We’re Even!

Indiana 27, Penn State 24

A View from the Past

Back in 1994, that legendary collection of Nittany Lions with Kerry Collins at the helm were cruising toward the mythical national championship when they almost hit a roadblock in the most improbable of venues: Bloomington, Indiana. Undefeated #2 Penn State would face the Hoosiers of yore, Bill Mallory’s 5-4 football team that provided a diversion for a few dozen sports starved fans while waiting for basketball season. The Lions jumped out to a 35-14 lead, which Joe Paterno thought was a good time to clear out the bench. But there was no quit back home in Indiana, where the home team whittled the shocked visitors’ lead down to six points in the fourth quarter. Penn State hung on to win, but came close to blowing their season on the field that day.

Thirty-one years later, the tables were turned. Raucous Beaver Stadium is the site where Curt Cignetti’s undefeated #2 Indiana would take on hapless Penn State, sporting a 3-5 record after five straight losses and going nowhere. This time, it was the Nittany Lions who, with nothing to lose, would scare the Hoosier fan base shitless. In a hotly contested game that would come down to the final play, Indiana took the lead with less than a minute left on the clock. Penn State had enough time left to score a field goal, but couldn’t make the comeback. Final score: Indiana 27, Penn State 24.

Indiana had heretofore been winless in Beaver Stadium and Penn State had dominated the all-time series. But it’s a new dawn, a new day, and a new life. And we ain’t feelin’ good. [Thanks for the fair use, Ira Gershwin].

What Goes Around, Comes Around

So, we’re even. Penn State covered the spread, which closed at 13.5 points, and the over/under was right on the money. And the Nittany Lions played their best game of the year on both sides of the ball. On offense, Ethan Grunkemeyer was finally allowed to throw downfield. Nick Singleton awoke from his slumber to produce 71 yards and two touchdowns. The offensive line appeared to be almost competent. On defense, we finally saw some production out of Dani Dennis-Sutton, who along with his colleagues, kept decent pressure on Fernando Mendoza, recording three sacks.

The Nittany Lions finally woke up in the losing effort, albeit too late in the season to salvage anything meaningful. They will need to beat Moo U., Nebraska, and Rutgers to flirt with bowl eligibility, and even if they manage to do so, the bowl game will be nothing to write home about. Sarcastically, the Sani-Flush Toilet Bowl in Kohler, WI, that winter wonderland in early December, would be the likely venue.

Speaking of “even”, the stats were pretty even. Total yards: Penn State 336, Indiana 326. Indiana had 20 first downs to Penn State’s 17. Grunkemeyer threw for 219 yards; Mendoza, 218. Turnovers’ll killya, though, and although both QBs had one interception, Penn State lost the Franklinesque “turnover battle”. A particularly disastrous Grunkemeyer interception led to a Hoosier score that would eventually provide the winning margin.

While I’m not believing the hype about Fernando Mendoza being the best quarterback in the sport formerly known as college football, I will give credit where due. Mendoza and his talented receivers are a premier bunch. Mendoza’s pinpoint throws in the face of the suddenly resurgent Penn State pass rush were only eclipsed by almost super-human circus catches.

The Nittany Lions had a shot at tying the game in the waning seconds, but clock management bit them in the ass. Instead of spiking the ball to stop the clock, they wasted a time-out, limiting their options as they neared field goal range with the score 27-24. Predictably, time ran out on them.

Now What?

As Penn State football fans cast their collective fate to the wind, what does the future hold? Did the Nittany Lions shoot their proverbial wad in this game? Will the team psyche once again take the elevator to the bargain basement due to post-loss depression and the cumulative mental fatigue of six straight losses?

I hesitate to speculate. I was certainly wrong about them folding their tent after the Ohio State loss. While some of my readers will write this game off as an anomaly or will trivialize the accomplishment because Indiana sucks or has a weak schedule, just about everyone out there was predicting a massacre. It didn’t happen. Indiana came to play, and so did the Nittany Lions.

The current bullshit sentiment that “you ain’t shit less’n you make de playoffs” will dampen acknowledgment of Penn State’s performance. After all, the suckas lost, didn’t they? James Franklin is gone and they still can’t win the big games. Blame it on Franklin.

If fans and Pat Kraft hold this team to such a ridiculously high standard, they’ll always be disappointed and they’ll always be seeking instant fixes. Sorry, people, but life ain’t that easy. If fans could have it their way, every year would be 12-0 and a trip to the playoffs. They’ll never be happy with anything less than perfection, and barring the Second Coming, any coach hired to fix the Lions will be less than perfect. [I got this idea from South Park].

Are the Nittany Lions finally shaking off the shock of James Franklin’s summary dismissal? Is Terry Smith a superior motivator? Or did the notion that laying down on the job would impair NFL prospects finally sink in? I’d say time will tell, but time is running out on this season. Circling the drain with heads held high is the best we fans can expect.

Nothing will salvage this season, but I’ll be happy if they stay competitive, win or lose.

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I’ll be back mid-week with a preview of the battle for all the marbles. Yes, folks, that’s right! The Mighty Land Grant Trophy is on the line. It now sports a bag of marbles along with its collection of various and sundry Dollar Store baubles. The Nittany Lions travel to East Lansing to face 3-6 Moo U. Who will come home with the gigantic monstrosity of a booby prize?