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 2014

Archives for 2014

One if by ground; two if by air

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UMassPaul Revere rides again as the mighty Nittany Lions (3-0, 1-0 Big Ten) take on the UMass Minutemen (0-3, 0-0 MAC) in Beaver Stadium on Saturday. Will the Lions use this game to retool and refine their nonexistent ground attack as “everyone” thinks they will, or will they rely on the arm of Christian Hackenberg once again?

One thing I’ll tell you is that the Minutemen outrank the Lions in rushing yards, averaging 82.3 yards per game as opposed to the Nittany Lions 75.7. Before you demean the quality of their opposition for the first three games, they played BC, Colorado, and Vandy, probably a better test than UCF, Akron, and Rutgers.

But we all know that the Penn State rushing game suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks.

In their opener against BC, the Redmen (now deprecated former team moniker) were thoroughly dominated by the Eaglets. Time of possession was an unholy margin of  42:11 to 17:49 in favor of BC. who outgained the armed colonials 511 to 202 and whipped them 30-7. [Read more…]

Who Expected THAT?

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Miss Teen South Carolina 2007
Miss Teen South Carolina 2007

The mighty Penn State Nittany Lions (3-0, 1-0 Big Ten) spoiled the Big Ten debut of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (2-1, 0-1 Big Ten) — barely, by a score of 13-10 — before a record crowd of 53,774 in Piscataway.

It wasn’t the game any of our expert predictors predicted. Nay, far from it. And we weren’t alone in our ineptitude. Most of the media wonks got it wrong, too. Were it not for a desperate 80-yard drive deep into the fourth quarter, the outcome would have gone the other way, and by all rights, it should have.

Miss Teen South Carolina gave a better answer back in 2007 than our distinguished panel did this week. I forget the question.

Penn State played with thumbs up their asses most of the game, not to take any credit from Rutgers, who played an inspired, albeit way far from perfect, game. In particular, vaunted born-again quarterback Gary Nova, who I thought at game’s outset was potential NFL material, got flushed down the toilet, a smack-down that will reverberate through his mind each time he steps up and fondles his center’s nuts from now on. Gary will be intercepted dozens more times before this season ends. [Read more…]

Scarlet Billows

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RutgersThe plot thickens for the Nittany Lions and their 2014 campaign, as the NCAA lifted the post-season ban during the week, giving the now eligible-to-be-bowl-eligible Lions a raison d’être. Now, they’re playing for something other than pride, and now, each game takes on new-found significance, especially for the seniors.

This week, the undefeated Nittany Lions (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten) kick off their 2014 Big Ten conference schedule with an away game versus the undefeated Rutgers Scarlet Knights (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten) in a battle of Big Ten leaders. Will scarlet billows start to spread? (Cheap pun, I know, but that’s my three pennies’ worth.)

Highs and Lows

Penn State is entering the game on an emotional high due to the lifting of sanctions, whereas Rutgers is feeling the sting of having one of their all-time stars, Ray Rice, expelled from the NFL for fiance-beating. Both teams had lackluster wins over semi-competent opponents last Saturday. However, the game is being played in High Point Solutions (LOL) Stadium in Piscataway, which represents an emotional edge for the red horsemen.

There’s been lots of trash talking of a sort, inspired by James Franklin’s arrogant assertions about recruiting in the area.  Offensive Coordinator Ralph Friedgen was Franklin’s boss when he took over as head coach of Maryland after Ron Vanderlinden went to Penn State. Friedgen was later fired by Maryland. Furthermore, Rutgers players from Pennsylvania who were snubbed by Penn State are somewhat vocally pissed off over it. This is the sort of stuff that fuels rivalries. Dare I say that this could eventually turn into a border war if Franklin can’t put his money where his mouth is?

[Read more…]