive statistics below (presented in ascending order of disruptiveness) and dividing the total by the number of offensive plays run by the opposition:

Quarterback hurries: Increasing the odds the offense will throw an incomplete pass and lose an opportunity to gain yardage toward a first down
Pass break-ups: Ending an attempted pass play and reducing the number of downs the opposition has to pick up a first down
Tackles for loss: Increasing the yardage the offense has to gain to achieve a first down by sacking the quarterback or stopping a running play for a loss
Forced fumbles: Creating the opportunity to recover a fumble and end the opponent's offensive possession
Interceptions: Definitively ending the opponent's offensive possession

(Notes: (a) If specific stats on penalties by the opposing offense--holding, etc.--were readily available, we'd include those, as well. (b) We define "forced fumble" liberally, counting any fumble by the offense, even if it's not directly attributable to a defensive player. (c) Initially, we didn't include pass break-ups, but we've added them. That helps eliminate a bias toward blitzing; if you can rush 3 and drop 8 effectively, that should show up in pass break-ups. (d) There's some double-counting going on, as a QB hurry can lead to an interception, etc.)

Here are the updated game-by-game numbers for MSU:

Opponent	QBH	PBR	TFL	FF	INT	TOTAL	Plays	Disrupt%
Montana St	5	2	4	0	0	11	54	20.4
Central Mich	0	4	6	0	1	11	76	14.5
Notre Dame	1	3	4	1	1	10	71	14.1
Wisconsin	4	2	3	1	0	10	81	12.3
Michigan	1	3	10	3	1	18	60	30.0
Illinois	6	3	8	0	1	18	60	30.0
Northwestern	2	2	6	3	0	13	76	17.1
Iowa	0	4	5	0	0	9	66	13.6
Minnesota	0	1	5	1	1	8	72	11.1
Western	5	4	4	1	0	14	55	25.5
Purdue	0	3	5	2	0	10	92	10.9
TOTAL	24	31	60	12	5	132	763	17.3

The first time we went through this exercise was after the Northwestern game. At that point, we were hopeful that the back-to-back 30% performances, followed by the decent 17.1% against Northwestern's short-pass-based offense portended good things for the defense. It looked like maybe the new starters were gelling in the base 4-3 defense and our remaining opponents would suffer because of it.

Then we played two more games. Neither of which turned out very well.

LVS, during the week after the Minnesota game:

It probably comes as very little surprise to MSU fans that two of the three least disruptive defensive performances have come in the past two weeks. Iowa was somewhat predictable, as that's a team that will, ideally, play a conservative offensive game because their defense is so good. Of course, that's not exactly how things have worked out this season for them: one or two of the third quarter STANZIBALLS against Indiana would have been, uh, enormously useful in our game. Our complete failure to hurry the quarterback against Iowa probably cost us our chance at one or two easy interceptions. And the Minnesota game . . . well, we all knew that Saturday night was our worst defensive performance of the season, and these statistics certainly buttress that feeling.

Now we've played two more games. The defense's performance against Western was certainly acceptable (particularly given that the game had basically been decided before halftime).

The performance against Purdue? Not so much. While the disruption percentage was fractionally better than the season-low showing against Minnesota, I'm going to say the defensive performance against the Boilermakers was the worst of the season. Two reasons:

The Gophers made several spectacular passes/receptions against us on their way to 42 points. Purdue, on the other hand, just seemed to take the easy yards available to them all afternoon, without having to doing anything of particular offensive brilliance. (In the words of Mark Dantonio: "Today was a day of big plays for us. We made a play at the beginning of the game on defense, one at the end of the game on defense, and somewhere in there, there were 90 other plays.")
Four of the five tackles for loss MSU posted against Purdue were on running plays. So in terms of the pass defense, which has been the major concern all year long, the defense made only 4 disruptive plays on 55 Purdue passing attempts.

(We'll be able to say more about the exact nature of the miserable defensive performance against the Boilermakers when DrDetroit finishes his MSUFR later this week.)

The good news is that MSU got its first win of the season with a sub-15 disruption percentage. The bad news is that, going into the two remaining games against Penn State and a yet-to-be-determined bowl opponent that will probably have a decent offense, the Spartan defense appears to be getting less-and-less disruptive. The performances against Michigan and Illinois--two teams now at the bottom of the conference standings--clearly have to be classified as outliers. And the idea that sticking with your base defense in 90% of situations so that the players become a well-oiled machine as the season progresses doesn't carry much water any more.

Instead, predictable defensive schemes have lead to quotes like the ones below from opposing players/coaches.

Adam Weber:

We were just hoping that they were lined up in that same defense, and sure enough, first play walking up to the line, they’re in the defense we want them to be.

Danny Hope:

We had a great game plan. They have a very vanilla defensive formation. We knew what were up against and what we had to do. We just had to execute and I felt like we really did.

(HTs: Con-T, LVS)

Just to make sure that I'm not mixcontextualizing (word?) the MSU disruption percentage data, I went ahead and ran the numbers for the other ten Big Ten teams.

Team	QBH	PBR	TFL	FF	INT	TOTAL	Plays	Disrupt%	Yds/G	Yds/G Rk
Iowa	18	56	61	17	19	171	716	23.9	294.5	3
Wisconsin	18	29	73	13	13	146	612	23.9	307.4	4
Penn State	6	43	91	9	11	160	704	22.7	272.0	2
Ohio State	10	30	65	20	19	144	701	20.5	258.3	1
Illinois	15	40	56	16	4	131	685	19.1	400.3	10
Northwestern	19	22	56	22	14	133	705	18.9	345.2	5
Minnesota	4	49	61	23	9	146	784	18.6	381.8	8
Michigan	7	31	77	13	10	138	768	18.0	400.2	9
Purdue	3	32	73	20	10	138	769	17.9	368.8	7
Michigan St	24	31	60	12	5	132	763	17.3	350.9	6
Indiana	6	25	63	22	16	132	774	17.1	407.5	11
TOTAL	130	388	736	187	130	1,571	7,981	19.7

These are full-season numbers. Ideally, we'd work with conference-only numbers to get a flatter playing field, but those aren't readily available.

I've ranked the teams from best to worst in terms of disruption percentage and included total defense (yards/game) figures and ranks for comparison. My working hypothesis is that disruption percentage may have some predictive value, as it helps separate out the degree to which a defense is forcing bad plays versus the degree to which an offense is just executive really well.

(That's not a perfect distinction. Good pass blocking, for example, is obviously a function of good execution. But, as a pro-predictive example, disruption percentage gives a defense credit for a good pass rush that results in a quarterback hurry, even if the offense nevertheless throws a really good pass to a well-covered receiver that goes for a long gain. And it doesn't give credit for a pass an opposing quarterback just flat underthrows even though he's under no particular durress.)

The disruption percentage and total defense ranks show a high degree of correlation. Illinois and MSU are the exceptions. Based on my theory, that would mean Illinois has been somewhat unlucky and MSU has been somewhat lucky in terms of how their fundamental defensive performances have translated into yardage gained by their opponents. It could also mean Illinois plays an aggressive defense that gets burnt by long plays quite a bit--and vice versa for MSU.

Regardless, the numbers demonstrate that the Michigan State defense has been among the least disruptive in the conference this season--just two-tenths of a percentage point ahead of last-place Indiana. The best defense in the league come close to doing something disruptive on 1 out of every 4 plays. MSU, meanwhile, is doing it on only 1 of 6 plays. In their worst performances, that ratio drops to 1 out of every 9 plays.

Most BCS-conference-level offenses are going to find ways to pick up first downs when the defense doesn't do anything to force them out of their rhythm on 8 out of 9 plays. Fixing that big-picture problem is the key factor if this football team is to have any success in the two games that remain this season and, perhaps more importantly, in the new season that begins less than 10 months from now.

Bonus conference-wide observations, since we're here:

The league-leading number of quarterback hurries (24) for MSU is somewhat puzzling, given that 5 teams in the conference only register a QB hurry figure in the single digits. I initially thought this might be a function of inconsistent statistical scoring. But the number of hurries per game for MSU isn't any different at home than it is on the road; I'm assuming the same person scores the game for both sides in each game. Perhaps that's not the case for individual defensive stats, though. If that's the case and MSU QB-hurry numbers are inflated, their disruption numbers would become downright abysmal compared to the rest of the league. Alternately, the high number of QB hurries could be a function of blitzes that are only semi-effective; pass rushers are getting to the quarterback with a high frequency, but not in time to register a sack. (Although MSU does still rank 2nd in the league in sacks--so this whole thing has me puzzled.)
The Iowa secondary is as good as advertised. Totaling pass break-ups and interceptions, you get 75 disruptive plays in pass coverage for the Hawkeyes. That's 17 more than the second best subtotal in the league (Minnesota's 58).
Given Michigan's disappointing season, Brandon Graham won't win the Big Ten defensive player of the year award. But he may well be the single most effective defensive player in the league. On a team with only the 8th highest disruption percentage in the league, he's registered 26 individual disruptive plays (21.0 TFLs, 2 FFs, 2 PBRs, 1 QBH), which represents nearly 1 out 5 (18.8%) of his team's total disruptive plays.
Those numbers do trail O'Brien Schofield's (29.5 disruptive plays; 19.5 TFLs, 7 QBHs, 2 FFs, 1 PBR; 20.2% of his team's total), but Schofield is presumably getting more help from his comrades on the Wisconsin defense so that opposing offenses can't focus on double-teaming him quite as much.
Other top performers: Adrian Clayborn (Iowa) has 27.5 disruptive plays. Ryan Kerrigan (Purdue) has 23.5. Jamie Kirlew (Indiana) also has 23.5. Somewhat frighteningly, Penn State has three players with at least 16: Jack Crawford (17.5), Navorro Bowman (17.0), and Sean Lee (16.5).
The individual numbers are obviously skewed toward defensive linemen, since tackles for losses make up almost half of disruptive plays.
Greg Jones has 20.0 disruptive plays (11.0 TFLs, 7 QBHs,1 FF, 1 PBR). That's a very good total for a linebacker and equal to 15.2% of MSU's total.
Returning to the frightening-Penn-State-stat category, the Nittany Lions' 91 tackles for loss are 14 better than the #2 team in the league (Michigan). Kirk Cousins is going to need to get the ball out to his receivers quickly on Saturday and, even more than usual, shouldn't count on any help from the running game.
Ohio State leads the league in the percentage of plays on which a potential turnover (forced fumbles plus interceptions) is created: 5.6%. In the other three categories, they're actually pretty unremarkable.
Michigan State, meanwhile, ranks dead last in that category at just 2.3%.
Let's go ahead and end there, for empahsis.

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

The Rivalry Is Watching You: Indiana MLB Matt Mayberry v. Iowa

grahamfiller10 — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:27:32 -0000

A huge thanks to Jason from Chicago for the tip to watch Mayberry.

I hope you enjoy this week's "Watching You," one week late but still relevant. When you think of Big Ten linebackers, Sean Lee, Bryan Rolle, Navorro Bowman, Pat Angerer, and Greg Jones instantly come to mind. Apparently MLB Matt Mayberry of Indiana has flown under the radar, so I wanted to watch him against the power running of Iowa on October 31. How would he react to the Hawkeye's physicality? Was he an oasis of talent in the bare bones of Indiana's LB / secondary corps?

First Quarter

Indiana scored first, taking a 7-0 lead. Keep this in mind.

The Hoosiers are running a stilted 4-3, leaving 7 in the box and hoping to slow Wegher early. MM is at his usual MLB spot. There is little blitzing early because the Hawkeye's are slowly power rushing down the field. For whatever reason, the Hawkeyes are running away from MM, but when they do, he makes a play. A simple off tackle run throws 280 lb Riley Reiff into MM's way - Mayberry smacks him aside and stuffs the play for a short gain. On a Stanzi dropback, MM gets an excellent bump on the receiver and drops smoothly back into coverage. Eventually the defense stiffens and Murray misses a 40 yarder.

Second possession and MM begins to lobby for an All-Big 10 spot. After standing up the 210 Wegher on first down for no gain, Mayberry picks the perfect time to blitz and picks up a sack. A Stanzi pick ends the possession. The Hoosiers have allowed zero points in the first quarter and have withstood some early smashmouth football.

Second Quarter

A third possession showcases the quickness of MM. He blitzes again, avoids a block with some nifty lateral movement, and gets a QB hurry. I realize that Pat Angerer is higher on NFL boards than Mayberry, but Mayberry is quicker. It bears mention that the IU defensive line is pressuring Stanzi too, allowing MM to roam around freely. Punt time.

Iowa, sensing they are being beat up at the LOS, switches to zone read runs. This leads to...nothing much more. MM has six tackles by now and the off-tackle runs have been corralled. It takes until the third quarter for any semblance of a Hawkeye run game to show up. Towards the end of the quarter, Stanzi throws a couple solid deep balls and Wegher punches it in to make the score 21-7 - MM got manhandled by 280 lb. OL Rafael Eubanks on the touchdown.

We go to the half...6 tackles, one sack, one quarterback hurry, 7 Hawkeye points. I'd also like to point out that Indiana had a cornerback named Donnell Jones. Some halftime entertainment then? Donnell...

Third Quarter

Iowa begins run faking and rolling out on almost every play - the Indiana outside linebackers are biting, but not MM. A second down blitz by Mayberry and he almost gets his second sack. After Stanzi drives the Hawkeyes 40 yards, his first pick of the half ends the drive.

An Indiana punt follows, but another Stanzi pick stops us from viewing MM's progress. At the base of Indiana's success is slowing Wegher - now that he's ineffective, the zone is deeper and harder to throw against.

The crazy apeshit Pick Six makes the score 21-14, followed by the controversial non-touchdown to Turner. 24-14 Hoosiers. Stanzi is sacked at the onset of the third possession of the quarter and then MM get's an interception with an assist from the referee, who screens the Iowa receiver. MM almost has the Holy Defensive Trinity (sack, pick, fumble recovery) and most definitely has good agility.

Fourth Quarter

Avert your eyes, Indiana fans, the fourth quarter from Hell is about to begin. Stanzi connects for a 92 yard touchdown and MM can only watch helplessly as the safety blows coverage badly. Safety went man and everyone else went zone. Damn you. 24-21 Indiana.

Anddd a different safety blew coverage on the next offensive play for the Hawkeyes. Touchdown, 66 yards, 28-24 Iowa.

On Iowa's third possession of the fourth quarter, fatigue and momentum combine to hamstring Mayberry. Wegher runs for 8, 4, 4, 4, 6 yards on five consecutive runs. MM has a bad missed tackle where he simply bounces off the ball carrier and then over pursues lazily on the touchdown while Wegher flies by. 35-24 and we're all set here.

Conclusions, Statistics, Etc.

Stats: 8 tackles (by my count), 1 sack, 1 QB hurry, 1 INT, 1 Blantant Missed Tackle

Yearly stats: 84 tackles, 9 TFL's, 3.5 sacks, 2 INT's

Game Discussion: Played like a man possessed in the first half, standing up blockers and ball carriers while running sideline to sideline. Along with the strong defensive line, was a key to stuffing Wegher early. Got tired in the fourth quarter after the Indiana secondary fell apart and squashed momentum.

Mayberry Discussion: CBS has him listed in the Top 25 of senior LB's in the nation and I won't argue. 6'2'' and 237 pounds will get you a look at the NFL, but so will a mature and physical approach to playing football, which MM has. His agility is excellent and he doesn't rely on hand fighting with offensive lineman, choosing instead to swim move or body up to them. Loves hitting, just like Angerer, Jones, and Lee Campbell.

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.

BSD Staff Predictions: Ohio State

Run Up The Score — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:58:48 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

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Alas, all hate things must come to an end. Here's how we see tomorrow's game shaking out.

BSD Mike:

Honestly, I can see this game going either way. Both defenses should dominate, and the score should be low. Really low. A big special teams play, or a key turnover could swing the balance.

But having said that, I like Penn State's chances in this game. I've watched a lot of Ohio State football this year, and I just don't see any cohesion on offense. Do they run the spread or a pro-style offense? Is Terrelle Pryor a pocket passer or a spread option quarterback? I can't tell. But I can tell you he's far from being a polished quarterback. And the players around him at running back and offensive line don't exactly make his life any easier. But his receivers are capable of bailing him out when he punts on third down.

When Penn State gets the ball, I'm expecting a lot of frustration. They're not going to move the ball easily, but they won't get dominated. They'll win some battles, but the Ohio State defense will win their share as well.

Both teams are going to struggle offensively. Barring a bunch of turnovers, this game is going to come down to which team can put together one or two good drives and come away with points. Though Penn State will go through a lot of frustration, I think their offense is better suited to put together one or two drives, and I think that will be the difference.

Prediction: Penn State 17, Ohio State 10

Kevin HD:

Why isn’t this game going to play out exactly like last year’s?

The only difference I can come up with is that Pryor lacks a Robiskie to bring down the jump balls. Add in some downgrades on both offensive lines, maybe compensate for the fact that the Buckeyes haven’t really found a true replacement for Wells….and, honestly, most of that seems a wash.

The wildcard is Daryll Clark and the offense. While we like to boast about the Penn State defense around here, Ohio State’s is at least as good. They may lack some of the real standouts up front and at linebacker, but they make up for it with balance.

The offense is going to be kept on a very short leash, which is something you can’t really blame Paterno for considering the situation. Can Clark, with the über-safe playbook, move down the field three or four times? I'll say just barely. Add in a couple of missed Ohio State field goals, and the defense rides this one home.

Penn State 13, Ohio State 6

Run Up The Score:

I expect to see a very similar Penn State offense to what we watched last week at Northwestern, with lots of quick, safe throws to the wide receivers. The Nittany Lion offensive line has slowly improved throughout the season, but Ohio State is too good and too fast at the front of their defense to try repeated five and seven-step drops. If Penn State is going to go deep, expect them to do it like they did against Northwestern -- play-action and rolling Clark away from the rush. If they can get the team around 100-125 rushing yards, that should keep the Buckeye defense sufficiently honest.

Defensively, you're likely to see a repeat of last year's scheme in Columbus. Basically, they'll try to keep Pryor in front of them and force him to win with his brain and arm. In that sense, losing Aaron Maybin to the NFL isn't as big of a deal against Ohio State compared to other opponents. Jack Crawford and the other defensive ends will most often be asked to contain the quarterback, not attack him. And don't forget about the biggest difference between this year's PSU defense and the 2008 version -- Sean Lee is back, which gives the coaching staff additional flexibility. Should be interesting to see if Navorro Bowman acts as a QB spy, like he did at times against Tate Forcier. The place to beat Penn State is between the safeties. If that means Terrelle Pryor is going to throw the ball across the middle, I'm all for it.

Amazingly, this may be a rare 2009 instance in which Penn State has an advantage on special teams. Collin Wagner has settled in quite nicely. No, he'll never give you a legitimate shot at a 52 yard field goal, but how likely would Joe Paterno be to attempt such a kick in what is going to be a field position battle, anyway? Ohio State is dealing with the loss of their kicker to a knee injury. The replacement, Devin Barclay, is a former MLS player who went 1-for-3 last week with misses from 36 and 47 yards -- and that's in a no-pressure game at home against New Mexico State.

There's a path to victory for Ohio State that includes forcing turnovers from Clark and a big play in the kicking game. In reality, the game should be decided by only two or three big, big plays, so it's not like there's a ton of room for error on either side. Still, in this type of game, give me the better and more mature QB at home, every time. Ohio State doesn't have enough playmakers on offense to take the pressure off Terrelle Pryor, and he's just not good enough -- not yet, hopefully -- to win this kind of game on his own. A fourth quarter touchdown after a Buckeye turnover ices it for the good guys.

Penn State 20, Ohio State 7

Ohio State Preview By The Numbers

BSD — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:00:22 -0000

Penn State	Value (Nat'l Rank)	Value (Nat'l Rank)	Ohio State Buckeyes	Advantage
Rushing Offense (ypg)	182.0 (33)	86.4 (6)	Rushing Defense (ypg)
Passing Offense (ypg)	247.1 (34)	173.6 (14)	Passing Defense (ypg)	Push
Pass Efficiency	146.6 (20)	96.7 (8)	Pass Efficiency Defense	Push
Total Offense (ypg)	429.1 (24)	260.0 (6)	Total Defense (ypg)	Push
Scoring Offense (ppg)	30.7 (33)	11.7 (6)	Scoring Defense (ppg)
Rushing Defense (ypg)	84.1 (5)	186.6 (26)	Rushing Offense (ypg)	Push
Passing Defense (ypg)	170.7 (12)	189.6 (94)	Passing Offense (ypg)
Pass Efficiency Defense	95.7 (6)	128.5 (60)	Pass Efficiency
Total Defense (ypg)	254.8 (5)	376.1 (63)	Total Offense (ypg)
Scoring Defense (ppg)	9.3 (1)	31.0 (29)	Scoring Offense (ppg)
Net Punting Yds	32.0 (114)	6.1 (93)	Punt Return Yds	Push
Punt Return Yds	5.4 (101)	37.2 (35)	Net Punting Yds
Kickoff Return Yds	18.1 (110)	18,8 (13)	Kickoff Return Defense
Kickoff Return Defense	22.0 (77)	24.8 (19)	Kickoff Return Yds
Turnover Margin	0.56 (34)	0.89 (14)	Turnover Margin	Push
Penalty Yds/Game	36.4 (4)	38.4 (6)	Penalty Yds/Game	Push
Sacks	3.56 (4)	1.67 (50)	Sacks Allowed
Sacks Allowed	1.11 (17)	2.78 (20)	Sacks	Push
Redzone Offense (%)	0.86 (30)	0.80 (51)	Redzone Defense (%)	Push
Redzone Defense (%)	0.57 (1)	0.73 (103)	Redzone Offense (%)
Redzone TD %	0.62	0.51	Redzone TD % Defense
Redzone TD % Defense	0.29	0.60	Redzone TD %
3rd Down Conv. %	51.6 (6)	32.3 (15)	3rd Down Defense %	Push
3rd Down Defense %	30.3 (10)	41.9 (47)	3rd Down Conv. %

Legend

Difference <25 in National Rank = Push

Difference >25 in National Rank =

Difference >50 in National Rank =

Difference >75 in National Rank =

Differences >100 in National Rank =

Note: The Redzone TD% and Redzone TD% Defense are calculated by me and not ranked by the NCAA. Determining who has the advantage in these categories is strictly my arbitrary judgement.

More analysis after the jump.

Best Matchup

Good God is it going to be fun watching the Penn State offense and Ohio State defense go toe to toe. Both units are pretty evenly matched. I think we'll see both teams win their share of battles.

Both teams commit very few penalties. So it should be a pretty clean game, unless the Big Ten officials decide to finally start calling holding for a change. Or if they flag Sean Lee with yet another unnecessary roughness penalty, cuz, ya know, he's the most dirty player in the league for hitting tight ends in the chest with his shoulder pad.

Worst Matchup

Nothing really. I guess neither team is spectacular in the punting game.

Advantages for Ohio State

As usual, Penn State gives up a lot in the kicking game. Expect Penn State to be starting with poor field position most of the night, and don't be surprised if Ohio State gets a good return or two. But keep in mind that Ohio State's kicker is out for the year. So maybe there's hope there.

Advantages for Penn State

All those 's really stick out when Penn State is on defense, don't they? The Buckeyes have a pretty good rushing game, but I suspect a lot of those yards are Terrelle Pryor. If Penn State can contain him or get a lead where Jim Tressel has to abandon the running game, it could spell doom for the Buckeye offense.

I'm really surprised with Ohio State's ability to score in the redzone. You would think with a weapon like Pryor they would score every time down there. Or turn it over. Everybody does. Whatever. Penn State, on the other hand, leads the nation in turning teams away when they start knocking on the goal line. So if Ohio State stalls in the redzone once or twice, you can smile with knowing glee.

Ohio State Team Stats

Passing

		Passing									Rushing					Sacks
	G	Rating	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/G	Y/A	TD	INT	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Sack	YdsL
Joe Bauserman	5	86.4	6	19	31.6	124	24.8	6.5	0	0	9	10	2	1.1	0	-	-
Terrelle Pryor	9	129.2	112	206	54.4	1543	171.4	7.5	13	9	110	554	61.6	5	6	-	-

Rushing

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
Joe Bauserman	5	9	10	2	1.1	0	0	0	0	0	0
K.C. Christian	2	5	14	7	2.8	0	0	0	0	0	0
Bo DeLande	1	3	5	5	1.7	0	0	0	0	0	0
Joe Gantz	2	4	6	3	1.5	0	0	0	0	0	0
Daniel Herron	6	72	307	51.2	4.3	6	5	34	5.7	6.8	0
Jermil Martin	3	11	84	28	7.6	1	0	0	0	0	0
Terrelle Pryor	9	110	554	61.6	5	6	0	0	0	0	0
Brandon Saine	9	88	439	48.8	5	1	10	143	15.9	14.3	0
Dane Sanzenbacher	8	2	11	1.4	5.5	0	22	453	56.6	20.6	6
Ray Small	8	3	27	3.4	9	0	12	153	19.1	12.8	0
Lamaar Thomas	8	1	6	.800	6	0	1	10	1.3	10	0

Receiving

		Receiving
	G	Rec	Yds	Y/G	AVG	TD
Jake Ballard	7	9	98	14	10.9	0
Zach Boren	2	2	14	7	7	1
Duron Carter	5	12	164	32.8	13.7	1
Daniel Herron	6	5	34	5.7	6.8	0
DeVier Posey	9	43	595	66.1	13.8	6
Brandon Saine	9	10	143	15.9	14.3	0
Dane Sanzenbacher	8	22	453	56.6	20.6	6
Ray Small	8	12	153	19.1	12.8	0
Jake Stoneburner	2	2	30	15	15	0
Lamaar Thomas	8	1	10	1.3	10	0

Kicking

		Field Goals								PAT
	G	0-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+	FGM	FGA	PCT	XPM	XPA	PCT	pts
Devin Barclay	1	-	-	-	-	-	1	3	30.0%	3	3	100.0%	6
Aaron Pettrey	9	-	-	-	-	-	13	19	70.0%	28	29	100.0%	67

Penn State Team Stats

Passing

		Passing									Rushing					Sacks
	G	Rating	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/G	Y/A	TD	INT	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Sack	YdsL
Daryll Clark	9	149.3	166	254	65.4	2158	239.8	8.5	18	7	48	148	16.4	3.1	5	-	-
Matthew McGloin	1	0.0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	-
Kevin Newsome	6	123.1	8	11	72.7	66	11	6	0	0	16	85	14.2	5.3	1	-	-

Rushing

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
Brandon Beachum	6	21	106	17.7	5	1	3	29	4.8	9.7	0
Brent Carter	4	11	40	10	3.6	1	0	0	0	0	0
Daryll Clark	9	48	148	16.4	3.1	5	0	0	0	0	0
Curtis Drake	3	1	-17	-5.7	-17	0	3	30	10	10	0
Stephfon Green	7	49	248	35.4	5.1	3	3	37	5.3	12.3	0
Derek Moye	9	1	-3	-0.3	-3	0	39	648	72	16.6	5
Kevin Newsome	6	16	85	14.2	5.3	1	0	0	0	0	0
Chaz Powell	8	6	53	6.6	8.8	0	26	355	44.4	13.7	3
Evan Royster	9	145	859	95.4	5.9	5	11	145	16.1	13.2	1
Devon Smith	6	4	33	5.5	8.3	0	4	30	5	7.5	0
Joe Suhey	9	13	38	4.2	2.9	0	14	114	12.7	8.1	0
Shaine Thompson	1	1	4	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0

Receiving

		Receiving
	G	Rec	Yds	Y/G	AVG	TD
Brandon Beachum	6	3	29	4.8	9.7	0
Brett Brackett	2	2	-5	-2.5	-2.5	1
Justin Brown	2	4	72	36	18	0
Curtis Drake	3	3	30	10	10	0
Stephfon Green	7	3	37	5.3	12.3	0
Derek Moye	9	39	648	72	16.6	5
Chaz Powell	8	26	355	44.4	13.7	3
Andrew Quarless	9	25	340	37.8	13.6	1
Evan Royster	9	11	145	16.1	13.2	1
Mickey Shuler	6	9	73	12.2	8.1	2
Devon Smith	6	4	30	5	7.5	0
Joe Suhey	9	14	114	12.7	8.1	0
Andrew Szczerba	1	1	6	6	6	0
Graham Zug	8	30	350	43.8	11.7	5

Kicking

		Field Goals								PAT
	G	0-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+	FGM	FGA	PCT	XPM	XPA	PCT	pts
Collin Wagner	9	-	-	-	-	-	10	14	70.0%	34	34	100.0%	64

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

BSD Staff Predictions: Northwestern Wildcats

Kevin HD — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:11:22 -0000

More photos » by Terry Gilliam - AP

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Your staff preview of this season's "let's get overly concerned" sandwich game...

Mike Says...

Evanston has been a place where Penn State can never seem to get an easy win. They have a 4-2 all time record there, but three of those wins have come by less than five points. Even the 2005 team needed a miracle pass from Michael Robinson to Isaac Smolko on 4th and 15 to pull out the win. So it's tempting to say this is going to be a difficult win for Penn State. But I'm just not seeing it.

The game in 2005 came a week before Penn State put it all together against Minnesota. This Penn State team has already played itself into a weapon of mass destruction. Northwestern has nothing that scares me on offense. And the defense is starting the waterboy and two managers in the secondary. This is not Northwestern circa 1995. Bring on the Buckeyes.

Penn State 35, Northwestern 17

Kevin Says...

They asked Pat Fitzgerald what he thought of the 2009 Penn State football team and his basic response was, "Man those guys are good." He's mostly right. The offense is first in the league in total yards, second in total points, and seems to have finally picked up an identity.

And I expect nothing less than proverbial bloodshed while Northwestern has the ball. Lee practiced all week and should be available to help defend against the short passing game Kafka brings. You've got what might be the very best defense in the country (1st nationally in points allowed, 4th in total yards) against a Northwestern team that ranks 60 to 100+ in most major offensive categories.

I expect 2005-Illinoisish chaos. In a good way.

Penn State 52, Northwestern 7

Ruts Says...

No reason to worry here. Northwestern's severely hampered by injuries in the secondary, so Penn State should be able to move the ball at will. Oh, and Northwestern can't run the ball. If this is any less than a mauling, I'll be disappointed.

Penn State 44, Northwestern 14