Pretender or Contender
Been a week since I last posted. To anyone who reads this, sorry. I was out of town for a couple of days, and just didn't have time.
Brief recap of last weekend's happenings. Very happy with the PSU/NU game. It's nice to hear PSU supporters no longer saying "we should have won," but now saying, "we should have won by more." I don't care what anyone says, a road win in the Big Ten is never easy (unless it's Indiana), but it's been especially rare for Penn State. Is Joe's team back? I don't know, and I'm not ready to say yes just yet. This weekend's showdown with the Gophers will go a long way towards answering the question: Pretender or Contender.
Disturbing to read that Penn State is 2-4 at home in Big Ten openers. That's not good. Well, at least this isn't the opener.
Read an interesting blog about the PSU fans and the atmosphere at Beaver Stadium. About how the fans tend to be less than boisterous, compared to places like Doak Walker stadium, Ben Hill Griffith Stadium, etc. It's true. Our fans aren't loud all the time. Sometimes, the roar is defeaning. Sometimes, it's down-right tranquil. Not sure why. Maybe it is the "blue haired" alums telling us to sit down (grrrr)...maybe it's something in the water. Whatever it is, it is ashame that 100,000 people can be so calm. Sad, really.
I am looking forward to, and dreading, this game with Minnesota all at the same time. I want a test from a "good" team (no offense USF--way to go vs Louisville!!!), but I am afraid that a good team may show just how unimpressive our first 4 wins really are. As I see it, the game comes down to 4 main points:
1) Turnovers: No way can PSU turn the ball over 4 times and stay within 14 points of the Gophers. MRob has to do better with the rock. On the other side of the ball, the D needs to create some takeaways....especially against a ball control offense.
2) Tackeling: Missed tackles in this game will be disastrous. Penn State is showing signs of poor tackling which plagued them in 2003. While Posluz racked up 22 stops last week, a lot of our hits are coming 5, 6, 7 yards past the initial hit. Against a bull of a back, the first hit needs to be the stopper, or Maroney could rack up more than 200 this week.
3) Aggressiveness: The D hasn't shown up this year (CMich was a scrimmage). Disturbing to see how soft the corners are playing. Also disturbing is the fact that we seem to give up a lot of 3rd and longs again this year. Not sure if Bradley has changed his scheming, but it worries me. 440+ yards of offense surrendered last week, even against a spread offense, isn't good. Would like to see the corners press a little more, and the safeties blitz once in a while.
4) Ground Game: Tony Hunt is averaging 7+ ypc this year. He's averaging slightly more than 11 carries per game. Not a dominating stat. The best thing we can do to keep our tired D from having to face 90 plays from a bruising team is to control the ball. I know people say Time of Possession stats don't mean anything. Bull. A 2-1 advantage for Minnesota means a lopsided Gopher win.
I'd like to forget Nov 6, 1999 for a while, so how about a big win (a la Nebraska in 2002)? Looking at the schedule, the only game that we will likely be favored in is Illinois. Other than that, we're going to be the dogs. 6 wins is still a reach, but a win this weekend makes it that much more attainable.
Nice to get to hear Brad Nessler tomorrow...he's the best they have on ABC.
So, the predictions for tomorrow are:
USC 34, ASU 31
Purdue 27, ND 20
Michigan 42, Michigan State 24
Florida 33, Alabama 17
Miami 27, USF 17
PENN STATE 30, MINNESOTA 27.
For the Glory....
Brief recap of last weekend's happenings. Very happy with the PSU/NU game. It's nice to hear PSU supporters no longer saying "we should have won," but now saying, "we should have won by more." I don't care what anyone says, a road win in the Big Ten is never easy (unless it's Indiana), but it's been especially rare for Penn State. Is Joe's team back? I don't know, and I'm not ready to say yes just yet. This weekend's showdown with the Gophers will go a long way towards answering the question: Pretender or Contender.
Disturbing to read that Penn State is 2-4 at home in Big Ten openers. That's not good. Well, at least this isn't the opener.
Read an interesting blog about the PSU fans and the atmosphere at Beaver Stadium. About how the fans tend to be less than boisterous, compared to places like Doak Walker stadium, Ben Hill Griffith Stadium, etc. It's true. Our fans aren't loud all the time. Sometimes, the roar is defeaning. Sometimes, it's down-right tranquil. Not sure why. Maybe it is the "blue haired" alums telling us to sit down (grrrr)...maybe it's something in the water. Whatever it is, it is ashame that 100,000 people can be so calm. Sad, really.
I am looking forward to, and dreading, this game with Minnesota all at the same time. I want a test from a "good" team (no offense USF--way to go vs Louisville!!!), but I am afraid that a good team may show just how unimpressive our first 4 wins really are. As I see it, the game comes down to 4 main points:
1) Turnovers: No way can PSU turn the ball over 4 times and stay within 14 points of the Gophers. MRob has to do better with the rock. On the other side of the ball, the D needs to create some takeaways....especially against a ball control offense.
2) Tackeling: Missed tackles in this game will be disastrous. Penn State is showing signs of poor tackling which plagued them in 2003. While Posluz racked up 22 stops last week, a lot of our hits are coming 5, 6, 7 yards past the initial hit. Against a bull of a back, the first hit needs to be the stopper, or Maroney could rack up more than 200 this week.
3) Aggressiveness: The D hasn't shown up this year (CMich was a scrimmage). Disturbing to see how soft the corners are playing. Also disturbing is the fact that we seem to give up a lot of 3rd and longs again this year. Not sure if Bradley has changed his scheming, but it worries me. 440+ yards of offense surrendered last week, even against a spread offense, isn't good. Would like to see the corners press a little more, and the safeties blitz once in a while.
4) Ground Game: Tony Hunt is averaging 7+ ypc this year. He's averaging slightly more than 11 carries per game. Not a dominating stat. The best thing we can do to keep our tired D from having to face 90 plays from a bruising team is to control the ball. I know people say Time of Possession stats don't mean anything. Bull. A 2-1 advantage for Minnesota means a lopsided Gopher win.
I'd like to forget Nov 6, 1999 for a while, so how about a big win (a la Nebraska in 2002)? Looking at the schedule, the only game that we will likely be favored in is Illinois. Other than that, we're going to be the dogs. 6 wins is still a reach, but a win this weekend makes it that much more attainable.
Nice to get to hear Brad Nessler tomorrow...he's the best they have on ABC.
So, the predictions for tomorrow are:
USC 34, ASU 31
Purdue 27, ND 20
Michigan 42, Michigan State 24
Florida 33, Alabama 17
Miami 27, USF 17
PENN STATE 30, MINNESOTA 27.
For the Glory....
posted by HappyValley at 4:51 PM
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