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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Getting a Little Religion from Temple

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First of all, how about a big round of applause for this Turkey, who just about nailed the score prediction for Temple vs. PSU. My prediction was 24-13. The final score was Penn State (3-1, 0-0 Big Ten) 22, Temple (3-1, 1-0 Big MAC-haha) 13, and the Nittany Lions once again did not cover the spread, which had dropped to around 13 by game time. If you followed my advice to take the “under” and take Temple and the points, you’d be buying me dinner right now.

No, Temple was definitely not a pushover cupcake cream puff team. They scored first and kept PSU in the hole for the best part of three quarters.

One thing I never would have predicted was that Collin Wagner would tie the school record for number of field goals in a game. (If he hadn’t missed one of six, he would have set a new record.) Winning ugly is one thing, but letting Temple hang around for a whole game with a Penn State offense so impotent in the red zone that it had to rely on its kicker to generate any points at all is ridiculous.

Temple scored all its points in the first quarter, before the PSU defense showed up. However, once the defense got the message, they played well against the up and coming Owls. Stupar and Sukay both showed that they can play if they want to and Mauti gave us a flash of what we’ve been wanting to see from him.

The offense just couldn’t move the ball inside the 30 yard-line, in spite of the suddenly effective Evan Royster having a career day (193 all-purpose yards) and breaking out of his season-long slump. He nearly doubled his output in the first three games. Nevertheless, the offense was hopeless in the red zone for most of the game. Was it their execution? Partly. Was it the play calling? Partly. Whatever the reason, they just sucked, with the result being two field goals in the first period, one in the second, and two in the third, the last of which finally gave Penn State a 15-13 lead with 1:38 left in the third. They would add a touchdown on a spirited one yard run by Michael Zordich with 3:55 left in the game, leaving fans to sweat out the final few minutes.

Fortunately, the defense was sound. The Nittany Lions got the ball back at their own 46 on an interception of a Chester Stewart pass, and were able to drive the ball down to the Temple 25 before stalling once again and turning it over on downs without completely running the clock out. With 19 seconds left, Stewart threw and incompletion and was sacked by Pete Massaro on second down. Stewart fumbled, Massaro recovered, and that was the ball game.

Injuries were costly to both squads. Bernard Pierce, Temple’s star running back was carted off early in the third quarter after running for 42 yards and both Temple’s touchdowns. Penn State lost offensive tackle Lou Eliades to a torn ACL late in the game. He’ll be out for the remainder of the season. This will hurt an already mediocre offensive line, which could subject a freshman quarterback Rob Bolden to much more pressure than he has experienced thus far.

Overall, Penn State more than doubled Temple’s offensive stats. First downs were 20 vs. 8; total yards were 439 vs. 202. Yet, Temple was in the game until that final sack of Chester Stewart. On defense, Penn State forced three Stewart interceptions and a fumble, while Temple forced a single Evan Royster fumble.

On special teams, both sides played well. Collin Wagner should be a candidate for Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week with his five field goals and 16 points total. Temple’s punter, big Jeff Wathne, boomed one of his seven punts 57 yards and averaged 44.7 yds. Chaz Powell had three kick returns for 48 yards. I think it’s about time we saw a little more from this guy with all that speed. He needs to break one soon.

Unfortunately, my poor old PSU English professor, Dr. McGillicuddy, has Alzheimer’s, so when I gave him my pre-game preview to grade last week, he misplaced it and gave me back a paper from English 10 in 1964. Apparently, he’s kept it all these years to— I’m not sure why he would have done that, other than to attract flies. I don’t think I know any more about Aeschylus, Elektra, and company now than I did back then, and I sure as hell didn’t deserve the C- Dr. Mick gave me. But I digress.

I think this game was indicative of a team that still needs lots of work. The defense might be ready to handle the Big Ten schedule, but the offense will need to figure out how to put six points at a time on the scoreboard more often than not. The red zone performance has to improve. The offensive line was just coming together when Eliades got hurt, so now it’s two steps back. However, Royster’s performance was encouraging, and this Turkey hopes it instills added confidence as the meat of the season comes out of the fridge.

For the Nittany Lions’ fine performance, they were sucked up to #22 in the AP poll once again.

I’ll be back later in the week with a preview of the Big Ten opener, the big road game at Kinnick Stadium against the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Temple Cometh

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Yes, friends, we’re at that point in the season at which the Nittany Lions (2-1, 0-0 Big Ten) are playing the Temple Owls (3-0, 0-0 MAC) and the big question on everybody’s lips is: Why?

NOTE: Seems that the current vogue in sports writing is to give grades for various aspects of team performance. This expedient, designed for the short attention spans of today’s sports fans, is something you’ll never see in The Nittany Turkey, who asks the rhetorical question, “Why use a sentence when a paragraph will do?” So instead of grading the teams, I’m going to submit this article to my PSU English 10 prof, Dr. Eamon X. McGillicuddy (now 94 years young), who will grade it for me.

So, where are we? I have a headache, so no telling what you’ll get from me tonight. Nevertheless, the show must go on!  I hope the Nittany Lions harbor that same attitude toward Saturday’s game.

What we have here is a potential trap for Penn State. Play uninspired football, let Temple stay in the game, lose a few turnovers, and the Lions could lose. In fact, at the beginning of the season, our old friend David Jones of the Patriot-News picked Temple to win this one. He is now waffling, saying that when he made that pronouncement, Kevin Newsome was projected to be PSU’s starting quarterback; with Rob Bolden now in the cockpit, the offense is more aerodynamically sound. Still, there are a few out there who think Temple might just do it, in spite of the history of this quasi-rivalry.

Historically, Temple is 3-35-1 against Penn State. The last time a game was close, it was a 7-7 tie in 1950. Penn State has convincingly won every game thereafter. Sixty years have transpired since that tie, which occurred in Rip Engle’s first year as head coach and Joe Paterno’s first year as an assistant coach. When Temple last actually beat Penn State, Paterno was 14 years old. Yeah, yeah. That’s all history. That was then and this is now. There just might have been a few changes in the team since those olden days. So why are all these hack writers yapping about Penn State dominating Temple? This isn’t 1994, you know. Temple has improved and Penn State, well, this isn’t one of the Lions’ better years talentwise, motivationwise, or schedulewise. (I guess that makes this hack writer a wiseguy.) I suppose thems guys write what they write because, in Paterno’s words, “I guess you guys need something to write about!”

So, to hell with the historical record. Let’s just look at what is happening here and now.

First of all, the intangibles. Penn State’s play has been lackluster this year thus far, and lacklusterness begets lacklusterhood. (It also leads to lackanookie when the PSU women catch on, but I digress.) In other words, guys are getting lazy out there, not tackling, not blocking, not executing, or not playing unsloppy football. (Sorry—couldn’t resist preserving parallel structure at the expense of a double negative, just for you, Prof. McGillicuddy.) This sort of attitude is pernicious, especially when there exists a notable leadership void on the team. It would be nice if a go-getter like Stephfon Green would stephf forward and lead, no matter whom the team had elected as captains heretofore, but who knows if something like that can happen at this point. The attitude problem is exacerbated by Paterno’s ultimatums to those he sees dogging it—play hard or lose your starting position (or even, play hard or you’re off the team). Are they listening? Will it help? Or will it create morale problems in the absence of real team leadership? (Remember that in 1993, as loaded with talent as that PSU team was, they didn’t really get going until a few guys, including Kerry Collins, started holding team-only meetings and getting people’s asses in gear. Team leadership is essential for success.)

Another intangible is the Iowa game looming a week from Saturday. It sure must be tempting to save up the old bod for a pounding at Kinnick Stadium. As the hack sports wonks say, that game is huuuuuge! Yeah, so let’s just dispatch these Temple Owls by mailing in a barely adequate performance. Hell, they’re pushovers, right? Yeah, right. If the Lions start thinking that way,  they might dig themselves a hole from which it would require the full expertise of the College of Mining and Mineral Science to extricate them. They’ve got to forget past successes. Two completely changed teams will be squaring off on Saturday. Tabula rasa, mah man. The Nittany Lions better go into the game with the attitude that they’re going to play four quarters. None of this delayed start crap! At least the 3:30 PM kickoff time is favorable for the lads to actually want to play football the first quarter.

Temple, as you all know, has improved under the adept tutelage of Al Golden, former Nittany Lion tight end and assistant coach. Yeah, yeah, he’s been mentioned as one possible heir apparent to the Paterno throne, but what the hell does that mean in the context of an evaluation of his team? Nuttin’. (Distant Brooklyn accented echo: “You guys just need something to write about.”) The Owls had a 9-4 record last year, including a trip to the Eagle Bank Bowl (which they lost). This year, they’ve started 3-0 for the first time since 1979, beating Villanova, Central Michigan, and UConn. They’ve got a decent running back in Bernard Pierce, and a reliable field general in junior quarterback Chester Stewart. Their defense is credible. Of Penn State’s so-called cupcakes this year, Temple is the first that could put up a fight. At least this Turkey hopes so.

The keys to a good outcome for Penn State are pretty simple. First, they must establish the running game, which has been absent for the past three weeks. Next, they must shut down Temple’s running game, forcing them into third-and-long situations. Finally, no cheap turnovers that will make Temple look better than they actually are, ranking 92nd and 70th for passing and running yards, respectively. PSU is no great shakes, ranking 73rd and 74th, but if the much maligned rushing offense gets their asses in gear, they’ll snatch victory from the Owls wit de feet.

Temple will have to play a damn near perfect game to have a chance of winning. Their defense ain’t bad, but the pass rush is no great shakes. Bolden will have time to throw the ball (say what you will about the PSU offensive line, but they haven’t yet allowed a sack this year), and they will not be able to stop the Nittany Lions’ running game—if it shows up. Chances are good that it will show up late, when Paterno decides that he’s seen enough of Royster, but we could be pleasantly surprised here. Temple’s passing game protects the ball well and it completes a lot of passes, but the Owl’s careful approach to the aerial game doesn’t move the ball very far downfield, as that 92nd place ranking attests. Perhaps the Penn State defensive line will be able to record some sacks and some hurries for a change. That’s another aspect of the Nittany Lions’ game that has been lacking, in spite of high expectations for Jack Crawford, who was pulled last week, as was Eric Latimore, in favor of Pete Massaro and Sean Stanley.

I want Penn State to look sharp against Temple. This is the fourth game of the regular season—a third of the season will have elapsed when all is said and done. If coaches are still looking for guys who can play at this point, and if the players on the field are still by and large lacking motivation to get the job done, the forthcoming Big Ten schedule is not looking very hopeful. This is the last so-called tune-up. Here’s hoping that the Lions strike no sour notes with their on-field performance on Saturday. The offense has been a work in progress and the defense is adequate but not great (and again, still not settled as to who is playing what and when). When was the last time Larry Johnson, Sr. didn’t have a standout lineman? When was the last time Vanderlinden didn’t have a potential All-America linebacker? And who ever would have thought we would be missing the days of Rubin and Scirrotto because we have safeties who can’t hit hard or don’t want to? Ranking 9th in the nation in scoring defense, they seem better than they really are.

With that rant behind us, we now come to what the three remaining readers who have waded completely through all that diatribe have been waiting for: the infallible, omniscient, hypoallergenic Official Turkey Poop Prognostication. But first, did you know that Temple has an up and coming wide receiver named Deon Miller who enrolled at Temple after two seasons at Fork Union Military Academy? I’m serious, friends. After two years at Fork U., Miller is now handling balls at Temple. He’s a 6’5″/210 lb freshman, so you’ll know what happened if this Turkey doesn’t report for duty next week. But I digest—wait, I’m still working on Jenny’s banana bread—I mean I digress. As I write this, the gambling spread has narrowed to 13.5, with an over/under of 43, suggesting a final score of something like 28-15. This waffling, waddling, banana bread eating Turkey ambivalently thinks that the game will either be a blowout or Penn State won’t beat the spread, and I’m leaning toward the latter. As we used to exclaim at Good Old Fork U when we raised our middle finger in salute, “Take the under!” Penn State 24, Temple 13.


Lions shut out Kent, drop in rankings

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Yeah, you read that correctly. After whipping the snot out of the Kent State Golden Flashes Saturday, 24-0, our old friends, the sports media men and women, have rewarded Penn State with a drop in the Associated Press ranking from #22 to #23. Isn’t that wonderful?

I mean, the Nittany Lions actually covered the spread this time, contrary to this Turkey’s prediction, and they played a dull, but lopsided game. Oh, sure, the opponent is a proverbial cupcake, but should the ranking drop after a victory, any victory? This Turkey thinks not, but I won’t dwell on it because it doesn’t really matter in the greater scheme of things, especially at this time of the year.

After the first quarter, in which the Lions scored a couple of quick touchdowns, the first on a Rob Bolden sneak from the one and the second with Evan Royster punching it in from the three, things settled down. After the second touchdown, I was fielding some impertinent comments about my prediction being way out of whack with reality. What did they think? Penn State was going to score 56? Not this team with this offensive line. My prediction turned out to be about 9 points too high. That’s more like it for PSU.

So, we fell asleep in the second quarter. Hell, it was the right thing to do for me. I was fasting for Yom Kippur while Jackstand and Zbeard were cramming down food and guzzling wine. It was significant deprivation this year, because it was Jackstand’s cooking I was missing, not my own. He does a helluva job with his souped up barbecue, which produces a 700 degree steak cooking environment instead of the typical 450. (I will not divulge Jackstand’s true name or location, lest his insurance underwriter find out.) I’ll bet it will do hot dogs in, like, 30 seconds, especially if you like that Cajun treat, Blackened Wiener. But I digress. Nothing happened in the second quarter. The score was still 14-0.

The first two Penn State drives of the third quarter ended in disaster. The first disaster was a fumble on the PSU 46 by Evan Royster after a three yard loss on first down after the second half kickoff. Kent State took the ball to the 30 and then missed a 47 yard field goal. The next abomination occurred after PSU started moving the ball, when Rob Bolden was intercepted on the PSU 46, his second of the day. Then the Lions added three by way of a Collin Wagner chip shot when they stalled at the 10 yard-line after a long drive during which they took almost 10 minutes off the game clock. During the drive, Royster was benched in favor of splitting the running duties between Stephfon Green and Silas Redd. Head Coach Joe Paterno said only that he wanted to try some other things out to jump start the running game. Royster sat out the rest of the game looking dejected.

That is kind of interesting, because Royster was the main thrust of the running game last year. What has happened to him? He hasn’t rushed for over 40 yards in any of the three games this year. Some say that he has gained weight and is slower. Others blame the offensive line. No doubt, both play a role in this continuing drama. However, what about attitude? Is Royster still the gung-ho guy he was last year, or is he flapping in the breeze? This brings up the question of team leadership, which also might be involved in Royster’s decreased productivity. A freshman quarterback is nobody’s leader. He has to earn the respect of the upperclassmen over time. Brett Bracket, a senior, was elected captain, but he’s a backup wide receiver. I’m not saying that Brackett is not a natural leader, and I’m not saying that Bolden will never be one, but for right now, I think the leadership vacuum is quite noticeable and it represents a valid concern. Perhaps Royster needs someone to grab him by the testes and tell him to get his head in the game. I dunno. What do you think?

Anyhow, I’m certain that the Royster situation has been on all of your minds, given the poor start he’s suffered this season. He left the game with 11 rushes for 38 yards. Green had 11 for 59 and Red, 6 for 24. So, something is obviously wrong.

Going into the fourth quarter, Penn State led 17-0. They were able to add one more touchdown on a spectacular 48-yard pass play from Bolden to Devon Smith at 8:37. After that, Kevin Newsome took over at quarterback and Silas Redd became the feature back. And that was all she wrote, with the final score 24-0.

It was a perfect late summer day, with temperatures in the mid-70s and a sunny blue sky. Yet paid attendance for this game was only 100,610, some 7,000 under capacity. This was easily seen on the TV screen, as about the top third of the student section was empty. It was a noon game, and I warned you about those in my preview post. There is decidedly less energy in da house for noon starts with non-conference cupcakes.

Let me give Kent State some credit, though. Although their running game was essentially shut down by the Penn State defense and by the absence of their star running back, their sophomore throwing machine, Spencer Keith, completed 20 of 36 passes for 170 yards with the Nittany Lion front seven providing constant pressure. Penn State had 382 total yards, but sloppily committed three turnovers—Bolden’s two interceptions and Royster’s fumble. Kent State hung in there for three quarters with the game in reach, but hope was lost when PSU scored its final TD.

Bolden is a rookie, and those interceptions were rookie mistakes. He’ll do better as he gains experience. In the meanwhile, he’s still on his honeymoon and no one is going to criticize him. He didn’t seem to let the picks bother him, and he rebounded quite well from last week’s pounding at Tuscaloosa. So, this Turkey thinks he’ll be fine.

We’ll be back later in the week to take a look at the next fine opponent, the Owls of Temple University, from the City of Brotherly love. There sure are a lot of brothers lovin’ it up there in Philly. Anyhow, catch y’all later!