May I Have This Dance?

What day is it?

Come on Mike, I know you can hear me!

A little Hump Day Humor . . . from the Florida Gators, who lost to Georgia Southern this past weekend.

The Swamp Thing

Like some horrendous creature in a bad B-movie, the Florida Gator rose from the swamp and scared the cast of Nittany Lions into a litany of poor decisions like leaving the knife within reach and turning our backs on the supposedly dead psychomaniac, not protecting the punter, swimming too soon after eating, and throwing interceptions with rash abandon.

With five interceptions in the game and a blocked punt that was returned for six, this game was given away by the Penn State offense and special teams.

Penn State actually outgained Florida 350 to 279 yards and won time of possession by almost 5 and a half minutes.

After a dismal three and out to start the game, the Penn State D took charge and picked off QB Brantley on Florida's first offensive possession.  Penn State then moved the ball 61 yards with relative ease to go up 7-0.  We mixed things up and looked like a great team.  Looks can be deceptive.

The defense followed this up by holding the Gators to a three and out and PSU took over after the punt.  And that was when things started to go awry.  On a third and long, Black intercepted McGloin and returned the ball to the PSU 15 yard line.  The Gators, now with good field position and momentum, were able to capitalize and tie the game.

Both teams would bog down for awhile until the 6:48 mark in the second quarter.  Penn State tried to punt, but Patton for the Gators marched through Europe and the Penn State line and blocked the punt--the Gators recovered and scored to take the lead.

To our credit, the Lions did not unravel completely at this point and managed to tie the score thanks to a shanked punt by Florida, and added a late field goal to take a lead into the locker room.  Unfortunately, the field goal was from the three yard line and should have been six, but the offensive impotency that has plagued this team in the red zone most of the year reared its ugly head once more.

And, just like so many times this season, Penn State only played one half the game well, managing only seven more points in the final two quarters and throwing four more INTs including a pick six to sink their ship.  We made no adjustments in the second half and we did not adapt to Florida's adjustments.

More shennanigan's occurred on the sideline with McQueary trying to send in a play, Joe questioning him, he flips the mike down and says something upstairs, listens, he tells Joe, and Joe shakes his head and insists in doing something else.  A timeout is needed to prevent a penalty.

I have come to believe that having two people upstairs calling plays--Galen the running and Jay the passing--is simply a recipe for disaster.  It works once in a while.  Every blind squirrel finds an acorn.  But more often than not, it results in an offense with no consistency and no identity.

I thought the defense played a decent--but not great--game.  Let's face it, though.  This was not a very good Florida team.  This was a bowl game that matched two mediocre 7-5 teams and one of them was more mediocre than the other.

I can't lay blame entirely on McGloin, but his 5 interceptions did not help the cause.  Should the coaches have made a change?  Probably.  Ya think?  But are we really surprised that Joe stuck with McMorelli?  Loyalty is a cherished quality and an asset.  Loyalty to a fault, though, can be a problem.

Newsome didn't even come to the game and will likely leave.  Just like Pat Devlin who has led his team to the Division championship.  There are now rumors that Bolden will transfer.  This is clearly a coaching problem.  We are not managing our resources properly.  I have never been a Jay Paterno fan and I really wonder how much damage is being done.  Maybe that is the problem--he can't handle this many QBs at one time.  Every QB I see at Penn State regresses.  Michael Robinson thankfully had only one year at the position, and he had more talent and athletic ability than the subsequent QBs since him put together, and he overcame the cockamamie idea of forcing him to stay in the pocket. 

But if a coach is willing to stick with a guy who played like McGloin did in this bowl game, how likely is it that anyone will have a chance to pass him in Spring/Fall practice?  I must admit, though, I never thought Bolden would have had a shot last year, and he did.  Is he willing to take the chance?

I am actually genuinely worried about the future of this program right now.  The problems are mounting and I am losing faith that Coach Paterno can avoid the iceberg as the Titanic cuts through cold and unchartered waters.  Recruiting is down.  Talks of transfers are getting louder.  It's not like this has never happened before.  Jeff Hostetler left so as not to be stuck behind Blackledge.  But that worked out for Penn State.  The Devlin transfer--not so much.  A senior QB this year would have been very helpful.

And I'm not convinced that the future is any better.  We might return only two signal callers next year.  McGloin and Jones.  And while McGloin has shown he is capable coming off the bench to spark this team, he has not shown that he can win the big game yet.  And there are a LOT of big games on the schedule next year.  Throw in the usual revamping of the offensive line and the loss of Royster, and the slate of games which includes Alabama, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Ohio State looks daunting.

If Joe doesn't want to step down, so be it.  But some changes need to made.  We need a special teams coach.  Our kick-off returns are always bad.  Wouldn't it be nice to set up some field position once in a while and take some pressure off the offense?  How about blocked punts?  Iowa last year.  Florida this season.  That's a game a year that such gaffes are potentially losing the game for us.  Great teams can overcome these things.  We don't field great teams more than once every five years.  We need to maximize our strengths and reduce mistakes on special teams.

We need an offensive coordinator.  Not someone who was great thirty years ago coupled with unproven nepotism.  We need one mind planning out an entire game, reacting to what the defense is doing and making adjustments without having to play rock-paper-scissors to determine who gets to call the next play and "mother may I" with the sideline.

It would be nice to have a better offensive line coach--someone who can get these kids ready to play in one year, not three or four.

Don't get me started about strength and conditioning, because in the final analysis, this is the least of the problems and won't do anything if the above problems aren't fixed.

It's too easy to say that McGloin just had a bad day.  He did.  But the coaching staff did absolutely nothing to correct that problem.  And such blame ignores the other issues such as a lack of in-game adjustments, red zone play calling, and special teams play.

This loss was a team effort.  And the leader of that team is Joe Paterno.  I anxiously await seeing how these issues will be addressed next season.  Anxious.  Nervous.  Not very optimistic at all.

THE BIG (TEN) PICTURE:

Ohio State plays Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl.

Wisconsin failed on a two-point conversion and fell to #3 TCU, 21-19.

Iowa won their bowl game against Missouri, 27-24.

Illinois also won against Baylor.

But the Big Ten went 0-5 on New Years day with blowout losses to Alabama (49-7) and Mississippi State  (52-14) by the teams from the state of Michigan.  Northwestern made a valiant comeback, but lost 45-38 to Texas Tech.

Better Later Than Gator

I just realized that we have a bowl game tomorrow.  OK, I didn't JUST realize it.  I knew it was coming up.  But with holiday parties (I'm the entertainment for our office party--I also do Bar Mitzvahs and Birthdays), meeting with the accountant to figure out how much money I didn't make this year, Christmas, Christmas cards, running a football pool, watching NASCAR bowl games and drinking beer, I just didn't realize the game was coming up so soon.  I must also admit I've been distracted by all the Paterno rumors, which I do plan to blog about after the game is over so as not to distract myself any further.

But despite everything going on, the game is tomorrow.  PSU V. UF.  Paterno V. Meyer.  North V. South.  Big Ten V. SEC.  Tastes great V. Less Filling.

So how do we match up with these Gators?

Both teams are 7-5.  Like PSU, the Gators did not beat a ranked team on their schedule (PSU did beat THEM when they were ranked 25th in one poll, but who's counting?)

Here's how Florida fared:

Team	Result
Miami(OH)	W 34-12
South Florida	W 38-14
Tennessee	W 31-17
Kentucky	W 48-14
Alabama	L 31-6
LSU	L 33-29
Miss State	L 10-7
Georgia	W 34-31 OT
Vanderbilt	W 55-14
South Carolina	L 36-14
App. State	W 48-10
F$U	L 31-7

In the only common opponent, at Alabama, neither PSU nor Florida fared well.

In terms of NCAA rankings, here are how the two teams compare:

NCAA Stats Comparison
Category:	Penn St.	Florida
Rushing	75	44
Passing Offense	52	85
Total Offense	68	79
Scoring Offense	80	48
Rushing Defense	76	26
Turnovers Gained	104	34
Passes Had Intercepted	55	47
Pass Defense	23	13
Net Punting	24	1
Punt Returns	52	53
Kickoff Returns	55	4
Turnover Margin	62	62
Fumbles Recovered	95	86
Passes Intercepted	83	11
Fumbles Lost	3	107
Turnovers Lost	18	91
Passing Efficiency	66	85
Pass Efficiency Defense	79	23
Total Defense	45	9
Scoring Defense	40	31
Fewest Penalties Per Game	3	111
Fewest Yards Penalized Per Game	3	94
Punt Return Yardage Defense	43	71
Kickoff Return Yardage Defense	42	34
Offense Third-down Efficiency	42	73
Offense Fourth-down Efficiency	75	63
Defense Third-down Efficiency	8	54
Defense Fourth-down Efficiency	14	86
Tackles for Loss	87	41
Offense Tackles for Loss	6	74
Pass Sacks	101	76
Pass Sacks Allowed	12	60
Time of Possession	44	90
First Downs	66	68
First Downs Allowed	35	26
Red Zone Efficiency	76	116
Red Zone Efficiency - Defense	118	53
Average NCAA Rank:	52.16	57.54
Weighted Avg. Rank:	57.5	42.17

Penn State has a slight edge in average overall ranking, but the weighted rank, which gives more weight to important categories like Total Offense and Defense, and less emphasis to categories like total penalties, we see that Florida has the better team on paper.

Neither offense is very good, but PSU has a slight edge, especially in scoring.  Uncharacteristically, the PSU defense is struggling this year and the numbers reflect that.  Florida has the edge here and defense is usually the more important factor in winning these games.

But what about the intangibles?

Will the Florida players be motivated to send Urban off with a win?  Or will the uncertainty of their future and the hoopla surrounding the resignation be a distraction?

For Penn State, are the rumors true?  Will Paterno step down afterward?  (I don't think so.)  Are the rumors a distraction, or will they fire up the team the way it seems to have fired up both Joe AND Sue Paterno?

Paterno has done well in bowl games over his career.  Generally if you give Joe enough time, he will have his team prepared.  There have been exceptions to this rule, including the last bowl game against Florida, although PSU played without two of its star players in that match-up.

Penn State is 0-2 all-time versus Florida.

The line favors Florida by 7.5 points.

I think Paterno finds a way to put things together, hopefully using the bowl game as a springboard to a great season next year.  I pick PSU in a close one--somewhere around 20-17.

GO STATE!  BEAT GATORS!

Urban Renewal--NOT!

Trying to keep up with Pitt and Wannstedt, Urban Meyer has AGAIN announced his retirement from college football, nearly a year from his last retirement.

Per ESPN:

Florida coach Urban Meyer says he is leaving one of the premier jobs in college football for the second time to spend more time with his family.


Meyer's announcement caught players, fans and the rest of college football by surprise.


Meyer called assistant coaches, many of whom were on the road recruiting, earlier this week to relay the news. Quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler told the AP he was "stunned" and that no one saw this coming.

Meyer will coach his last game for Florida in the Jan. 1 Outback Bowl against Penn State in Tampa.


[This] season ended with an embarrassing 31-7 victory to Florida State, Meyer's first loss to the rival Seminoles.

After that game, Meyer vowed to fix the Gators' problems.

So does that mean the problem is Meyer himself, since he promised to fix the problems . . . or can you just not trust him?  You decide!

G'Day Mate!

Penn State is heading to the Outback Bowl to face the Florida Gators.  Bon Appetit!