Florida International (1-0) vs. Penn State (1-0)
It’s Friday. I usually have my pre-game bullshit written by now, but to tell you the truth, I friggin’ forgot. Yeah, that’s what happens when I’m lulled to sleep by high expectations followed by three gimmes. And they’re not even interesting gimmes.
Let me find something interesting: betting on the opponent. Who would encourage such a disloyal act? I would. It’s the only sporting proposition available here, given yet another six-plus touchdown spread. Given James Franklin’s history against the spread, it’s almost a slam-dunk. Just look at last week’s weirdly unique 46-11 score. Penn State was favored by 42.5 – 43.5 and won by 35. If it weren’t for Nevada’s last-minute score, the margin would have been 43. Hmmmmm, no wonder why Franklin was so pissed off at the timekeeper at the game’s conclusion!
This game won’t make the ESPN list of 20 games that will make this week interesting in college football. I’ll be surprised if we do not see a veritable plethora of empty seats at newly half-assed renovated Beaver Stadium overlooking scenic West Shore Home Field. Michigan, Illinois, and Iowa all have competitive games on the schedule. What about Penn State? We get FIU. ZZzzzzzzz.
Anything special about FIU?
There are good football schools in Florida. This isn’t one of them. The Panthers rode roughshod against FCS rival Bethune-Cookman last week 42-9. Let that not scare anyone.
Did you know that FIU was built on land that what was once the Tamiami Airport? Yeah, kind of like Alligator Alcatraz, right? Used to be in the middle of nowhere in the Florida Everglades, but as Miami-Dade continued its inexorable urban sprawl, the area is now well developed.
Cats Playing in Dog Stadium
The Panthers play at Pitbull Stadium, a 20,000-seat facility on FIU’s campus in Miami. Originally opened in 1995, the stadium underwent several renovations and name changes, with the most recent naming rights acquired by rapper Pitbull in 2024. At first blush, this would seem to be ridiculous, but this particular hip-hop-a-rican is noted for his business acumen and philanthropy. He has given much back to his community.
What I Want to See
I’m not even going to try to “break down” the opponent, to use the hackneyed sports lingo vogue term meaning to analyze. Why can’t they use the real word? Is “analyze” too difficult? For some sportswriters, you’re damn straight it is. They couldn’t even SPELL analyze! But I digress. The only thing I’ll be watching for is some semblance of an ability to finish drives, unlike last week. Settling for three should not be a repetitive option.
Also, how about unleashing the running game. Does our O-line suck once again, or what? Are they sandbagging? Two journeyman RBs like Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen are capable of 100 yards each. What happened last week? Franklin was too busy playing wide receiver coach with his high-priced new toy wideouts?
Anyhow, I’m going to be half-assed watching this half-assed game. I’ll probably do the laundry or something to stave off boredom.
Da Wedda
A front will move through, producing a little rain for the game. Forecast high is 71. If the game mattered, the weather wouldn’t.
Da Bottom Line
Time for the Official Turkey Poop Prognostication, which sucks about as bad as this game. Oh, I know I’ll have homies on my ass about how we always need tune-ups and every game counts. James Franklin, the head homey, would say we need to concentrate on FIU and go 1-0 this week. The late, sainted Joe Paterno would have said, “They’re a good football team.”
No, they not, but Joe always liked to say so, anyway. It was the polite, sportsmanlike thing to say, interspersed between jabs at the media like, “You guys don’t know what you’re talking about!” See, I need my Paterno memories to keep my interest going, because the game clearly has none. The current spread is 43.5 with an over/under of 53.5, suggesting a final score of 48-5. Has that final score ever happened? Could be another funny one if we can get there. Anyway, let’s pull one out of my bony ass: Penn State 55, FIU 12, just missing covering the spread. Don’t play the over/under—this one is too shaky.
I’ll be back after the game with some impertinent comments.
Share this:
Discover more from The Nittany Turkey
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Week two of the increasingly relevant out of conference schedule. The biggest challenge is the new strength of schedule metric that accounts for quality of win. Had it been in place last year, we don’t make the invitational having played the weakest schedule in decades in all likelihood. We haven’t had a playoff quality win during the regular season since 2016. This game hurts us regardless of the outcome, as did last week and next week. We need to beat good teams for the first time under Franklin and we need to beat teams that have decent wins. Beating a 8 win team that didn’t beat a team with a winning record is no longer good enough. I for one welcome the change.