SB Nation - Ollie Ogbu

BSD Staff Predictions: Michigan Wolverines

BSD — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:17:31 -0000

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

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

RUTS Says...

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

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

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

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

Prediction: Penn State 21, Michigan 20

BSD Mike Says...

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

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

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

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

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

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

Prediction: Penn State 27, Michigan 24

KevinHD Says...

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

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

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

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

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

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

Prediction: Penn State 34, Michigan 24

A little help from my friends - Black Shoe Diaries helps us understand Penn State a little bit

GopherNation — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:40:44 -0000

I have asked Mike over at Black Shoe Diaries to help us out a little bit by answering a few questions about his favorite team.

TDG - I am kind of fascinated with expectations. Minnesota, record-wise, is about where people had thought they would be yet I'm hearing plenty of grumblings about how terrible we are. Clearly the Gophers are not a perfect team. Penn State is halfway through the season sits at 5-1 having beaten nobody significant. Factoring in preseason expectations and how people currently feel about the Nittany Lions, how has the season gone so far?

BSD - The Iowa loss was a tough pill to swallow, but I can't say there was a lot of shock on the Penn State side over it. Going into the season I think everyone knew that going undefeated would be difficult when you have to rebuild the offensive line as well as replace all of the wide receivers and the entire secondary. Iowa did a good job of exploiting the offensive line, and they capitalized on opportunities presented by the special teams and turnovers. Most people, including myself, predicted a 10-2 season and so far I think that record is still achievable. I had hoped that Penn State could sneak through the first half of the schedule and use the lesser competition to make themselves into a really good football team. I think they did that, but unfortunately they had the hiccup against Iowa.

In a way I think the program overall will be better because of the loss. I think it served to wake up some of the younger players on the team and made them realize they are going to have to work hard and show up to every game and every practice because nobody is going to lay down and take a loss just because the game is played at 8 PM in Beaver Stadium and everybody is wearing white. The team seems more focused now and has made some significant progress the past two weeks. I'm really pleased with the way they used to loss as motivation.

TDG - First in total offense, first in total defense, first in points allowed, first in third down conversions, first in 3rd down conversions allowed, first in sacks, first in sacks allowed...is there a weakness on this Penn State team? Or are these guady stats a function of their opponents.

BSD - I think to some degree you have to say the level of competition helps pads the stats, but they are very good. Ask yourself this: If any Big Ten team other than Ohio State played Penn State's schedule, would they also be ranked first in all of those categories? Probably not.

Penn State is a very good football team, but they're not really a great football team yet. They're getting there though. I already mentioned the concerns I had at wide receiver, offensive line, and secondary before the season. I think the wide receivers are fine. Chaz Powell and Derek Moye have exceeded my expectations. The jury is still out on the offensive line. They seem to be doing better since the Iowa game, but until I see them do well against a decent defense I'm still skeptical. And I'm still not 100% sold on the secondary. They have played well to this point, but they get a lot of help from the defensive line which doesn't give quarterbacks much time to throw. I think this week will be their first real test against Eric Decker. If they can hold him to just five or six catches and 60 or 70 yards I'll be pretty pleased.

TDG - Which is more dominant the Penn State offense led by Royster and Clark or the defense?

BSD - So far you have to say the defense. They have been more consistent than the offense to this point. The defensive line led by tackles Jared Odrick and Ollie Ogbu has been just nasty. They're a little thin at linebacker until Sean Lee comes back from tweaking his knee, but Navorro Bowman and Josh Hull do a fine job. I already mentioned the secondary is doing well, even though I'm not sure they are as good as their stats suggest.

The performance of the offense centers around the offensive line. Royster and Clark are proven commodities at this point, and like I said, I'm pleased with the way the wide receivers have stepped up. When the offensive line can open up holes for Royster and Stephfon Green while keeping Daryll Clark upright, the offense is unstoppable. But Iowa showed that teams that get pressure on Clark can force him into turnovers. So it's important for the offensive line to do well. One thing that worries me about the game this week is that Penn State may be down to their third option at right tackle as DeOn'tae Pannell and Nerraw McCormack are both nursing sprained ankles. Last week they had to start Ako Poti who was a junior college transfer a few years ago.

TDG - Special Teams is maybe the one area that Penn State hasn't completely dominated this year (see the Iowa game!). And conversely the Gopher special forces have been very good this year. Can this actually be an advantage for Minnesota? And if so can it translate into a win?

BSD - Penn State is playing a lot of young players on special teams this year. Normally your coverage teams consist of a lot of second string linebackers and safeties...or in other words, guys who know how to tackle. But Penn State is thin in the secondary due to years of poor recruiting, and they are thin at linebacker due to injuries. So now when I look at the coverage teams I see a lot of backup running backs and true freshmen. So early in the year it took a few shoe string tackles to keep Temple and Syracuse from returning kickoffs for touchdowns. They've made a lot of improvement since then, but they're still not great. They're good at filtering the play inside and stopping it, but not before they give up a 30 yard return. Minnesota should be able to get some good returns on kickoffs.

Jeremy Boone is a fantastic punter, so he will hopefully pin Minnesota deep a few times. Place kicking is an issue though. I'm not happy with Colin Wagner. His kickoffs are short and I don't think he's made a field goal over 35 yards yet. That could be a problem they haven't really been faced with yet.

TDG - So the Gophers actually have a little recent history of pulling out big wins in Happy Valley. Does Saturday's game concern you a little? What will have to go right for Minnesota and wrong for Penn State for the Gophers to pick up their 5th win in the last 7 meetings between these two clubs?

BSD - I like how you spun that stat around to suggest Minnesota has won four out of the last six games between our two clubs. I could also ask you what the Gophers plan to do to break the two game losing streak against Penn State? If you consider three wins against some of the worst Penn State teams of the Paterno era to be "big wins", more power to you. (Granted, 1999 was a big win. I'll give you that.)

Kidding aside, I'm not too worried about this game. No disrespect intended to Minnesota or yourself, but Penn State is on a different talent level from the Gophers. I see an offense that is not just one dimensional, it's one-player dimensional. And the Gopher's are ranked 83rd in rushing defense and 77th in total defense. This is a game, in Beaver Stadium on homecoming, that Penn State should handle easily. If they don't I will be extremely disappointed.

Excellent stuff as always from the premier Penn State blog (that is saying a lot because there are about 346 PSU blogs out there). Thanks Mike.

Grading the Penn State Defense Against the Iowa Hawkeyes

BSD — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:00:34 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

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

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

Defensive Line

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

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

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

Final Grade: B

Linebackers

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

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

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

Final Grade: A

Secondary

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

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

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

Final Grade: B

Special Teams

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

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

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

Final Grade: F

Defensive Coaching

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

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

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

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

Final Grade: B

Grading the Penn State Defense Against Temple

BSD — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:00:21 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

3 months ago: Penn State linebacker Josh Hull reacts to dropping an interception against Temple during the first half of their NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009, in State College, Pa. Penn State won 31-6. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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The equivalent of the NFL exhibition season is over, and just like the NFL exhibition season, we are left to wonder if the team is as good as we think they are. The defense has performed like we hoped they would. They have yet to allow any opponent to score more than seven points. But is that due to the fact they are extremely talented and well coached, or is it just a byproduct of the level of competition they played? In any regard, let's grade the defense against the Temple Owls.

Defensive Line

I didn't come away as impressed with the defensive line this week as I had the first two games. Maybe I'm being too hard on them. I mean, they did hold Temple to just 46 yards rushing. I guess I'm spoiled by watching two weeks of Odrick hitting the ball carrier as soon as he gets the ball. They did have moments of brilliance. Jack Crawford had 2.5 TFL and a sack. Jared Odrick and James Terry chipped in with a sack by each. And Ollie Ogbu caused the first fumble that was recovered by the defense this year. The pressure was good all day, but every once in a while the Owls would rip off an eight yard gain right up the gut that made me wonder. But overall it was another great job by the defensive line.

Final Grade: B+

Linebackers

Let there be no doubt that Sean Lee is back, and I swear he looks faster than he did two years ago. Lee finished with 12 tackles, 2.5 TLF, and a sack. He looked nothing short of brilliant in stuffing the holes and blowing up any play Temple tried to run to the outside. His stellar performance earned him Big Ten Player of the Week honors for the third time in his career. It's so great to see him back.

Josh Hull I felt played a solid game, but he really is a liability in the passing game. Temple had most of their success in moving the ball by attacking the medium middle of the field or by attacking the short seems between the linebackers. This is Hull's territory.

The other linebacker spot was a steady rotation of Bani Gbadyu, Nate Stupar, and Chris Colasanti. None of these guys looked very spectacular, though they did combine for 12 tackles in the game. Penn State desperately needs Navorro Bowman back on the field.

FInal Grade: B

Secondary

At this point I don't have any worries about the defensive backfield. Temple really challenged the secondary in this game and I thought they performed very well. There was one major mistake where Temple overloaded the left side with receivers and Andrew Dailey lost his man on a wheel route giving up a 36 yard play just after the half.

I was particularly impressed with the young players D'Anton Lynn and Stephon Morris. The few times I saw Temple challenge them they were always in position to break up the pass. Morris specificially showed a lot of awareness when Temple tried to beat him deep on a flea flicker. The wide receiver faked as though he tripped to try to bait Morris into attacking the sweep coming his direction, but Morris didn't bite. After the game defensive coordinator Tom Bradley said he warned Morris to be ready for the play because Temple had run it against Penn State back in 2007, and Morris stuck with it proving he's a very heads up player. Bradley said after the game that Morris will be "playing alot" this year. It's truly remarkable to see Joe Paterno allow a true freshman to see so much time in a high profile position like cornerback like Morris is seeing this year.

Final Grade: B+

Special Teams

Would the word "horrible" be an understatement? This was by far the most disappointing part of the game. The kickoff game is terrible on both ends. The kickoff returns look completely out of sync. The wedge takes too long to form and even longer to get going. Devon Smith has all the speed in the world, but his blockers are going so slow he can't get it out of second gear. And of course there was the one kickoff return where Joe Suhey was caught napping and Temple recovered the onside kick.

As bad as the kick return game is going, the kickoff coverage team is even worse. A lot of Colin Wagner's kicks were landing at the seven yard line without a lot of hang time. Only one kick went for a touchback, and Temple returned two kicks out past the 35 yard line. When you look at the players being used they are young, they are inexperienced, and they are undisciplined in staying in their lanes. It's just a matter of time until the kickoff coverage team gives up an easy touchdown.

And what the heck is up with the punt return game? Have we returned a punt yet this year? I think it's time to call an end to the Royster/Zug/Astorino dual punt returners experiment. Last year every punt return was a threat to score with Derrick Williams back there. Now we know it's just a guaranteed fair catch. Graham Zug may have suffered a concussion on one hit he took, so for all of you that argued against me when I said punt returners don't get hurt, can I please get a side of honey-mustard to go with my crow?

Wagner nailed his one chip shot field goal attempt, and Jeremy Boone was his usually ninja-kicking self averaging 47.8 yards on four punts. Boone was the only person saving the special teams from a failing grade.

Final Grade: D

Defensive Coaching

It's Temple. They held them to six points. Meh. Draw up plays in the dirt and we still win.

Final Grade: B

Joe Paterno Press Conference Recap

BSD — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:30:03 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

3 months ago: Penn State coach Joe Paterno waves to the crowd as he takes to the field before an NCAA 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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The folks at BWI were kind enough to post the transcript of Joe Paterno's press conference today. Since they were the first to put it out, they get the link. Here are some bullet points of interest.

The first question came from some reporter who must be on his first day covering Penn State football. He asked Joe if the team had a sense of urgency about the Big Ten opener against Iowa coming up next week. I'll give ten BSD bucks to anyone who can guess the answer Joe gave without peeking at the link.
Navorro Bowman has not practiced this week and probably will not play on Saturday unless he practices today. Evidently Bowman is still having pain in McGloin.
Joe is comfortable with a pass heavy offense if that's what they need to do to win. He would rather see more balance with the running game.
Syracuse stacked the safeties and brought a lot of blitzes while stiffled the running game. Joe was stubborn and kept running the ball because he felt they needed the work. He says Temple runs a different scheme on defense, so we'll see what happens.
Johnnie Troutman has improved. He has lost about 20 lbs since the summer and he's getting better. He'll probably see some playing time on Saturday.
Joe likes the poise of the team outside of the fumble on the goal line. He wishes the defense could force more turnovers. He's disappointed in that.
Great question about Penn State's approach to walk ons. Joe says there are two types of walk ons. There are the kids they recruit, but just don't have room for so they ask them to walk on and promise to try to get them a scholarship if one opens up. Then there are the kids nobody knows about where the high school coach sends them some tape and asks them to take a look at the kid because he really loves Penn State. Then when the semester starts they have two days where anyone in the student body can come try out for the team. They usually get one or two kids that way.
Joe says that Andrew Quarless has "grown up" and he's a good football player on the verge of being very good.
Joe doesn't think shifting Wisniewski to center and Landolt to left tackle have contributed to the offensive line woes. It's more to do with three new guys who haven't played much.
Joe is not pleased with the kickoff coverage team in allowing two big runbacks against Syracuse. He says they had a freshman on the outside who did not do his job in containing the play and let it get outside. They have to do better.
Joe was asked if switching personnel around on the offensive line is keeping it from coming together. He says they switch personnel all the time in practice. You have to be ready if a guy goes down so you can plug in the backup and keep going.
Joe thinks the offensive line has a lot of good players who are pretty even in talent. Things will work out if they just stop listening to the media.
Ollie Ogbu is a solid player. Joe calls him his "Staten Island Ferry"...whatever that means. (He's big as a boat? I really don't know.)
Chima Okoli is playing well. Tom McEowen is hurt. Joe says he will probably redshirt (but I'm pretty sure he already had a redshirt year.)
A.J. Wallace and Knowledge Timmons are even at the top of the depth chart, and both are going to play for awhile. (BSD - I find it interesting that D'Anton Lynn appears to be the only corner that has locked down a starting position.)
There was a question on Hull's mustache which is quickly approaching legend status.

I was curious what your take on Josh Hull's mustache was, facial hair?

Paterno: Has he got a mustache?

You haven't seen it?

Paterno: I guess I've seen it but I haven't noticed it. As long as it's not coming down to his neck, is it?

No.

Paterno: Then he's all right. Geez, you guys must think I go around...it's like that old Nash guy, the guy that was a major mash, call him out and have him review every morning. No. Good kid. Great kid. Doing great. Playing well. Heck of a student. He's an engineer, 3.5 grade point average. If he wants a mustache, that's okay.

They always had passing plays to Royster in the system, but it's hard to send him out in the passing game when the opponent is blitzing a lot. They need to keep him back there to help protect. Says Royster has good hands. Green does not, but when he catches the ball he's as fast as anyone on the team.
Another rookie reporter asked Joe how his team compared to the other teams ranked in the top five. Which prompted this hilarious monologue.

I imagine you don't pay attention to rankings too much, national rankings, but being No. 5 in the country do you ever compare your team's development to other teams?

Paterno: No, don't get me into that. I don't know what we are, for crying out loud. Geez, that's the same thing -- hey, I honest to God, are we No. 5 is that what you're telling me?

Yes.

Paterno: I don't know that we're No. 5. You guys don't seem to understand, I don't pay -- I don't read anything about us. I get the paper. I go to the bathroom. I take the paper in there and I scan it. I look at it. The first thing I do is look at who died. All right. Second thing I look at are headliners, something that says Paterno is the greatest, I read it. (Laughter) If it says I'm a bum, I don't even look at it.

Grading the Penn State Defense Against Akron

BSD — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 12:00:33 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

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

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

Defensive Line

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

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

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

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

Final Grade: A

Linebackers

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

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

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

Final Grade: A

Secondary

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

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

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

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

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

Final Grade: Incomplete

Special Teams

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

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

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

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

Final Grade: C

Defense Coaching

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

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

Final Grade: B-

Potential Penn State Problems: Also Receiving Votes

Run Up The Score — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:48:50 -0000

We've been counting down our greatest hopes and concerns for this year's Penn State team and are almost at the end of the line. Previous editions profiled the offensive line, Daryll Clark's health, wide receivers, and kicker. Before arriving at #1 on the list, here are some items that didn't make the cut.

Sad puppy is still sad.

Defensive End: We've heard all about the progress of Jack Crawford as the replacement for the quarterback annihilating force formerly known as Project Mayhem, but what will he be able to do against teams that will actually be gameplanning for him in non-garbage time? As for the others, Kevion Latham, Eric Lattimore, and the twice-rehabbed Jerome Hayes will have to find a way to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks. As we've learned in nearly every major Penn State loss over the past few years, if the defensive line doesn't get to the quarterback, it's EPIC SECONDARY FAIL. That's just the way the scheme works.

Tight End: Okay, we're really just talking about Andrew Quarless. All the talent in the world (despite what you may have read elsewhere), and one remaining year to capitalize on it. If he does, he could take a lot of pressure off the green-ish wide receivers.

Stephfon Green: Evan Royster is a great running back, but let's face it -- he gets his share of minor injuries like anyone else. Green's speed is obviously his biggest asset, but a look at his conference-only stats shows that he's not exactly a yards-per-carry giant when he gets extended looks in the rushing game. If he ever learns to be a little more patient before turning on the jets (and if the coaches use him as something other than an inexplicable battering ram), he'll evolve into more of a #1a option instead of a #2 and take some pressure and miles off Royster.

Josh Hull: He struggled mightily during the first half of last year but slowly became a solid linebacker toward the end of the season. With Mike Mauti's injury, any depth chart controversies are now moot. Hull will be a second-year starter on the defense, and should improve on his often sluggish read-and-react issues of early 2008 (and if he can't thrive this season with Jared Odrick and Ollie Ogbu in front of him and Bowman/Lee on either side of him, he never will). He'll never be Paul Posluzny or Shane Conlan -- we know this. And nobody is really proud of harping on the performance of a walk-on linebacker who by all accounts is a great student and overall citizen of this planet. To be honest and fair, going from potential All-American Sean Lee to walk-on Josh Hull took a bit of getting used to for all of us. So let's just hope for the best out of Hull and not scream for someone to replace him until the second half of the Syracuse game, okay? Okay. Deal.

Positive thoughts. Forget all about this.

Fullback: Yeah, I know. It's a friggin' fullback. Still, you know how Joe Paterno loves to use fullbacks in short yardage and goal line situations. The leading candidate seems to be Joe Suhey -- who may actually prove to be valuable as a receiver out of the backfield, think Matt Hahn -- but the team seems to be without its traditional, beefy, block-first bulldozer to line up in front of the tailback. Walk-on Shaine Thompson is in the mix as well, but he's no more than 215 pounds soaking wet. But truth be told, Suhey will probably end up being just fine here.

Anything else you're slightly concerned about that didn't make the list?

Bucknotes is getting healthy

Sam @ WWAHT — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:00:12 -0000

More photos » by Terry Gilliam - AP

3 months ago: Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel yells out instructions to his players during an NCAA college football practice Monday, Aug. 24, 2009, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Terry Gilliam)

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Impressions from the open practice (Blogging the Buckeyes)
Tressel thinks: Heyward will be healthy, Boren will be ready for Sept. 5th and, Spitler's injury is of no concern. Other notes:

- Hines is rotating with Russell as both a deep safety and a nickelback

- Adams is now rotating with the third team. All hope of him being the guy on 5th is essentially lost. I'm starting to think this is some of Tressel's mind games at work; Adams can't possibly be bad enough to really be playing with the third team, can he? Could it be that Tressel is punishing Adams for the same lack of focus and inconsistency we saw in Alex Boone?

- Gordon thinks either Hall or Berry will redshirt, as Berry is hobbled and behind due to his recovery from offseason surgery

- Remember that post about Adam Homan and the future of the fullback in the Terrelle Pryor offense? His main competition, Zach Boren, is turning heads at LB.

The Buckeye Battle Cry | Diaries From The Trenches: Defensive Tackle
Excellent look at the situation at defensive tackle.

Scouting Report: Ex Buckeye Brian Hartline started Saturday night for the Dolphins | BucksInsider.com - Ohio State Buckeyes News, Videos, Schedules & More
B-Hart showed a much more veteran (and much more likable) Buckeye what's what in his preseason start:

On the TD pass from Pennington to Brown, Hartline forced Panther CB Chris Gamble to push him into the LB that was supposed to cover Brown. As a result, Brown was wide open and got the TD. This is just one example of how Hartline and the other Buckeye rookies bring a sophisticated knowledge of the game to their new teams far beyond their years.

Well, okay. Still a loudmouth.

College basketball ShootAround: Big Ten - Men's College Basketball - ESPN
Quoth Andy Katz:

All the Buckeyes need is for someone like Lauderdale to rebound and start the break.

A little bit of perimeter defense wouldn't be too shabby, either. Oh, and please beat UNC this time around. Kthx. Katz expects the Buckeyes to make some noise atop the Big Ten standings this year.

Buckeye Fans Plan Tribute for Navy Game; Spread the Word | The Buckeye Blog
This is actually a really, really cool idea. We Buckeye fans get a lot of crap throughout the sports world for our classlessness, and to an extent, I think it's justified. But this is a good way to start turning some of that around: cheer for the Middies when they hit the field. As someone with at least one friend and family member in each branch of the armed services, I fully support this.

The Buckeye Battle Cry | The changing mood of a douchebag
Watch Ralph G. Decker transform from a grinning jackass to a meathead who has realized he made a big, big mistake, watching what had been a misdemeanor get moved up to a felony.

Better Know A Buckeye: Kenny Guiton | Our Honor Defend
Quite simply: he's rough around the edges, he probably won't start soon, and he's not nearly as slow as the reported 4.9 forty indicates. He's the definition of a project player. If he sees the field before his (Redshirt?) junior year, your wails of agony will probably be fitting. He's a good kid and all, but planets will have to align for him to see the field any time soon.

AP: Everybody Panic! Internet: Eh, Not So Much, Probably | mgoblog
Unfortunately, Nick Sheridan probably won't start the season for the Wolverines. Michigan: you're the gift that keeps on giving when it comes to lulz, why don't you see this? Embrace it. Start Sheridan. Watch him go down in a blaze of fumbled snaps and pick sixes. Just this one last time. For great justice.

Koroma to Transfer to Western Illinois | NittanyWhiteOut
Penn State DT Abe Koroma has left the team; he contributed some quality time last year (here's a picture of him getting held by Cordle), but he was already going to spend the season "away from the football team" in 2009. He has instead opted to leave the program altogether. Penn State isn't quite thin at DT, but behind Jared Odrick, there's not a lot of quality experience. Expect Ollie Ogbu to step up for the Nits.

Penn State's Reason For Hope #4 - Larry Johnson Sr.

BSD — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:00:23 -0000

via blog.pennlive.com

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I can remember a few years ago looking ahead to 2009 and thinking Penn State was going to be absolutely loaded on the defensive line. But a funny thing happened between then and now. Phil Taylor and Chris Baker were dismissed from the team. Maurice Evans and Aaron Maybin decided to go pro early. Josh Gaines had the audacity to graduate. And JoePa decided to throw Abe Koroma in the doghouse for a year and throw away the key.

Normally this kind of attrition would be devastating to any average defense. But I'm not worried, and I don't have the sense Nittany Lion fans are worried either. That's because we know that no matter how bad things get with dismissals and injuries, as long as we have Larry Johnson Sr. everything will be okay on the defensive line.

Of course nobody is worried about Jared Odrick, a first team All-BIg Ten selection a year ago who probably could have entered the NFL draft and done quite well for himself last spring. And we know his defensive tackle counterpart Ollie Ogbu is a proven commodity who I think is poised for a breakout season in 2009. With Devon Still, Chima Okoli, and Brandon Ware to back these guys up there's plenty of talent and depth to work with at the defensive tackle position.

But then nobody I read mentionsthe defensive tackles as a concern. The defensive ends are a different story. Penn State has to replace their top three guys on the outside this year. Maybin, Evans, and Gaines accounted for 19 sacks and 31.5 TFL. That's a lot of production to replace, but if there's one area Penn State has proven it can reload, it's on the defensive line.

Jack Crawford is Larry Johnson's latest project this summer. Standing an imposing six-foot-five and 256 lbs. with tremendous explosiveness due to years of playing basketball in England, Crawford has drawn comparisons to Aaron Maybin. I'll go one better than that. I'll go out on a limb and say Crawford will be better than Maybin before it's all said and done. Maybin, as good as he was, was really a one dimensional player. He was an outside pass rushing specialist, but he wasn't really that great against the running game, and he never really developed a bull rush due to the fact he couldn't put on weight. Crawford has explosiveness, but he also has the size Maybin could never obtain which I think will make him an even more dominant player.

On the other side it's going to be interesting to watch Johnson work his magic. It looks like Jerome Hayes is penciled in as the starter at weak side defensive end after two reconstructive knee surgeries in the past two years. It has me a bit concerned that he's our best option, but if he can show the same speed he did before his injuries he'll be a force to wreckon with coming off the edge on third and long.

He'll have to platoon with Kevion Latham on the weak side. Latham saw considerable action last year as a redshirt freshman. He reminds me a lot of Josh Gaines in his physique and his motor. This will be his third year under Johnson's tutelage, so I expect him to be a solid player.

A Way Too Early Look At The 2009 Schedule - Week 7 - Penn State

JG2112 — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:30:12 -0000

More photos » by Carolyn Kaster - AP

6 months ago: Penn State football coach Joe Paterno pauses after he talked to media, Thursday, June 11, 2009, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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Penn State: At a glance:

Location: University Park, Pennsylvania
Stadium: Beaver Stadium (size: 107,282)
Expected Attendance: about 109,000.
Undergraduate population: 44,512.
First season: 1887
Number of Big Ten Titles: 3
All-time record: 800-349-32
All-time bowl record: 26-13-2.

Most awesome alum: undoubtedly Jonathan Frakes, better known as William T. Riker and "#1" on the new Star Trek series.

Most awesome Penn State fan site: Red, er, Black Shoe Diaries of course.

And here comes the Big Ten buzzsaw.

Much has changed since the last time these two teams played in 2006, a referee-assisted 28-27 overtime victory for the Nittany Lions at Metrodump. The Gophers have a new coach, a new stadium, and have switched offensive philosophies twice. For Penn State...errr......Joe Pa...errr....Darryl Cla......good linebac......okay, so much has changed for Minnesota since 2006.

This year Indiana and Michigan drop off the Gophers' schedule. It looks pretty bad, however, when one realizes that Penn State (11-2 in 2008) and Michigan State (9-4 in 2008) rotate on to the schedule. The Gophers get the "good" fortune to play their seventh game in 2009, and their second conference road game, in the pale fury of University Park, PA against the Fighting Paternos.

Why good? Well, Minnesota should be 5-1 or 4-2 going into the game (um, right?). If so, perhaps a repeat of the stirring victory over then #2 Penn State in 1999 could be in the offing. Whether that happens depends a lot upon injuries, morale, and players. Speaking of players, we're going to fly solo and analyze the Nittany Lions, starting with....

More after the jump.....

Penn State on Offense - You may have heard of Darryl Clark. Heck, your grandparents may have seen him play in the ‘40s. Clark returns as a fifth-year senior, but is six years' removed from high school, so he's closer to legally renting a car than he is to gaining the right to vote. In 2008, he completed almost 60% of his passes, throwing 19 TDs against only 6 INTs. He also ran for 10 TDs. His backup, Paul Devlin, transferred to Joe Flacco U., so true freshman (as well as Michigan and Virginia de-commit) Kevin Newsome backs him up. Seeing how Newsome struggled in the Lions' spring game, Penn State is an injury away from quarterbacking incompetence.

Penn State's five top rushing threats return, highlighted by Evan Royster and Stephon Green. Royster gained 1236 yards at 6.47 ypc, and Green gained 578 yards at 5.50 ypc. This will be the obvious focal point for the Gophers' defense, because.....

.....Penn State's three senior receivers (Deon Butler, Jordan Norwood and Derrick Williams) all graduated, taking a majority of the receptions with them. Top returning wideouts include Graham Zug, Brett Brackett, and James "DUI" McDonald. This part of the offense will likely be functional but non-threatening at the time of the Gopher game. The wideouts' inexperience should allow Traye Simmons to help the run defense, hopefully neutralizing Royster and Green.

The Lions also lose three all Big Ten offensive linemen, though they have Stefen Wisniewski moving to center and Dennis Landolt at right tackle. New 6'5", 313-pound left tackle (and gloriously named) DeOn'tae Pannell will have to step in and perform at a high level to ensure the rushing game does not stall.

Bottom Line - Penn State's Offense: The offense will likely take a step back from its production in 2008. If Clark, Royster, and/or Wisniewski spend any significant period of time out injured, the offense will have significant production issues. Minnesota's large defensive line and mobile linebackers should be able to at least hang with the rushing attack, and the defensive backfield should handle the Lions' inexperienced wideouts. Due to Tramaine Brock's departure, however, we can count on at least one video replay with Ryan Collado trailing a wideout into the end zone.

Penn State on Defense: Linebacker U., right? Shane Conlan, Paul Pozlusny, Leapin' LaVar Arrington. Lately, Penn State has also churned out a number of solid defensive linemen, including 2009 draftees Aaron Maybin and Maurice Evans.

Well, wait a moment. Evans wasn't drafted, which begs a couple of questions. Was the NFL correct in determining Evans made a mistake in coming out early? Did Evans consider himself too good for college? What is left in State College? Well, Jared Odrick for one. Odrick had 41 tackles last year, 9.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. Also, Jack Crawford is new to the sport, being British and all (check that name), but he is highly regarded in Pennsylvania (as well as Portsmouth, for that matter) and will be expected to contribute. Ollie Ogbu and Abe Koroma are also returning linemen.

As for linebackers, well, if you follow a police blotter, you may have read some stuff about Navorro Bowman this off-season (all the action should serve Bowman well: he's a Crime, Law and Justice major, which I presume is University-Speak for "Wants to Be a Cop or District Attorney if he tears his knee up"). It seems JoePa is satisfied Bowman is ready to play football instead of smoking spliffs or beating up coeds. This is too bad for Duane Bennett, et al, as Bowman had 106 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, and 4 INT's last year.

Also returning after a year out due to injury is LB Sean Lee. He was all Big Ten in 2007 before tearing his ACL, and will undoubtedly be a tough block for the Gophers' O-line.

Wide receivers are the big question mark on offense. On defense, it's the defensive backfield. All starters have moved on, leaving CBs AJ Wallace and (really?) Knowledge Timmons and Ss Drew Astorino and Cedric Jeffries, as well as a cavalcade of 2009 signees, to take their place. This is where Gophers Offensive Coordinator Jedd Fisch should be picking on the defense, if he is the offensive genius Coach Brewster has made him out to be.

Bottom line - Penn State's Defense: The defense will step back this year from their dominating 2008 performance. Odrick, Bowman and Lee form about 40 % of a solid front seven. However, the defensive secondary is untested and has little experience. The Gophers should abandon any pretense of balance in their offensive attack in this game, spread five wideouts, get Pittman, Stoudermire, Brandon, McKnight, Kuznia, Decker, and Carpenter in space against the untested secondary, and pick them apart.

Penn State on Special Teams: 4-year starter Kevin Kelly departs, with either (Michigan de-commit) Anthony Fera or Colin Wagner assuming the kicking duties for Penn State's all-time leading scorer. Jeremy Boone, a senior returns as punter with a 43.03 ypk average from 2008.

One additional point bears mentioning regarding PSU's special teams. The youngest and most inexperienced areas of Penn State's team are their wideouts and defensive backfield. Kickoff return teams normally field some reserve players from these units. As the starters for Penn State are younger, the backups are even younger. Troy Stoudermire should be able to exploit these players' inexperience and youth and have some big returns at Beaver Stadium.

Bottom Line: What to Expect

Minnesota is Penn State's Homecoming opponent. We are sandwiched between a home game against Eastern Illinois (heh?) and a road game against Michigan. We could be the beneficiary of a team which wasn't really tested the prior week. Also, if the Wolverines improve, Minnesota could be the beneficiary of a team looking ahead to a 3-game stretch including Michigan, Northwestern and Ohio State.

As for the Gophers, this is the start of what looks to be a bad stretch of games, including a road game at Ohio State, home games against Michigan State and Illinois, an off week against South Dakota State, and then the battle for the Pig. This is the best chance to beat one of those scheduled "rough games." Penn State has little experience at wideout, even less in the defensive backfield, and is exploitable in special teams. If the Gophers spread the field and pick on Penn State's defense, the Gophers could walk out of Pennsylvania with a victory.

Minnesota 38
Penn State 34

Your say....

Poll

Who will win on October 17th?

Minnesota

41 votes

Penn State

369 votes

410 votes | Poll has closed