SB Nation User Blog: millzners

Playoff Simulator

millzners — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:21:32 -0000

Playoff Simulator

On the third try this thing had Penn State upsetting Florida, LSU, and Alabama on its way to play Boise State in the NC game. And we lost. What a crock.

What this bowl game means to the records...

millzners — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:40:54 -0000

Rambler suggested this be a Fanpost instead of a Fanshot.

One of the lesser hyped things about last year's Rose Bowl was that Penn State are currently battling for best Bowl Game winning % in history. Last year we came in PSU #1 and USC #2, and we left conceding that title.

With a win this year, we can pass USC even if they win:

USC 31 16 .6595
PSU 26 13 .6585

A win would bring us to .675 and likewise USC to .667

Another stat: Currently Alabama and Penn State are tied with 811 all time wins. This may or may not reflect the 2009 SEC championship. We are also 3rd all time with 14 11+ win seasons and 'Bama is 4th with 13.

A bowl win would give Joe his 394th win. That means 6 more wins until his 400th. A win in the Citris bowl could set the stage for next year's Michigan game to possibly be Joe's 400th win (assume we lose to 'Bama and Iowa). Since he broke Bryants record against Ohio State this would only be fair.

Finally we are currently 16-16 against SEC opponents, and a win against LSU would give Penn State an impossible winning record against the SEC.

December Recruiting Thread

millzners — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:40:21 -0000

It's a long time until Jan 1st and I know that at least for me, recruiting is only interesting when there's no actual football to talk about... Anyway, here's your updates (I have no insider knowledge or access, no pay site memberships, therefore this is all free content I found on the interwebs):

COMMITTED/UNSIGNED	Pos	Stars	Ht	Wt	40	RR	Video	Enrolled	Hometown
Robert Bolden	QB		6-4	195	4.5	5.9			Orchard Lake, MI
Paul Jones	QB		6-3	226	-	5.9			McKees Rocks , PA
Silas Redd	RB		5-10	200	4.45	5.9			Stamford, CT
Zach Zwinak	RB		6-2	230	4.5	5.8			Frederick, MD
Adrian Coxson	WR		6-2	194	4.45	5.8			Baltimore, MD
Alex Kenney	WR		6-0	194	4.41	5.7			State College, PA
Levi Norwood	WR		6-2	170	-	5.5			Waco, TX
Kyle Baublitz	TE		6-4	254	5.13	5.8			York, PA
Kevin Haplea	TE		6-4	226	4.75	5.7			Annandale, NJ
Miles Dieffenbach	OL		6-5	277	5.5	5.8			Pittsburgh, PA
Luke Graham	OL		6-5	260	-	5.7			Harrison City, PA
Daquan Jones	OL		6-4	302	5.4	5.7			Johnson City, NY
Khamrone Kolb	OL		6-6	300	5.1	5.5			Burke, VA
Thomas Ricketts	OL		6-6	265	-	5.8			Wexford, PA
Dominique Easley	DE		6-3	258	4.7	5.9			Staten Island, NY
C.J. Olaniyan	DE		6-5	230	4.65	5.8			Warren, MI
Dakota Royer	DE		6-3	211	4.66	5.8			Manheim, PA
Evan Hailes	DT		6-1	305	5	5.8			Chesapeake, VA
Khairi Fortt	LB		6-2	220	4.58	6.0			Stamford, CT
Mike Hull	LB		6-1	215	-	5.8			Canonsburg, PA

The obvious challenge now isn't getting new verbal commits; it's simply signing the kids who've verball committed... When you have a top 5 class you're going to have all the scumbag coaches [cough Meyer cough] in the country coming for your blue chip recruits. Here's some scuttlebutt:

The Good:

Paul Jones: Looks to be enrolling early, as in 1 month from now, after being iffy early in the year is now talking the talk of a great Penn State player. Says he's built great relationships with other commits and he'll get to play with them during the Army All American game.

The Bad:

Dominique Easley: A stellar DE and a serious need for Penn State, committed after a long look at other schools, now recently took an official visit to Oregon "I’m still committed to Penn State, but I’m considering Oregon." Anyway, he's got an official visit to Penn State coming up which might right the ship. Doesn't help matters when this kid visited us during the Temple game, and then visited Oregon during the Civil War.

The Ugly:

Adrian Coxson - McQuerry basically told Coxson there's no room for him, doesn't return his calls, and encouraged him to look elsewehere; this AFTER our boy LJ Sr. recruited his face off to get the kid to commit early. Coxson took a good look at UF, and it looks like he's ready to jump ship on us. Recently LJ Sr and Big Red made a visit to his house, that's left us with a lot of uncertainty at this point. You can speculate all you want on this, but honestly I have no idea why a position coach would undermine the recruiting of another position coach. Big Red lost major points for this debacle, in my book at least.

Kids we're still after:

Lattimore, Floyd, and now Thorton. Thorton (DT) and Lattimore (RB) both visited for the jaOSU game and showered PSU with praise. Thorton is a late offer due to the mess with Floyd. As I'm sure most people have heard, we're basically out of the race for DT Floyd after Urban Meyer gave him all the negative recruiting he could.

Under Armor All American Game: (Black Team)

Dakota Royer

6-3, 220

Manheim Central (Pa.)

Penn State

Dominique Easley

6-3, 260

Curtis (N.Y.)

Penn State

Miles Dieffenbach

6-5, 277

Fox Chapel (Pa.)

Penn State

Evan Hailes

6-1, 315

Oscar Frommel Smith (Va.)

Penn State

Army All American Game (East Team):

Khairi Fortt

No. 2 OLB

Penn State

Mike Hull

No. 8 OLB

Penn State

Paul Jones

No. 7 PQB

Penn State

Silas Redd

No. 6 RB

Penn State

Zach Zwinak

No. 1 FB

Penn State

[Weis referring to Pete Carroll] "Was I living with a grad student in Malibu, or was I living with...

millzners — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 01:45:42 -0000

[Weis referring to Pete Carroll] "Was I living with a grad student in Malibu, or was I living with my wife in my house? You could bet that if I were living with a grad student here in South Bend, it would be national news. He's doing it in Malibu and it's not national news. What's the difference? I don't understand. Why is it OK for one guy to do things like that, but for me, I'm scrutinized when I swear. I'm sorry for swearing; absolve my sins."

Link to Story

OH SNAP!

Bowl Game Travel: When do you buy the plane tickets?

millzners — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:13:25 -0000

We're looking at 80% Cap One, 10% Fiesta, and 5% each for Orange and Outback right?

What's your strategy for buying plane tickets during these times of uncertainty? Today, you can book a non-refundable round trip flight from BWI to Orlando for the Cap One bowl for under $190 a person but it's likely that by the time we know for sure it's going to be another $100. Refundable tickets are expensive, so getting those now is mostly a wash...

So when does everyone normally buy the tickets? There's about 5 unlikely scenarios including Pitt winning or Oregon St winning that will pretty much tip the scales immediately, but otherwise its a longer process...

Poll

When would you buy the plane tickets?

Right now fool!!!

6 votes

Thur night after the Civil War game

0 votes

Sat night after all the big games finish up

6 votes

As soon as they officially announce it, no sense in gambling.

32 votes

44 votes | Poll has closed

Special Teams Personel to be Shuffled. No this is not a repeat.

millzners — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:38:23 -0000

Special Teams Personel to be Shuffled. No this is not a repeat.

With 2 games in the regular season we're in the bottom 5% in kickoff returns and coverage. So *now* we're going to make some personel changes. Joe says it's not scheme, and it's not coaching.

Ok, usually I'm a blatant optimist, but something tells me this might have a little to do with scheme and coaching. Last I checked we have 1st string guys out there on coverage and returns, and we're still horrific.

Getting a Pulse: How confident are you?

millzners — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:14:12 -0000

Heading into last year's game I was outrageously confident we'd win. There wasn't a doubt in my mind. I think I predicted we'd win like 49-17 or something. Needless to say come 3rd quarter I was sweating bullets.

But this year is different, I'm nervous, I'm worried about our O-line, and I'm not sold on our safeties. I was wondering how confident people are around here. I know it's hate week, but let's be honest.

Poll

We're going to win right?

Win? We're going to KILL them! This thing will be over at half time.

12 votes

Yeah, we'll probably win. Clark's a beast, Lee and Bowman are finally both healthy, we're good.

105 votes

Well if the O-line plays well, and we don't turn the ball over at all, yeah we've got a shot.

64 votes

I don't know man, I'm feeling pretty nervous. Cross your fingers.

10 votes

WE'RE DOOMED!

4 votes

195 votes | Poll has closed

Does Sanchez's performance in the NFL make the Rose Bowl a little easier to bear?

millzners — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:23:21 -0000

Ok after two games the rookie QB Sanchez has now outplayed and beat Tom Brady and the Patriots and led his team to a 2-0 start. He's completed 60% of his passes and looks like he's headed for a monster rookie season... Stats

In hindsight I'm not sure we can hang our heads about the Rose Bowl. We faced an NFL-caliber passing attack lead by a guy who's now playing at an extremely high level in the NFL. Sanchez wasn't just some average NCAAF QB, and our inability to stop him now seems less damning.

Poll

Does Sanchez's perfornance in the NFL make the Rose Bowl loss easier to bear?

Yes

64 votes

No

104 votes

168 votes | Poll has closed

Get your tin foil hat out, I've got a good one

millzners — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 16:12:36 -0000

Get your tin foil hat out, I've got a good one

We're keeping Royster's carries down to keep him from running off to the NFL. By using him as a receiver, punt returner, and by using Green more (8 carries to Royster's 12) we're keeping Royster from being a featured TB. By doing so we're keeping him healthy and making sure he isn't going anywhere. I know it's not true, but it's good for discussion on this glorious Sunday afternoon.

Tailgate food: What's your favorite?

millzners — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:43:43 -0000

I was wondering thru the grocery store last Friday thinking: "man, I always get the same food for tailgating, I need to expand my horizons" but to no avail.

I found myself yet again grilling brats burgers and sausages, and yet again found the stable of reliable mainstays to be satisfying yet boring. I've seen people cook everything from beer-can chicken to bar-b-q ribs over coals, I've seen chili, kabobs, fish, dips everything.

So this time around I need some suggestions: How do you roll? What are your all time favorite recipes and foods at a tailgate?

Poll

How do you prefer to roll at your tailgate?

The Classics: Burgers, Brats, Sausage, and Hotdogs

49 votes

BBQ: Ribs, brisket, and chicken

18 votes

Chilli, Soups, and Stews

15 votes

Exotic: grilled salmon, lamb chops, or kabobs

3 votes

Liquid Diet

18 votes

Vegan: Tofu, Fruits, and Raw Veggies

2 votes

105 votes | Poll has closed