The Nittany Turkey

Primarily about Penn State football, this is a tale told by idiots, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

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Home Archives for 2009

Archives for 2009

Lions Man Up after Three Sissified Quarters

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Remember the title of my pre-game post? To refresh your memory, it was Trap Games Are for Sissies. So, what happened on Saturday could have produced a really disgusting article from me here today, as the #12 Nittany Lions (8-1, 4-1 Big Ten) did indeed look like sphincterized sissies for three quarters until they redeemed themselves in the fourth quarter, eventually licking unranked Northwestern (5-4, 2-3 Big Ten)  34-13.

They came out with their heads somewhere else — entombed, perhaps, in a warm, dark, redolent intrapersonal space with a Vise Grip for a sphincter — as they allowed the Wildcats to dink their way down the field to a 10-3 lead in the second quarter. The touchdown scored by Northwestern represented only the second time a TD has been scored on Penn State in the first half this season — not coincidentally, the second in back-to-back road games in which the Lions suffered a slow start.

Then, something fortunate happened to the Nitty Kitties, albeit not of their own doing. NWU quarterback Mike Kafka, who with the help of his hurry-up, no huddle offense, was impressing this Turkey by hitting receivers in voids in the Nittany Lions’ vaunted BBDB soft pass defense, pulled up lame, grabbing his hamstring on one play and heading to the bench for the rest of the game after the succeeding play. Later, Wildcat sources confirmed that the injury was to Kafka’s lower leg, not the hamstring.

This game kicked off at 4:30, not noon, Eastern Time, so the guys didn’t even have the early kickoff excuse to fall back on as an explanation for their lameness in the first three quarters. I don’t want to take credit away from Kafka and head coach Pat Fitzgerald, though. I’m just sayin…

Who knows what would have happened had Kafka stayed in the game instead of being replaced by young sophomore Dan Persa at that point. Kafka had performed brilliantly, completing 14 of 18 passes for 128 yards, as his allegro molto rhythm had the PSU defense on its heels, attempting to extract their heads from the aforementioned warm place. Kafka also hurt Penn State with his legs, as he rushed 8 times for 42 yards and a touchdown. Persa was 14-23 for 115 yards for the rest of the game after relieving Kafka. He was also effective on the ground, gaining 42 yards on 14 carries with a long run of 25. He admitted that he was in over his head — it takes lots of real game experience to be able to think as quickly as Pat Fitzgerald’s bang-bang offense demands.

Penn State was able to add a touchdown on a 2-yard Daryll Clark scramble after Clark moved the ball down the field using mostly sideline routes to Derek Moye and Graham Zug. A pass interference call put the ball on the Northwestern 15, after which Clark hit freshman Curtis Drake, who was forced out of bounds on the 2, setting up DC’s score.

Northwestern closed out the half with a 45-yard Stefan Demos field goal, after an earlier, 37-yard effort had been blocked. The Wildcats took a three-point lead into the locker room.

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Trap Games Are for Sissies

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Lots and lots of people out there are portraying the forthcoming game between #12 Penn State (7-1, 3-1 Big Ten) and Northwestern (5-3, 2-2 Big Ten) as a “trap” game. The Nittany Lions are coming off an emotional win at da Big House, their first in 13 years, and next week they will be coming home to play the Ohio State Buckeyes, a meaningful game in the quest for the Big Ten title and a trip to a BCS bowl. Northwestern is playing at home on Ryan Field, where they always play the Lions tough. They need one more game to be bowl eligible for the 2009-2010 post-season. All the components of an upset are there, yet this Turkey thinks that Penn State will take care of business. If you are intersting in be part of the online betting check the at bettingcompare.co.uk to chose the best way how do this.

Hell, back in 2005, it took a desperation pass from Michael Robinson to Isaac Smolko on fourth-and-ten to grab a victory out of the jaws of defeat there at Ryan Field. Don’t tell me it ain’t tough! King Casino site offers great games for adults who would like to have a blast of entertainment.

However, this year, Northwestern’s secondary is decimated by injuries and they have no running game to speak of. Their passing offense, led by quarterback Mike Kafka, dinks its way down the field with short routes and quick reads. Because of a green offensive line, Kafka doesn’t have much time to do otherwise. The Wildcats will be able to score some points against the Sandusky BBDB, especially if the corners are going to play 10 yards off the LOS, but not enough points; meanwhile, Penn State should be able to throw on their deficient secondary all day.

This, of course, is subject to a potentially big weather factor. While it has been raining up in Evanston this week, the sun is expected to peek through the clouds and dry things up. High temperature Saturday will be 50F. Nevertheless, as this is written on Friday, heavy rain amounting to 0.7″ has fallen on Ryan Field. The track is liable to be sloppy.

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Procrastinatoria

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While I delay my Penn State vs. Northwestern opinions until the last possible moment, here are some tidbytes that may be of interest to PSU fans, maybe, possibly, perhaps:

  • Kerry Collins has been benched by the Tennessee Titans. Kerry has had a crappy year, as have the Titans, at 0-6. Whether Vince Young will ever be ready to play is problematical, but he’s been named as the starter while Kerry rides the pine and develops pine nuts. The Titans are also rumored to be looking to pick up another veteran quarterback to mentor Young. Don’t count Collins out of playing again somewhere, but he’s got to be nearing the end of his playing career in any event. See The Tennessean.
  • Larry Johnson is protesting his suspension with the Kansas City Chiefs, or at least his agent is. His agent is working on an appeal, for which there would be a hearing next week; however, his agent is also working on a settlement with the Chiefs that would preclude the hearing. The common conjecture is that a successful settlement would mean a parting of the ways between LJ and the Chiefs. See the ESPN article.
  • The Southeastern Conference will start fining and suspending coaches of member schools who diss officials. This heavy-handedness by the SEC, which is reminiscent of how the Obama administration is attempting to perform mind control in Washington, is undoubtedly a response to Lane Kiffin’s mere existence at Tennessee. See the ESPN article.