Minnesota 31, Penn State 26
Was it “that dullard look”?
Was it failure to execute?
Was it bad coaching?
I’ll tell you what it wasn’t. What I don’t want to hear about is bad officiating. If it’s bad, it’s bad, but excuses like that are for losers. ????? ???? ????? Whiners who use such excuses conveniently forget the bad calls, missed calls, and non-calls that go in their homeboys’ favor, too. It’s part of the game, no matter how we try to scientificalize the process of officiating, which I think is drudgerously ruining the damn game. ??? ???? ??????
Penn State came out flat and sucked on both sides of the ball. The better team won, and that’s that. ???? ????? Go Rodents! You have my respect.
Now it’s back to Beaver Stadium and bring on Indiana. The team psyche better rebound.
Turkey out.
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Big Al says
Primarily Reason Number 3. Penn States chronic schematic flaws on offense (can’t run between the tackles) and on defense (can’t defend against slants, screens, and an accurate QB) bit them in the ass yet again. And Jimmy Franks’ chronically “aggressive” in-game decision making (i.e going for a 2 point conversion in the 3rd quarter and passing up a field goal on 4th and 5 with 12 minutes to play) cost Penn State 4 points which would have allowed the Kitties to take the lead with a field goal near the end of the 4th quarter. Although the Rodents would still probably have had about 40 seconds to get a winning field goal and I wouldn’t bet on State’s defense stopping them.
The Nittany Turkey says
If I can paraphrase what you’re saying, we would be out-coached even if the other team had no coach.
I still think coming out unprepared to play with “that dullard look” and allowing the Rodents to jump out to an early lead put them in a hole they would never be able to scramble out of when they eventually woke up. The body language and energy displayed by the two benches was graphically different. Minnesota was pumped up; Penn State was hung over, looking like, “Why am I here?”
As you brought out, the offensive brain trust lacks the wherewithal to come from behind. You live by the sword, you die by the sword. The percentages aren’t with you when you have to rely on one player’s resolve to make a climactic miracle winning drive happen, such as McSorley (Iowa), or Collins (Indiana). (Kerry was apparently sober that day). I like tOSU’s approach better — establish a 40-point lead and then let the other guy take all the risks — but you can’t do that in EVERY game, even with tOSU’s talent. Coaching has to be able to work with the players they put on the field. Motivation to get through the cobwebs of an 11 AM CT kickoff is part of that.
Well, Al, the SDR has come and gone. Now, how does this team get motivated for Indiana? I know we’ve handled the Hoosiers easily on our home turf for centuries and I know that Penix is out; however, is the team psyche going to be buoyant enough to suck it up and get over the Minnesota disappointment? Or do we lose three in a row?
I’m happy for Minnesota. They played a great game. I’m hoping they can keep it going through the remainder of their schedule (Iowa, NWU, Wisconsin), and play tOSU in the B1G championship. I think they’ll give the Schmuckeyes a run for their money. Hail Rodents!
—TNT
Big Al says
We wouldn’t be better with no coach at all – somebody has to recruit and babysit all those OMG STARZ.
Kidding aside, Franklin is in the top 20% of FBS head coaches, but he’s just not in the top 5% – which is where he needs to be to win a national championship. Most head coaches lose one game each year to a team with inferior talent and JF is no exception. For that matter, the Rodent’s 11 offensive starters may not even be inferior to the Kitties starting 11. They’re just inferior on defense and lack depth.
The Nittany Turkey says
Your assessment of where Franklin resides in relation to other coaches parallels what I think PSU’s ranking should be. Top 20%, but not top 5%. At #9, they still might be a bit overrated. We’ll see where the CFP geniuses place them tomorrow.
—TNT
K. John says
I really don’t want to hear whining about officiating. I don’t think the PI call on George was even questionably, much less bad. He clearly wasn’t running a route. Made no attempt to sell it taking two Minnesota defenders out of the play in the process. That is about as cut and dried as you get for offensive pass interference.
The loss was disappointing, but not surprising. Back to what I said earlier this year, we are luckier than good this year and Franklin’s replacement will be one to lead us to the playoffs.
The Nittany Turkey says
The latter remains to be seen. The talent is there, but will the PSU administration have the brains to hire the guy who will lead the Nittany Lions to the playoffs, or will other considerations such as sentimentality or “inclusion” compromise the selection process? No one knows. The same process that culminated in Franklin’s hire will be at play again. Will they have smartened up sufficiently to get the right guy?
—TNT