SB Nation - Mickey Shuler

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Penn State Stats

Passing

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

Rushing

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

Receiving

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

Kicking

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

Florida Stats

Passing

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

Rushing

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

Receiving

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

Kicking

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

Poll

Who wins this matchup?

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

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.

Grading the Penn State Offense Against Eastern Illinois

BSD — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:05:49 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

2 months ago: Penn State quarterback Kevin Newsome (12) runs for a gain through Eastern Illinois defenders Nathan Galan (95) and Sean Campbell (49) during the second half of their NCAA college football game in State College, Pa., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009. Penn State won 52-3. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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You all get lucky today. My kid's soccer game got cancelled, so I watched the Penn State game. So you all get a review today. Let's get to it.

Quarterbacks

Daryll Clark was sensational completing 13 of 19 passes for 234 yards and 3 TD. But then I would be worried if he were anything less than sensational against Eastern Illinois. Other than being a little erratic in the redzone on Penn State's second possession, his lone mistake was the interception, and it was an ugly play. He recognized the blitz was coming and looked at Quarless for the short outlet. And he looked. And he looked. And he looked some more. Then I think he even pointed at Quarless and yelled, "Hey, I'm going to throw it there!" Then he threw it and it was intercepted. Let's try not to do that next time, mmmkay?

But let's talk about Mr. Newsome who saw his most extended action of the year. Saturday was more confirmation about some things we already suspected. Newsome is an electrifying runner. It seems like he can go from standing still to top speed in about two steps. And he's a big kid that's tough to bring down. I must admit, when I see him running in that No. 12 jersey, I see a lot of Michael Robinson. Having him in the backfield next year with Evan Royster and Stephfon Green with an experienced offensive line just might be unstoppable. That's the good part.

On the flip side, I saw something else that reminded me of Michael Robinson, but this isn't a good thing. Newsome has a long way to go in refining his mechanics. He throws off his back foot a lot, and he's a little partial to doing the sidearm wrist-flick-thing. And yes, I saw a lot of arm punts. The other thing that bothered me is the way he carries the ball. He had two fumbles in his short time on the field, and there were a few other carries where he let ball separate from his body leaving him susceptible to another fumble. Just looking at the picture to the right makes me nervous with the way he's carrying the ball. He's got to tighten that up, or else that electrifying running ability will be quickly negated.

Final Grade: B

Running Backs

I can't think of anything particularly spectacular the running backs did. They didn't fumble, so that's good. I think Royster did a good job of reading his blocks and making the right cuts this week. He looked more like 2008 Royster than 2009 Royster. It looks like he's starting to gain confidence in his offensive line again. He finished the day with 94 yards on 8 carries for a whopping 11.8 yards per carry.

Stephfon Green and Brandon Beachum looked equally impressive averaging 7.2 and 7.0 yards per carry respectively. I still don't know what to think about Green though. It just seems like he either gets impatient and runs past his blockers or he gets too patient and just dances until somebody tackles him. But when he times it correctly and puts it all together it almost seems like he's going to take it to the house on every play. More of that, please.

Final Grade: A

Wide Receivers

Unquestionably, the most pleasant surprise for me this year has been Chaz Powell. I must admit, I was not expecting much from him when the season began. My estimation was based on his performance last year when all I saw was a kid that ran end arounds and dropped half the passes thrown his way. But he has made a lot of progress and he's looking like a regular Derrick Williams out there. Saturday he had four catches for 79 yards and a touchdown. I was really impressed with his 51 yard touchdown pass. The throw from Clark was short, but Powell did a good job of adjusting to the ball and shielding the defender with his body. Then he showed some great concentration to catch the ball while the defender was hanging on him. And does anyone think Deon Butler or Derrick Williams could have fended off that contact and remained on their feet to walk in the endzone? I don't.

From what I saw Saturday, Justin Brown is going to be a star before his career is over. He caught everything thrown his way including a nice diving catch out of bounds. He threw a key block on Stephfon Green's 26 yard touchdown, and he even had Penn State's biggest punt return of the season for 18 yards. I think he has definitely earned the right to see more playing time going forward.

I felt great for Brett Brackett. After struggling to see the field and break out of his slump all season, he finally caught a touchdown pass. But then I felt bad for him because the announcer credited it to Mickey Shuler.

Final Grade: A

Offensive Line

Nothing special here. You expect a Div. IA offensive line to dominate an FCS team, and that's what Penn State did. But there were a couple of false starts, including one that killed the second drive forcing State to kick a field goal. So no perfect grade this week, guys.

Final Grade: B

Offensive Coaching

Eh, it's Eastern Illinois. But I was impressed with the motivation. It would have been easy for the team to pack it in and just go through the motions against this team. Credit the coaches for getting them motivated and focused to play this team. It looks like the team did a good job of shaking off the Iowa loss and coming together.

I was glad to see a lot of younger players get in the game, but I felt like they could have got Newsome in there earlier. He really should have started the second half, but Paterno went with Clark. The offense went 3-and-out, and I think Paterno didn't want them ending on a bad note like that, so Clark took the next series. I kind of predicted this was going to happen somewhere in the comments. Clark took a nasty shot on that last drive which pretty much infuriated me. There was no need to have him in there when they were up 38-3. It's not like Eastern Illinois was coming back.

Final Grade: B

Penn State Handles The Owls 31-6

BSD — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 19:21:43 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

2 months ago: Penn State running back Evan Royster (22) stretches for a touchdown against Temple defenders Muhammad Wilkerson (96) and John Hayley (46) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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Penn State did what they needed to do today in easily handling the Temple Owls 31-6. The long awaited running game finally showed up as Evan Royster eclipsed the 100 yard mark in the first half.

Things started a bit shakey as Penn State went three and out and failed to score on their opening drive for the first time this season. The defense held serve and forced Temple into a three-and-out of their own.

Penn State then shook off the cobwebs and marched 77 yards on eight plays highlighted by a 33 yard dash by Royster and a 27 yard run by Chaz Powell. The drive was capped off by a one yard touchdown pass to Mickey Shuler.

With the extra point, this would prove to be all the points Penn State needed on the day as the defense once again turned in a gem of a performance. The Owls were held to just six points, 251 total yards and 46 rushing yards on 29 carries.

Penn State blew the game open in the second quarter with two touchdown scoring drives. The first drive featured Royster picking up yards in double-digit chunks and was capped off with a Royster 10 yard run up the middle to paydirt. The second drive was sparked by Green converting a long third down on a screen pass to keep it alive. Royster busted off a few more double-digit yard runs setting up a pitch and catch touchdown pass from Daryll Clark to Derek Moye. Penn State took a comfortable 21-3 lead into the half and never looked back.

Grading the Penn State Offense Against Syracuse

BSD — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:00:38 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

3 months ago: Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark, left, hands off to running back Evan Royster during the first half of an college football game against Syracuse, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009, in State College, Pa. Penn State won 28-7. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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Reading the Sunday papers and listening to the post game reactions you would never know that Penn State won by 21 points and held their opponent to just one score. Maybe it's a good sign when you don't play your best and still win by three touchdowns. Or maybe it's a sign that this season is going to be harder than we thought once we get into the meat of the schedule. Let's look at how the offense performed this week.

Quarterback

You wouldn't know it by all the love for Tate Forcier this week, but Daryll Clark had another solid game. He did have one interception where the defender stole the ball away from Derek Moye as Moye was hitting the ground. You could say that one wasn't Clark's fault, but he would probably tell you he underthrew that ball. If he leads Moye by another two or three steps that's a huge play and maybe even a score. Clark seemed to struggle on his deep throws all day. Earlier in the game he overthrew Graham Zug who had beaten his man deep by several steps.

There were a few misfires here and there where Clark would heave one to Canolipants, but for the most part he looked sharp on hitting anything under 15 yards. The 49 yard slant pass to Royster was a risky throw into coverage that paid off. Really, Clark only had one terrible throw all day when he hit a Syracuse linebacker standing in space by himself right in the hands. Fortunately it was dropped.

vs Syracuse / 9.12.09	Passing					Rushing
	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	TD	Rush	Yds	Avg	TD
Daryll Clark	20	31	60.0	240	3	2	-1	-0.5	0

Kevin Newsome got in the game late and looked horrible. He stared down his receivers and took two sacks. The second sack resulted in a fumble that gave Syracuse impeccable field position allowing their only score.

Final Grade: B

Offensive Line

Much of the frustration with this offense is centered around the offensive line for the second week in a row. Penn State had some success running the ball to the outside. Their two best runs went outside left tackle behind Dennis Landolt. Those were Royster's touchdown run and Stephfon Green's near touchdown run (that should have at least been reviewed, because it looked to this blogger like he got in). But every attempt to run between the tackles was like trying to run through a brick wall.

Fortunately, for the second week in a row the pass protection looks solid. Lou Elaides missed his assignment a few times letting the pressure get through to Clark. He, along with Matt Stankiewitch, was pulled in the second half in favor of Johnnie Troutman and Quinn Barham. The results were pretty much the same. After the game Paterno admitted that both guard spots are basically up for grabs. This is an upsetting thing to hear after week two of the season. We could be in for a bumpy road.

Like I said in the game recap, the tell-tale sign of the frustration with the running game came with 11 minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Holding a comfortable 21 point lead this is normally the time when Paterno elects to hand the ball off to Evan Royster who gains yards in four and five yard chunks while running out the remainder of the clock. But on this possession, Clark came out throwing on first down. The first play went to Moye for 13 yards and a first down. So do you think they would pass on the next first down? Nope. They came out throwing, and the result was the almost-pick where Clark hit the linebacker in the hands. On the next play, they tried to pull Barham on a sweep to the left, but Barham was slow getting down the line and Royster got stuffed. Clark overthrew Brackett on 3rd and 10 and Syracuse got the ball back.

The sad fact is we are starting a redshirt freshman at left guard and a true sophomore at right tackle. And our center was playing guard last year. There are growing pains we are going to have to work through. But if Penn State can't solidify the ground game soon, they are going to give some team a shot to make a comeback.

Final Grade: C

Running Backs

vs Syracuse / 9.12.09	Rushing				Receiving
	Rush	Yards	Avg	TD	Rec	Yards	Avg	TD
Evan Royster	12	41	3.4	1	2	61	30.5	1
Stephfon Green	8	26	3.3	0	0	0	0	0

It's tough to imagine they could have done any better given the blocking they had to work with. There was just nothing between the tackles all day. The big thing is there were no fumbles. But they did have some success running outside, most notably to the left behind Landolt. I remember one run in particular by Green that gained about nine yards up the middle. I remember he made a cut inside at the end of the play right into the defense. I think if he had cut that outside he probably would have scored.

The intriguing part of the performance of the running backs was how well Evan Royster did running passing routes. His 49 yard touchdown run featured a juke like something you would see on Playstation. And Joe Suhey once again proved to be a sneaky option slipping out of the backfield. Right now if Penn State needs eight yards, that naked bootleg toss to Suhey in the flat is about as money as it gets.

Final Grade: B

Receivers

vs Syracuse / 9.12.09	Receiving
	Rec	Yards	Avg	TD
Graham Zug	6	79	13.2	1
Derek Moye	3	35	11.7	0
Andrew Quarless	4	35	8.8	0
Chaz Powell	1	12	12.0	0
Mickey Shuler	1	1	1.0	1

For the second week in a row it seemed like Clark had no problem finding targets to throw at. Graham Zug had a career day, and he could have gone over 100 yards on the day if Clark hadn't overthrown him on a deep pass down the seam. The deep middle post touchdown pass was a thing of beauty. Derek Moye could have also easily added on another 40 yards if Clark hadn't underthrown him on his deep pass.

The big news is Hello Mr. Quarless! It was nice of Joe to let you out of your two year exile to the doghouse. It might have been No. 10's best day since his freshman year. He looked like a real football player out there making blocks and catching passes. If he can keep this up he will be a welcome addition to the passing game.

I would also like to point out that Zug and Brackett each threw key blocks on Evan Royster's touchdown run. But something isn't right with Brackett. Last week he fumbled after making his only catch. This week he let his best chance to catch a pass go right through his hands.

Final Grade: B+

Offensive Coaching

It's tough to evaluate the playcalling in this game. At times I just wanted them to go shotgun, abandon the running game, and let 'er rip. Other times I wanted them to stick with it to see if they could get SOMETHING going. I think the coaches opted to go with toughing it out to try to establish something good they could point at. But you have to be careful in how far you are willing to take this. Getting stuffed on four straight plays at the goal line can be more demoralizing than productive. It's worth noting that after getting stuffed on four plays after first and goal in the first quarter, when faced with first and goal in the fourth quarter the Lions went another route. After Stephfon Green came up short on first and second down, the coaches called a play action bootleg toss to Mickey Shuler in the back of the endzone.

I was intrigued to see Devon Smith and Curtis Drake out on the field on the first drive. I was looking forward to seeing what these guys could do given considerable playing time, but they were virtually non-existant after that play. I'm thinking when Paterno senses the offense is struggling he's going to stick with the upperclassmen.

I have no complaints with the way the offensive coaches handled this game, but they're not off the hook. This week these guys need to earn their money on Monday through Friday.

Final Grade: B

Penn State Downs The Orange 28-7

BSD — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 19:24:24 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

3 months ago: Penn State running back Evan Royster runs for a touchdown as Syracuse defenders Max Suter, left, and Lonnie Johnson, right, give chase during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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Coaches will tell you you don't want your team to peek too early. Joe Paterno should have nothing to worry about in that regard as Penn State obviously has a lot of work to do to become a great football team.

Just like they did against Akron a week ago, Penn State opened the game with a precise drive capped off by a 49 yard touchdown pass from Daryll Clark to Evan Royster. After that the road got a little muddy and Penn State got bogged down.

Their second drive was a methodical march down the field that ate the final nine minutes of the first quarter. But with first and goal at the two yard line the offense hit a wall. Royster and Suhey were stuffed on first and second down. Then Clark couldn't get in on a quarterback keeper. Then on fourth down Clark fumbled the snap and Syracuse took over on downs.

It was a theme that would be seen all day. Time and again Penn State struggled to run the ball between the tackles. Royster was contained for just 41 yards on 12 carries. Stephfon Green only managed 26 yards on 8 carries. A tell-tale sign of the offensive frustrations came in the fourth quarter. With 11 minutes to go and Penn State holding a solid 20-plus point lead, the Nittany Lions came out throwing the ball on first downs. Do you think the coaches have lost confidence already?

Fortunately the Penn State defense gave the offense the cushion they needed to work out the kinks. The Orange were held to just 200 yards total offense and seven points. They struggled to move the ball on the ground with only 69 yards rushing, but the passing game picked up in the second half and Penn State was aided by a lot of dropped passes by the Orange receivers.

Penn State took control of the game in the second quarter. Following a defensive stop that had Syracuse pinned deep in the endzone, the Nittany Lions got favorable field position after the punt. After some short passes to Quarless, Zug, and Suhey, Evan Royster took a sweep to the left and cut it upfield for an easy 12 yard touchdown.

Penn State then opened the second half holding Syracuse to a three and out. On the ensuing Penn State drive Daryll Clark hit Graham Zug for a 20 yard touchdown on a pretty post pattern over the middle.

Syracuse responded with a steady drive all the way down to the Penn State redzone. With a first and goal it looked like they were going to get on the board. But successive stops by Bani Gbadyu, Sean Lee, and Jack Crawford brought up fourth down. Greg Paulus found Mike Williams wide open in the endzone, but Williams dropped the pass and Penn State took over on downs.

The teams traded possessions until midway through the fourth quarter when Nate Stupar picked off a tipped ball and returned it to the Syracuse three yard line. Penn State once again struggled to run the ball as Stephfon Green was stuffed on first and second down. On third down Clark faked a handoff to Green and rolled to his right. Then he found Mickey Shuler running open in the back of the endzone and hit him for the score.

Syracuse took the ball and began to drive once again into Penn State territory, but their drive was stopped when a pass bounced off a Syracuse receiver's helmet and right into the hands of Josh Hull. It looked like the shutout was going to stay in tact, but three plays later Kevin Newsome fumbled the ball and gave the Orange possession on the Penn State 16 yard line. Their first offensive play was a post pattern to Donte Davis for a touchdown.

It was an easy win for Penn State, but they have to be disappointed in the running game. Syracuse jammed up the middle all day and Penn State struggled to get the running game going for the second week in a row. The passing game wasn't quite as crisp this week as it was last week, but Penn State was able to create some big plays to set up some scores. There is still a lot of stuff to clean up, but there's no need to panic yet. This team reminds me a lot of the 2005 team. That team had a lot of new players on offense, and it wasn't until week five or six against Minnesota when things started to click and the offense found its identity.

So now let's all just sit back and enjoy the late games. Right now I'm watching Wisconsin fight for their season in an overtime battle with Fresno State.

Grading The Penn State Offense Against Akron

Kevin HD — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:30:14 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

Penn State wide receiver Graham Zug, right,catches a pass over Akron defender Tyler Campbell for a touchdown. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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Quarterback - Clark had one of his best days ever statistically and looked very comfortable throwing to a brand new set of wide receivers: 29/40, 353 yards, 3/1 ratio with an 8.8 average. All large improvement over his 2008 average, but of course they are, it's Akron. But that's the point: in week one, with a half-new offense, he did what we hoped.

And for the most part he looked good doing it. I'm still impressed with Clark's fearless throws into oncoming moving trucks; I don't remember a pass off his back foot all afternoon. There where occasional flashbacks to inexperience — rocket passes too high for the receivers, focusing on the number one option, forcing a pass into too much coverage — but he also put up beauties for Moye, Powell and Zug all day and (mostly) hit the safety valves out of the backfield.

He still looks like the best quarterback in the Big Ten, a far more poised player than anyone in the league I watched on Saturday, and he's doing it with his arm. Only three rushes for 5 yards (including one sack), and that interception was more bad luck than back accuracy.

Final Grade: A-

Running Backs - The biggest concern out of the Akron game has to be the rushing attack. The formula last year was to let Royster run patiently behind a strong line, and then open things up from there. Penn State was never able to establish a strong ground game on Saturday and the passing game was successful despite this.

Now it's only one game, and we don't know how strong Akron's run-stop will be this year, but:

YPC	2008	2009
Evan Royster	6.5	4.4
Stephfon Green	5.5	1.4

A lot of the criticism will be saved for the offensive line, but there are adjustments that aren't being made by Royster and Green.

No one was better suited to run behind the 2008 line than Royster, his patience combined with their ability to get a good push and continue to drive became mostly deadly. But that's not happening this year, at least not early on, and Royster needs to know when to put his nose down and fight out a yard or two. He's no power back, but that kind of loss-cutting approach is going to be important this year.

Green, on the other hand, continues to have the opposite problem. He's fast as lightning but is a waste of a carry if there isn't a hole open as soon as he touches the ball. Too many times the line was either still fighting it out or in a stalemate and Green simply ran full steam into the mess.

Final Grade:C

Offensive Line - Something kind of funny happened: pass protection was outstanding yet very few holes were opening up for the backs. This is the opposite of what you would expect during week 1, especially with a proven running game from a year ago and the opponent coming in ranked 101st in rushing defense a year ago. This has surpassed the secondary as my number one concern.

The pass protection was outstanding. Clark had all day to throw and took very few hits even when he was able to stay long enough to find a (often mid-to-deep) receiver.

But the rush was discouraging. The averages above tell part of the story, but often the problem is from the get-go: there simply aren't holes opening after the hand-off. The issue wasn't just up the middle; sweeps and gut shots alike were stuffed by the Zips. The line is only going to get better, that's the nature of replacing three solid starters from a year ago, but keep an eye on this.

Final Grade: B-

Wide Receiver / Tight End - So how many times did we hear about OMG NO WRS DOOM!!1! this off-season? A lot. But now? Not so much.

Derek Moye was an absolute stud with six catches and a 23 yard average. He's a deep threat with height, something we haven't had in a while, and great hands to boot. The TD catch was the balls. Chaz and Zug had sixty-something yards each and looked good as well, bringing in great catches and fighting for yards. I never got the feeling that either one was going to Reggie Bush the secondary or anything, but we didn't see much of that last year either and the offense rolled just fine.

The expanded role of tight end didn't exactly bloom, however. Andrew Quarless (who left injured) and Mickey Shuler combined for just two catches and many of the plays their way seemed forced. This was probably a result of wanting to work on those plays when the gameplan didn't really warrant the calls. This is fine, although Clark needs to realize that if the TE play isn't there Plan B needs to kick in.

Devon Smith quickly: how fun is this guy? You can tell his size will continue to limit him when plays become overcrowded, but he's five yards down field before anyone realizes where the ball is. I'm looking forward to seeing him more.

Final Grade: A

Going forward...There is a lot of good that came out of the Akron game, notably the wide receiver play and pass protection. Clark didn't skip a beat and Kevin Newsome, very briefly, looked rough but athletic. However, the rushing game is a major concern, and something needs to be done about creating holes or the passing game will suffer mightily against Big Ten defenses not wearing Orange.

Penn State Lift For Life Recap

BSD — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 19:15:30 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

FILE - In this Friday, Aug. 8, 2008, file photo Penn State wide receiver Brett Brackett - President of the PSU Chapter for Uplifting Athletes.. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

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Yesterday was the annual Lift for Life at Holuba Hall, and the Penn State players teamed up to set a new record for money raised for kidney cancer treatment and research.

The Seventh Annual Uplifting Athletes "Lift for Life" event held Friday at Holuba Hall was another unprecedented success with large crowds and a record total of more than $81,000 raised for the Kidney Cancer Association. The event has now raised nearly $400,000 in its seven years of existence.

Kudos to Brett Brackett who serves as the president of the Penn State Chapter of Uplifting Athletes for putting together this great event.

"In the past seven years, they've developed three new treatments for kidney cancer, in that time we've raised over $300,000," Brackett said. "We take pride and like to think we've played a little bit of a part in that happening.
"One of the cool things is that we look back and see who's donated in years past and the majority of the people that have donated in years past continue to donate. I think they just have such a great feel for what we do, they know the money's going toward a good thing, and with the economy the way it is, people aren't going to donate to something they're not confident in."

Team LBU consisting of Sean Lee, Navorro Bowman, Josh Hull, and Mickey Shuler won the competition. Behold as Lord Zug explains why Team LBU performed so well.

Still, some players are more cut out for the challenge than others.

"The linebackers," said 178-pound wide receiver Graham Zug, with little hesitation. "They’re big, strong and fast. Being big, strong and fast usually helps you out a lot. Being a receiver, not as much. It’s tough for smaller guys who can’t carry as much."

Zug's team finished third. Regretfully, his teammates were instantly vaporized. Chris Colasanti, James McDonald, and Kevin Newsome will be missed.

The other benefit of the Lift for Life is that it gives the media a chance to interview the players which gives us some good football-related reading material in the middle of July. Here are some of the more interesting articles I've come across.

Penn State Names 2009 Team Captains

BSD — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:58:22 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

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Thanks to JayTweet we know that the first summer session got underway this week. And the first order of business was electing team captains. Today it was announced that your 2009 Penn State Nittany Lion team captains will be quarterback Daryll Clark and linebacker Sean Lee.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - A pair of Penn State standouts, quarterback Daryll Clark and linebacker Sean Lee, have been elected co-captains of the 2009 Penn State football team.

Clark, from Youngstown, Ohio, and Lee were elected by their teammates at the end of the spring semester, following completion of spring practice. The first summer academic session began on Monday on the University Park campus.

There are absolutely no complaints here at BSD. These are two excellent choices.

Sean Lee has been a consistently hard worker and was even named an honorary captain last season after tearing his ACL in the spring.

Daryll Clark is the face of the 2009 Nittany Lions. He is one of only two seniors starting on offense and makes a no-brainer choice.

If I have one concern it's that we only have two captains. Maybe it's just me, but I'm of the belief the more captains the better. You can never have too much leadership, and historically the more leadership Penn State has on the team the better they perform.

Again, I'm thrilled with the choice of Lee and Clark, but I'm wondering why guys like Dennis Landolt, Mickey Shuler, Jerome Hayes, and Jared Odrick weren't worthy of the Big C?