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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Archives for 2011

Mistakes’ll Kill Ya

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In a mistake-laden performance reminiscent of bad high school football, Penn State (4-1, 1-0 Big Ten) prevailed over Indiana (1-4, 0-1 Big Ten) 16-10.

The Nittany Lions’ performance flat out sucked, following a disgusting pattern that has long afflicted them in road games, particularly noon starts.

The team came out flat but managed to threaten early. Classic red zone ineptitude ensued. Rob Bolden threw what looked to be a touchdown pass from the eight yard line, but it was nullified by a holding penalty. So, this Turkey was thinking, they’ll probably wind up settling for three in the worst case. ??? ???? ????? ?? ???????? ?????? What happens? Bolden throws a damn interception in the end zone and State is denied the opportunity to draw first blood. That’s road game red zone ineptitude. Epic fail!

Indiana would draw first blood with a 49 yard field goal on the ensuing series. Midway through the second period, Penn State would come back to tie. Ho hum.

I was beginning to feel that my crystal ball was a bit off. Recall that I predicted a 35-20 game. This one was likely to finish 6-3, setting football back 100+ years to that first game between Princeton and Rutgers, which ended with a 6-4 score, which was the identical score to the Penn State-Iowa game that previously served as the prime example of Penn State retrofootball. But I digress. Although the Nittany Lions won, taking the “over” would have been a mistake, as the Las Vegas books were taking over/under action at 48. The final total was a mighty 26. However, as expected, PSU did not cover the spread. (What else is new?) No one ever went broke in the 21st Century betting against Penn State covering the spread.

The half wound up deadlocked at 3-3, as Anthony Fera missed a 52-yard field goal at the gun. Joe Paterno limped off the field and would spend the second half in the press booth. ??? ??????? If he gave the boys a chewing out in the locker room, it had no effect as they came out flat again in the second half. ????? ???????

They managed to squander an opportunity to get a quick six points on a Hoosier fumble at their own 13 yard line. Against a rushing defense ranked #97, you would think that Silas Redd could quickly hit paydirt. Well, for that, he would have to be given the ball. He wasn’t. Two crappily incomplete Bolden passes and a Bolden 3 yard run was all this low powered offense could muster. The Lions finally took a 6-3 lead on a 27-yarder by Anthony Fera.

After an IU three-and-out, Bolden rode the legs of Silas Redd and Curtis Dukes sown to the Indiana three yard line in the only sustained drive of the game thus far. Could this finally be an elusive touchdown? Nope. Redd fumbled the ball away at the Indiana 2. No points.

On the next Penn State series, Matt McGloin threw a 74 yard touchdown pass to Derek Moye, the only brilliant play of the game, which would give the Lions all the points they would need to win this slopfest. They added three for good measure at the onset of the fourth period on a 33 yard Fera field goal. The Hoosiers staged a comeback attempt and seemed like they might be able to actually accomplish it, scoring a touchdown with about four minutes remaining. They made one more try at the end of the game, managing to drive down to the PSU 40 and throwing a hail mary at the final gun, which failed. Final score, Penn State 16, Indiana 10.

Penn State was good enough to put twice as many points on the board against the worst defense in the Big Ten. They had 464 yards overall, which could have been many, many more had their two-headed quarterback been able to connect with receivers. This time, it was not the receivers’ fault. Both Bolden and McGloin seemed to be throwing at receivers’ feet. Together, they were 16-36 for 271 yards, one touchdown and one interception. In addition to the INT, Penn State lost two fumbles and were penalized five times for 60 yards. Mistakes’ll kill ya.

There is no winner in the quarterback competition. They both suck. The offensive line is truly offensive, in the deodorant commercial sense of the word. There is no fire, no animation in these guys on either side of the ball. Mauti’s loss was  a big one, as now, Drew Astorino is the only PSU defender who shows any emotion. It will truly suck to watch these clowns the rest of the year.

Silas Redd should be pissed off at his inept offensive line for making him have to do all the work. He could be seen frequently moving his own blockers’ bodies out of the way in order to gain some running room. As predicted by this Turkey, Redd had a breakout day, with 29 carries for 129 yards. Curtis Dukes ably handled the backup chores with 54 yards of his own.

Derek Moye led all Penn State receivers with six catches for 158 yards and a touchdown.

OK, now look, boys and girls. This Turkey is going to tell you something. This team sucks with a capital “S”. Given this performance and its portent for things to come, the road gets very rocky from now on. Without stretching things too much, I can see them going 1-6 from here out. If they can’t even handle fundamentals, I’m not even going to enjoy watching them. It’s been a long time since I’ve missed a Penn State game on television, other than to attend the game live, but I’ll miss at least one of the forthcoming games, because frankly, I have better ways of wasting my time.

I’ll be back later in the week to preview the loss to Iowa.

 

 

PSU vs. Indiana

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Catchy title, eh? I didn’t want to strain my brain at this late hour. This is probably the latest game preview I’ve filed. There are no deadlines around here.

Indiana UniversityHere we have probably the least desirable major college football matchup that is still actually televised today. On a day on which Nebraska and Wisconsin square off in the same time slot as Florida vs. Alabama, 8 pm, we wouldn’t expect that any but the hardiest of die-hard Penn State and Indiana fans will be watching this thing. ESPN didn’t think so either, as the game is relegated to ESPNU, which is where you go when your game is too crappy to be broadcast on ESPN2. That’s how far down the totem pole we are today.

I cringe to think of the announcing crew we’ll get. Last week we had a babe who was not Pam Ward. She seemed better than Pam, who seems to be on beta-blockers, but she just didn’t do it for me.

On a TV watching desirability scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is another boring Obama speech and 10 is the latest “Game of the Century” this year, this one merits a 2. If your wife would like to take you shoe shopping at the mall during this time slot, you might have to think about that one for a while.

This has all the components of a frustrating game for Penn State (3-1, 0-0 Big Ten), as perennial Big Ten patsy Indiana (1-3, 0-0 Big Ten) hosts the Nittany Lions in Bloomington. It’s a noon start, which we’ve beaten to death here, but, furthermore, it’s a noon start on the road, which has long been a perilous scenario for the Lions. The coaching, which is notably anal in the friendly confines of Beaver Stadium, tightens up even more away from home, even against an awful team like the Hoosiers. The players might tend to look past this week’s patsy to next week’s perennial nemesis, Iowa. The spark plug for the defense, Michael Mauti, is out for the season with a torn ACL, and the offense is hampered by Joe Paterno’s quarterback tag team, not to mention an inept offensive line. The kicking game comes into play in close games, which this one shouldn’t be, but for all the aforementioned reasons, certainly could be. Typically, Penn State will let an opponent like Indiana hang around most of the game, then need a humungous  effort in the second half to surmount them. That’s called dumb, and that’s cause by the conservative coaching coupled with other problems like receivers dropping passes. It would be a trap game were it not for last week’s victory over another cream puff for the Lions.

The Hoosiers will come out loaded for bear, given that their furious fourth quarter comeback against mighty North Texas of the Sun Belt Conference last week fell short by a field goal. The only problem is that they’ll be facing Lions this week, so the bear loads will be ineffectual. In the 24-21 loss to North Texas, IU gave up 427 yards to a balanced attack. Neither team showed much defense, with the Hoosiers’ predominately aerial game netting 404 yards. Indiana’s two quarterbacks attempted 52 passes in that game, completing 30, with two touchdowns and an interception, accounting for 354 of those 404 total yards. That leaves just 50 for the ground game. You’ve really gotta have a ground game to win in the Big Ten.

So, remember last week when this Turkey said that the Emus would eschew the pass based on their pattern thus far, but they came out throwing? Well, no dumb cluck this Turkey is. I learn by my mistakes, so I’m going to say that the Hoosiers will come out throwing. Try and fool me will they? I’ll show ’em. However, Indiana has some dangerous receivers, and Penn State’s secondary is not all that good, certainly not as good as the defense’s current #7 ranking against the pass implies. With D’Anton Lynn out this week, they’ll be struggling even more. Everyone knows how to beat the Sandusky Zone, and even EMU was effective to some extent against it. So, I do expect Indiana to complete some passes against them, some for sizable gains.

With the Lions on offense, look for a breakout day for Silas Redd. Even with an offensive line that sucks, Redd should do well against a defense that is ranked #95 against the run. The two-headed quarterback wearing the white jersey can feel confident in throwing the ball, too, as Indiana ranks #85 in pass efficiency defense and #117 in sacks. A balanced attack should work well in this game, especially if the receivers do their jobs and catch the damn ball!

The special teams are about evenly sucky. Penn State has a slight edge here because of its superior punter; however, if this game goes the way this Turkey thinks it will, there will be little cause for the Lions to punt.

The weather won’t be a factor, as the forecast is for perfect football weather: mostly sunny with a high of 60°.

I want to see Penn State jump out to an early lead and stay out of striking range the rest of the way. Will they do it that way? Nah, I doubt it. This is one of those “Yeah, we suck, but the opponent sucks worse” kind of games. Players never seem to be seriously upbeat about that kind, and especially with Mauti gone, spirit is going out the window. I cringe to think of what lackluster play will do to the Nittany Lions in November, if not sooner.

So, before I go back to bed, I’m going to favor you with the Official Turkey Poop Prediction come hell or high water. The crooks at gambling parlors favor the Lions by 14.5 points, with an over/under of 48. This game could get pretty pretty pretty wild with all that passing happening. After both teams stink up the first quarter, Indiana will jump out ahead by a touchdown, the Lions will wake up, and then hell’s fury will be unleashed. (Or not.) In a somewhat entertaining second half, the Lions catch up and then play see-saw for a while before beating the Hoosiers 35-21. This time, as usual, they fail to cover the spread, but you can take the “over.”

See y’all soon for a recap of the game, if I can stay awake through it.

 

 

Pyrrhic Victory

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At first blush, the scoreboard creates a rose colored image of total domination by Penn State (3-1) in its 34-6 victory over non-conference opponent Eastern Michigan University (2-2). Alas, two crucial injuries suffered during he game will  significantly hamper the Lion’s defensive productivity from this time foreword.

OLB Michael Mauti,arguably the soul of the defense, will sit out the rest of the season with a torn ACL, which requires delicate surgery with a lengthy refractory period followed by intensive rehabilitation. Mauti is a guy whose passion was evident throughout the game, not just the first series.

D’Anton Lynn was carried off the field on a spinal stabilizer board, with the worst fear being a neck injury. He was examined and later released from Mt. Nittany Medical Center with what turned out to be a minor injury. However, he will miss at least one game.

Mauti’s loss is a serious blow to the defense. Nate Stupar will have big shoes to step into. The multiplicative intangibles inherent in Mauti’s approach to the game will be lost, which might prove to be even more serious than the loss of Mauti’s excellent position play.

Contrary to everyone’s expectations, the Eagles came out throwing. Having employed the pass a total of six times the previous week against Michigan, it was pretty obvious that this was a run oriented team. Accordingly, Penn State got fooled a bit, as they had undoubtedly prepared for a single dimensional offense. For the first series or so, the PSU defense looked like it had its collective head up its ass. Then, adjustments by Tom Bradley and the boys brought the game back under control so that the offense could play analball. It is a complement that the opposition, no matter how lame, saw the Nittany Lion run defense as so impermeable that they would have to rely on a weapon that has been largely ineffectual through the first few games of the season.

Eastern Michigan wound up 18-31 for 202 yards passing, but only 68 yards on 43 carries on the ground. For its attempt at a pseudo-balanced attack, EMU dominated time of possession by over nine minutes. That kept the PSU defense on the field a long time, and that’s when injuries happen.

Joe Paterno
Joe Paterno at Post Game Conference

Meanwhile, on the Lions’ offensive side, the quarterback battle of the day was won by Matt McGloin, who went 14-17 for 220 yards and three touchdowns and no interceptions. Rob Bolden was not as effective, at 7-13 for 115 yards with a touchdown and an INT. Does this mean that the quarterback controversy/competition is over? Ask Joe Paterno. This Turkey has no doubt that this will be the second most asked about topic (after the Mauti injury) at today’s press conference. McGloin appears to be the clear leader at this point, and he appears to be more comfortable in the pocket, but who knows what goes through Joe’s head. He might have made an under the table promise to Bolden and his dad that Rob would play in every game this year, for all I know. Could this quarterbacking morass go on all season? Yes, but it isn’t going to be pretty, given that the Lions now enter the “meat” of the schedule after having consumed the cream puffs and having been Alabama’s bitch.

The Penn State running game was relatively quiet, amassing only 102 yards all day. Most of the run duties were split up among Silas Redd (48 yards), Curtis “I Outta Joe Doghouse” Dukes (29 yards), and Bellefonte’s own Derek Day (18 yards). EMU’s head coach Ron English, no stranger to Penn State, apparently had decided to make the the Nits pass, so they kicked his teams ass that way, instead of running it down his throat. (Lots of body metaphors here. I must think I’m a sports writer or something.) Of course, by giving the Eagles credit for shutting down the PSU running game, I have sidestepped the obvious issue of a defective offensive line, which sill plague the Lions for the rest of the season.

Another questionable area for the Nittany Lions that might have been solidified in this game is the much maligned (for good reason) kicking game. Anthony “I Sober Now” Fera seems to have become the first stringer for punts, kickoffs, and place kicks, after the failure of Evan Lewis and Sam Ficken to impress anybody. Fera was 1-1 place kicking, as was Ficken, who was called to action late in the game. Fera averaged 51.7 yards punting.

It was good to see head coach Joe Paterno on the sidelines again, albeit for just the first half. After that, he repaired back to the press booth, sitting with Galen, Jay, and Dick.

How did this here Turkey do with his prediction? Well, pretty pretty pretty damn good, if you ask me. In fact, had Ficken missed that field goal attempt, as I had anticipated, I would have been right on the money. Consider it a bonus that he did, because it didn’t affect the end result from a gambler’s perspective. Penn State still didn’t cover the spread, and the over/under was under by four. My score prediction was a little off (I said 30-6 as opposed to the final of 34-6), but I’m still impressed with myself. I’m not implying prescience, just a well greased ass to pull these things out of.

So, the first Lithophallus Bowl is in the books now, leading to speculation about what a trophy for a series of these would look like if the same committee that designed the Land Grant Trophy were to be involved. I could see it now: a big shelf for the brick dick and a Nittany Lion sculpture replica preparing to pounce on the phallic building to twist it off at its root and eat it like a hot doggie treat.

To be serious for a moment, there’s every reason to be concerned about the rest of the season. We enter the Big Ten season with a questionable offensive line, no idea who is leading the team on offense, and a banged up defense. The kicking/return game is still somewhat questionable. If this team is unlucky and unmotivated, it could lose five games from here to December. I wouldn’t worry about this Saturday’s game, though. The Hoosiers (1-3) are up to their usual suckage, having been beaten last weekend by North Texas 24-21. But I’ll leave the rest of that forecast for another post later in the week.