Half Way There

It was a tale of two halves--the best of times; the worst of times. Truth be told, it was a good but not great half versus a half that was a struggle to sit through. The second half of the Akron game was worse than watching paint dry. It was worse than having a tooth pulled, sans novocaine. It was worse than the 6-4 fiasco against Iowa several years back, if you can believe that. I was so bored I cut my fingernails during the game. Actually, I chewed them off, but it's technically the same thing. I still have some pieces stuck between my teeth.

The first half was just what we expected. There were some flashes of brilliance and the Lions pretty much dominated the hapless squad from Akron. Despite sloppy play, a turnover on the goal line and various miscues, the offense put 31 points on the board and the defense managed not to let Akron have a single first down. It looked like the 27.5 point spread would be easily covered with plenty to spare.

Then, we played the second half, although I use the verb "play" loosely here. It's like saying I play golf. OK--I'm on a golf course, well, in the rough or woods beside a golf course. I have golf equipment like clubs, balls, tees and a machete for the rough . . . but to call what I am doing "playing golf" is stretching reality a bit. More appropriately, I am whacking the bejeezus out of a little white ball while walking around a golf course.

So in the second half, our team was playing with a football on a football field in football gear, but to actually call it "playing football" might not be entirely accurate.

Now in all honesty, this was just Akron, and for all the hoopla of MAC teams upsetting Big Ten teams, they are still just a middle of the pack (or worse) MAC team. No offense intended, Zips. If you want to be treated like the big boys, then you have to be a big boy now and then. Akron is not. And upsetting a Big Ten team doesn't seem to be that difficult a task anymore.

Even fan enthusiasm was waning. The wave had one good pass around the stadium, and several weak to pathetic efforts--kind of like several of the field goal attempts--and the crowd noise was only a 4 out of 10 most of the time. If the crowd can't get into it, how do you expect the players to find emotion? After walking all over and around the Zips in the first half, I think the players were just as bored and tired in the second. It was a rather warm day for football, after all.

I may sound a bit sarcastic--because I am. If you are one of those casual fans where a win is a win no matter how ugly it is, then you need to read no further. We won. Be happy. All is well. Kumbaya. Pass the Kool Aid please.

If the greatest improvement in a team occurs between the first and second game, there is certainly room for improvement.

Our field goal kicking is so bad that I miss Kelly. (I cannot believe I just typed that out loud.) Seriously, how is this guy going to kick a game winner against the Buckeyes when he can't manage it in a pressureless situation like Akron? Granted one was from 49 yards, but the other miss was from 28. I know. I know. This is his first real chance, but he is a senior with junior eligibilty--i.e. NOT a freshman. And we have a very highly recruited (#2 in the nation by scout) kicker from Texas in Fera, who didn't even get a chance to miss a field goal.

Speaking of not getting a chance, we didn't see Kevin Newsome until the final series, despite the game being well in hand at the half. Would it really have killed Joe to alternate them in the second half? Clark has an entire year under his belt, and although his timing wasn't great, his playing most of the second half didn't seem to improve things. I think Newsome should have gotten some better playing time. Just. In. Case.

Is our running game that bad? On the one hand, it was clear that Akron was hell bent on stopping the run and forcing us to pass. On the other hand, they succeeded. How bad was it? Royster had 61 yards on 14 carries. The second leading rusher was Newsome who only played the final series and had 12 yards on 2 rushes.

Speaking of Royster, why was he catching punts? He took a beating on the second punt return, including a personal foul penalty. It's not that we don't have some depth, but he is our number one rusher. I just fail to see the logic in putting him in a dangerous situation like that.

For all the worrying about Akron's passing attack and our inexperienced secondary, the Zips were only able to capitalize once as Sukay was beaten like an egg in a blender on a 40 yard pass play to Bowser, which followed Brackett's fumble. Otherwise, the D would have had a shutout. Of note, Sukay was in disguise, wearing #9 which all the programs gave to Zordich, so maybe he can blame it on the number. Otherwise, the Akron offense looked like typical Walt Harris material and I don't think they have to worry about the pressure of a MAC title in the near future.

I liked the fake punt. I know we won't use that against any team with a pulse, but it sure was fun to watch.

Clark had a decent day with a tipped pass that was intercepted but his accuracy was not vintage Clark and he had several passes that should have been intercepted--as in, a better defense than Akron's would have had the picks. Even some of his completions were into double coverage.

Overall, it was a win. Sloppy first half which is what you kind of expect for the first game. The coaches will have some work cut out reviewing the tapes of the second half and breaking them down. I know I couldn't review that crap without breaking down.

BY THE NUMBERS:

Here are the stats from GoPSUsports:

                                  AKRON      PSU



FIRST DOWNS...................        8       25

  Rushing.....................        3        7

  Passing.....................        5       17

  Penalty.....................        0        1

NET YARDS RUSHING.............       28      136

  Rushing Attempts............       30       30

  Average Per Rush............      0.9      4.5

  Rushing Touchdowns..........        0        1

  Yards Gained Rushing........       71      150

  Yards Lost Rushing..........       43       14

NET YARDS PASSING.............      158      379

  Completions-Attempts-Int....  13-24-1  32-44-1

  Average Per Attempt.........      6.6      8.6

  Average Per Completion......     12.2     11.8

  Passing Touchdowns..........        1        3

TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS...........      186      515

  Total offense plays.........       54       74

  Average Gain Per Play.......      3.4      7.0

Fumbles: Number-Lost..........      0-0      1-1

Penalties: Number-Yards.......     7-59     3-20

PUNTS-YARDS...................    7-273    3-121

  Average Yards Per Punt......     39.0     40.3

  Net Yards Per Punt..........     38.7     27.0

  Inside 20...................        0        1

  50+ Yards...................        0        0

  Touchbacks..................        0        2

  Fair catch..................        5        0

KICKOFFS-YARDS................    2-131    6-407

  Average Yards Per Kickoff...     65.5     67.8

  Net Yards Per Kickoff.......     44.0     45.5

  Touchbacks..................        0        2

Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD.    0-0-0    1-2-0

  Average Per Return..........      0.0      2.0

Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD   4-94-0   2-43-0

  Average Per Return..........     23.5     21.5

Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD..    1-0-0   1-12-0

Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD.    0-0-0    0-0-0

Miscellaneous Yards...........        0        0

Possession Time...............    25:19    34:41

  1st Quarter.................     6:09     8:51

  2nd Quarter.................     4:41    10:19

  3rd Quarter.................     7:42     7:18

  4th Quarter.................     6:47     8:13

Third-Down Conversions........  3 of 14  8 of 15

Fourth-Down Conversions.......   0 of 3   1 of 1

Red-Zone Scores-Chances.......      0-1      4-7

Sacks By: Number-Yards........      1-5     4-15

PAT Kicks.....................      1-1      4-4

Field Goals...................      0-0      1-3

There's not a statistic that PSU didn't dominate. The Zips had 28 yards rushing on 30 attempts. Our offensive line gave up one sack and did a decent job of giving Clark time all day.

INTANGIBLES:

Penn State lost the coin toss. Akron deferred.

The Drum Major stuck both flips.

Penn State is 102-19-2 in season openers, 37-7 under JoePa.

Attendance was listed at 104,968, but the stadium didn't look that full. The student section didn't fill until late in the first quarter, and the Akron section was obviously sparse.

JoePa notches win #384. Nobody knows how many Bowden has at this point. I think he's trying to add high school victories too.

THE BIG (TEN) PICTURE:

The Big Ten did nothing to improve its national image. The Buckeyes thwarted a two-point conversion and took it the other way on a play that might have tied the game. As it was, they snuck out with a 31-27 win over the unranked midshipmen. Iowa had to block TWO field goals to hang on against Northern Iowa 17-16. What should we expect from the we-can't-beat-Pitt-but-we'll-play-like-an-NFL-team-against-you Hawkeyes? Spare me the excuses.

Indiana barely beat Eastern Kentucky 19-16 on Thursday. Minnesota went into OT with Syracuse, eking out a 23-20 win. Wisconsin beat Northern Illinois 28-20. Uncharacteristically, Northwestern mauled Towson 47-14 and Purdue beat Toledo 52-31. Along with Akron, those are the best games our conference had to offer.

Which brings us to Illinois. 37-9? Missouri is good, but come on. Really? They don't even have Chase Daniel anymore. I saw a quote from Ron Zook: "I sure wouldn't have thought we'd play like that." Neither did I. Probably saving it all up for us; play like they have 22 Heisman candidates.

SHEDDING TEARS:

1. Illinois - disgraceful

2. Oklahoma - thanks for playing. Sorry, but there's no parting gifts.

3. Va Tech - hung tough but couldn't beat Bama

4. Maryland - killed by Cal

5. Oregon - quacked up a blue turf hairball

LOOKING AHEAD:

Syracuse took Minnesota to OT, but lost as Paulus threw an INT that kept them from scoring. I either underestimated the Orange, or overestimated the Gophers. But it is only one game, so who knows for sure at this point.

It does appear, though, as Syracuse will be a better test than Akron was. Overall, despite the above tirade, I still feel pretty good about this team. I hate that feeling of angst when the field goal kicker trots on the field, especially if it's fourth and short and a makeable first down. Hopefully that aspect of the game will improve. I'd like to see some excitement in the return game--both punts and kick-offs. Let me clarify--exciting run backs, not fumbles. I'd like to see our run game be a little more fruitful. But even I have to admit that our offensive scheme was pretty bland (not typical of the HD offense) and Akron did their best to shut down the run. Will Syracuse try the same?

We shall see.

GO STATE! SQUEEZE ORANGE!