Blog Poll Ballot: Week 5

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Florida
2	Texas
3	Alabama
4	Boise State
5	LSU
6	Virginia Tech	1
7	Iowa	1
8	Southern Cal	1
9	Ohio State	1
10	TCU	1
11	Cincinnati	2
12	Miami (Florida)	2
13	Missouri	2
14	Kansas	2
15	Penn State	8
16	Oklahoma State	2
17	Mississippi	2
18	Auburn
19	Brigham Young	3
20	Oklahoma	14
21	South Florida	3
22	Wisconsin	3
23	Oregon
24	Georgia Tech
25	Houston	13
Last week's ballot

Dropped Out: THEM (#17), California (#20), Georgia (#21).

Ill-prepared? NOT.

Penn State defeated Illinois in Champaign 35-17, but only led 7-3 at the midway point. It was not a thing of beauty, but such beauty is in the eyes of the winner. This game took on a whole new meaning after the fourth quarter collapse part Deux last weekend. The pressure of an undefeated season was gone, but in its place were new doubts about what this team could achieve. Would we be prepared?

I am not going to spend a lot of time recapping this game as I live-blogged it yesterday, and a lot of my thoughts were addressed on the go.

I am pleased to see that we were able to play better in the second half for the first time this season. Of course, we might credit that to Illinois for just being not a very good team right now, no offense. Putting up 500 yards on Illinois isn’t the same as putting up those kinds of numbers against Iowa or Ohio State, but it is better than struggling against a team that doesn’t have a very good defense.

The final score is a stark contrast to the score at halftime. As I was sitting there watching the game, I couldn’t help but think that Illinois was a blocked punt or stupid mistake away from taking that game. We prevailed, but not without some trepidation. More maddening were the late breakdowns on the defense and stupid penalties that gave Illinois their only two TDs in the game. Sukay was beaten on several plays, which included a big 49 yard pass to Benn. The TD pass by Juice was his FIRST touchdown throw of the season!

But I’m nitpicking here. (Better to pick a nit than pick my nose!) The defense did a good job overall, and only allowed Illinois 8 yards of offense in the third quarter! We did better in the turnover department, losing one fumble, but picking up an Illinois fumble and an INT. The kick coverage still seems to be a problem with no end in sight.

Penn State was able to win the time of possession battle by about 6 minutes, thanks in large part to an improved running game. Again, is our line improving, or is Illinois that bad. Time will tell.

It’s hard to believe, but two months ago, many fans and sportswriters were looking to this game as the one Penn State was most likely to lose. Of course, very few of those people thought we would lose to Iowa. Go figure. Zook is two years removed from a Rose Bowl trip, but he may be on the hot seat if things don’t turn around for the Illini.

In short: good win. Solid game. Still room for improvement.

BY THE NUMBERS:

From GoPSUsports.com:

Team Totals	PSU	ILL
FIRST DOWNS	25	20
Rushing	15	8
Passing	10	11
Penalty	0	1
NET YARDS RUSHING	338	130
Rushing Attempts	40	35
Average Per Rush	8.4	3.7
Rushing Touchdowns	5	1
Yards Gained Rushing	339	156
Yards Lost Rushing	1	26
NET YARDS PASSING	175	263
Completions-Attempts-Int	17-25-0	20-37-1
Average Per Attempt	7.0	7.1
Average Per Completion	10.3	13.1
Passing Touchdowns	0	1
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS	513	393
Total offense plays	65	72
Average Gain Per Play	7.9	5.5
Fumbles: Number-Lost	2-1	1-1
Penalties: Number-Yards	4-45	5-50
PUNTS-YARDS	4-198	6-230
Average Yards Per Punt	49.5	38.3
Net Yards Per Punt	43.5	38.3
Inside 20	2	1
50+ Yards	2	0
Touchbacks	1	0
Fair catch	0	3
KICKOFFS-YARDS	6-376	3-188
Average Yards Per Kickoff	62.7	62.7
Net Yards Per Kickoff	41.8	49.0
Touchbacks	0	1
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD	1-0-0	1-4-0
Average Per Return	0.0	4.0
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD	2-21-0	6-125-0
Average Per Return	10.5	20.8
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD	1-70-0	0-0-0
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD	0-0-0	0-0-0
Miscellaneous Yards	0	0
Possession Time	33:56	26:04
1st Quarter	5:33	9:27
2nd Quarter	8:55	6:05
3rd Quarter	12:04	2:56
4th Quarter	7:24	7:36
Third-Down Conversions	8 of 12	7 of 16
Fourth-Down Conversions	0 of 0	1 of 2
Red-Zone Scores-Chances	4-4	3-3
Sacks By: Number-Yards	3-23	0-0
PAT Kicks	5-5	2-2
Field Goals	0-0	1-1

INTANGIBLES:

Penn State won the coin toss and deferred.

The Lions are 14-3 all-time versus the Illini.

Joe Paterno has 387 wins. Bobby Bowden trails by 3 (and possibly more pending an appeal of 14 wins during the cheating scandal.)

THE BIG (TEN) PICTURE:

Wisconsin eked a win over the Gophers 31-28 to go 5-0. The Hawkeyes managed to hold off Arkansas . . . .State 24-21. What a difference a week makes! But they are 5-0. The Buckeyes overpowered the hapless Hoosiers 33-14. Northwestern beat the Boilers 27-21. And the Spartans took THEM to overtime—and beat THEM , despite two late TDs by the Wolverines to send it to OT. The last score in regulation came with TWO SECONDS on the clock. Imagine that! But the referines couldn’t keep Forcier from throwing an INT on a deflection. Sparty only had to score and did so. The Spartans now have a two game streak going against THEM, for the first time since 1967.

SHEDDING TEARS:

1. For Sooner fans
2. For Houston—the Cinderella story ends against UTEP
3. For Cal—can’t even beat USC when they’re down
4. For Georgia—couldn’t hold off late surge by the Tigers
5. For Washington—Irish pull one out in OT

LOOKING AHEAD:

Penn State returns home for Eastern Illinois. It will be Champs Day, whatever that means. Eastern Illinois plays in the Ohio Valley League. They are 4-1 on the season:
Illinois State W 31-6
Indiana State W 31-0
Southeast Missouri State W 23-14
Eastern Kentucky L 36-31 (maybe they were looking ahead to PSU!)

Eastern Illinois is ranked 152nd in the nation by Sagarin.

GO STATE! BEAT (the other) PANTHERS!

Illinois: Live Blog

PSU won the toss and deferred. Typical KO--good field position for Illinois. And on third and long, we make Juice look like a Heisman candidate. Stuffed the run on first and second downs . . .hold your breath . . .wait for it . . Juice goes down! Wooo Hooo!

Penn State catches a break when Astorino calls for a fair catch but Illinois catches the ball! 15 yards digs us out of the hole. Nice run by Rosyter on second down to bring up third and short. . . . incomplete pass and we have to punt it back. Should have been caught.

Boone is still our MVP. Red Hat guy takes the field.

A turnover now would be great . . .stuffed on first down. QB draw--too much! Option on 3rd and 4 for a first down. Nine yard run. Illinois isn't having much trouble with execution. Only a yard on the next play but good enough to move the chains. Option play and QB keeper brings upo another third down . . .completion in the flat for no gain. Illinois to punt.

Punt to the 22 yard line with no return. Red Hat guy trots on the field.

Come on guys. Let's settle down and execute. Nice completion to the tight end. Royster to the right for no gain. Four wideouts, empty backfield--wow, did he thread that pass into traffic! FIRST DOWN! Nice gain on first down. Then an over throw by Clark brings up a critical third down. (Aren't they all critical?) Zug for FIRST DOWN! (Cue the Blue Band.) Decent game on first down, followed by a pass off the fingertips of Brackett for a possible TD.

CRAP! Delay of game. Now a more daunting third down conversion . . .and the pressure gets to Clark, but fortunately, the wounded duck pass falls to the turf. Boone punts it inside the 20, but Illinois brings it back to the 20 on the return. Time out on the field.

We need a game changing performance play from our D, but not on first down as Juice rumbles for 7. And on third and short . . . big play for a first down. Incomplete pass and Juice stuffed on the delay draw will bring upo a third and long after the quarter break.

SECOND QUARTER:

Pas scompleted but short, forcing a punt. Fair catch at the 20. Did you know that THEM lost today? And with the best refereeing that miney can buy!

Green fares no better on the ground than Royster. So let's try it again. Third and long. Micky Shuler makes a catch! FIRST DOWN! Another pass for a FIRST DOWN! Starting to rain--glad I'm not sitting in that! Stephon Green for a TOUCHDOWN! Finally! I got to see that break away speed we hear about! ZOMBIE NATION!

Penn State 7 -0. 6 play 80 yard drive in 3:14.

Can we contain a KO return???? Better. Illinois starts from the 25. On second and seven, Juice weaves his way for a first down. And then Juice cranks one to Benn, breaks a few tackles and look who's knocking at the door. First and Goal. Dufrene to the 5. Another yard brings up third and goal. Juice rolling and pressured, throws into the ground. Fourth Down. Field Goal from 22 yards is good.

Penn State 7-3.

Penn State, thinking theyt can return the ball against someone else as well as others do to them, can't. Bringing the ball out of the endzone, we're stuffed at the 13 yard line. Green carries for 2. A pass to Quarless goes for a FIRST DOWN. Nice first down yardage up the middle. Green again brings up a third and short. Can we execute? . . . . Yes we can! Green up the middle for great yardage and a FIRST DOWN! Roll out and a pass to Quarless for 5-6 yards. Hey! Let's Go State! First doiwn yardage on a pass to Moye. Clark is suddenly getting good protection. But Zug couldn't quite make the catch. COACH'S CHALLENGE. Ruling is confirmed and PSU is charged a TO.

Clark rolls to the left but can't get outside. No gain. Third and 10. And instead of trying to make a first down, we make a throw downfield into coverage. A punt to the one yard line pins the Illini back with a buck thirty left in the game.

Illinois passes quickly out of the endzone. Pay no attnetion to the obvious holding on the play. And our prevewnt defense is in A-one form, as Illinois moves effortlessly down the field. And another Illinois first down. Christ, there isn't a defender in the same zip code. Tighten things up for crying out loud!

TACKLE! Please. This is bullshit. We're making this team look like freaking Florida. TO Illinois.

Finally! A sack! TO #2 burned. First down on the option. Illinois spikes the ball to stop the clock. 19 seconds remain. Boy could we use a turn over here! The pressure gets to Juice and he is called for intentional grounding! Incomplete pass from the 43 yard line brings up fourth down. THREE seconds left, after a review of the previous play. . . incomplete pass confirmed.

One last play . . . that was exciting! PSU interecepted at the goal line and nearly ran it back. A penalty would have negated the TD anyway. HALFTIME.

I don't know. I don't feel very confident. Very similar to last week. I hate letting a team like Illinois hang around. We're one fumble or blocked punt from losing again. I hope we come out with a scoring drive for a touchdown in the second half.

THIRD QUARTER:

OK--after some technical difficulties, I'm back. Penn State started with poor field position at the 15 yard line but mounted an impressive drive that ended with a fumble at the Illini 30. We even overcame a holding call, but for naught.

Illinois holds and , Juice goes down and Illinois has to punt. Fair Catch at the 31 yard line. Time for advertisements. Did I mention that THEM lost to Sparty?

Shuler makes a shoestring catch for a few yards. Royster for no gain. Then Clark on the QB draw down to the 15! Hey! Let's Go State! Moye to the 10. I hope they're not getting tense--I sure am. Green to the 3-- FIRST AND GOAL! Big TD--no whammies!

Green to the half-yard line. 2nd and goal. Clark on the keeper for 6!

Penn State 14 -3. I'm feeling a little better now, thanks for asking.

Short, line drive kick taken by an upman. GD good field position for the Illini. Can there be a team with worse kickoffs? I can't even imagine. Third and long now . . . and a punt.

Penn State moving the ball. Oh oh oh oh oh ohhh. Oh oh oh oh oh ohhh. And another first down as the offensive line is starting to take control. Can you believe that? Clark with an overthrow of Powell. Green is stuffed at the line bringing up third and long. Critical I say! Screen to Royster for a FIRST DOWN. Oh oh oh oh oh ohhh. Oh oh oh oh oh ohhh.

Royster stiff arms and out of bounds after 7. Clark for a first down, but rolling on the ground hurt. No flag! Where's the flag? Late hit leading with the helmet!!!! Two blockers out in front and I don't think either of them made a block. Royster for nine more. Still a tad short bringing up third down. And so the quarter will end.

FOURTH QUARTER:

Green--FIRST DOWN and GOAL at the one. The kick is good.

Penn State 21-3.

Illinois returns it out to the 27. I have seen worse. Juice carries for 7. Flanker screen loses yardage. Third and 11. Completed but short of the first. Illinois to punt. Don't let them back in this with a bonehead play guys.

Fair catch at the 20 by Astorino. One more drive and we can go home, boys.

Nice pass to Moye out to the 40. Follow that up with an 11 yard trot by Green. Add another 1-15 yard run by Green. Speaking of Green, did I mention that THEM lost? Clark to Shuler down to the 15. Where was this team last week? Royster says I want some of that. He got him some of that. TD Penn State on a nice run by Royster!

Penn State 28-3.

Holy Misthrown Flag! How can you call that a late hit. He rolled over him! Have these guys no idea what momentum is? And another flag on the TD. Screw these refs! Why don't they just pick the ball up and walk it into the ednzone for them.

Penn State 28-10. I hope we don't hit the Illinois pansies too hard on the KO.

Illinois opts to kick it away, even with the 15 yard penalty. Why? Who cares. We've got the ball at the 20. Time to run out some clock.

FIRST DOWN Royster. Another two and the clock rolls on. Royster for a handful brings up another CRITICAL third down. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. Boone on to punt. Touchback.

FUMBLE! Recovered by Penn State! Even the flag can't help Illinois! Let's Go State!

Brent Carter is in, but Newsome isn't. (Shaking head.) TD Brent Carter! (I guess Newsome wouldn't have gotten to pass anyway.)

Penn State 35-10. Was I worried about this game? Who me? No problem.

OMG. Did you just see that? We held a team to the 20 yard line on a kickoff. We are truly impressive now.

Juice completes a pass but is slow moving around. Did I just say slow? He faked it. He just ran for a first down. Holding. Never mind. Half the distance to the goal puts them back. He still running hard, but its third down. First Down but Benn is slow getting up. (poilte clapping.)

Incomplete pass stops the clock. Was that last catch in bounds? Who knows? Apparently, no one on ABC cares. I don't even know what Craig James is talking about now--I stopped listening three quarters ago. But no replay. I guess he was in. Juice throws it away under pressure. Another pass sails high. Third down. Pass complete brings up fourth and short. Obvious four-down territory. And damned if they didn't convert. To the 10.

Miserable pathetic meaningless useless freaking TD. Way to go Juice. You're great. Thanks for playing. You still lost the game. Why can't our D just finish playing the game?

On-sides kick recovered by PSU. Oh boy. Newsome is in And what a run! Clark's limping on the sideline. And that's a wrap.

FINAL: PENN STATE 35 - ILLINOIS 17.

This Week's Game Guide

Penn State makes its first road trip of this season to Memorial Stadium. PSU is 13-3 all-time against the Illini. The line currently favors PSU by 6 points. The game will be on ABC at 3:30 (Mike Patrick, Craig James and Heather Cox.)

In the Big Ten:

Purdue is a 6.5 point favorite at home versus Northwestern. We don't play the Boilers, so GO WILDCATS!

Minnesota hosts the Badgers. The line is a pick. Again, we don't face Wisconsin, so GO GOPHERS.

THEM is a one point favorite over cross-state rival Sparty. SOS aside--and since we play both I don't know that it makes much difference who wins--I can't root for THEM. GO SPARTY!

IOWA takes on Arkansas State--they are 21.5 point faves. Whatever.

The Buckeyes take on the Hoosiers and are 17.5 favorites on the road.

In other games:

The Irish host Washington. Despite knocking off USC, the Huskies are 13.5 point dogs. GO HUSKIES!

Miami(FL) squares off against Oklahoma. The Canes are 6.5 point dogs. I'm not a big Miami fan, but I gotta go with the Canes on this one. I'd rather not see a Big XII team outside of maybe Texas in the BCS title game.

Florida & Texas do not play this week.

Bama is a 16.5 point fave over Kentucky.

And if you like Friday Night High School football, Pitt is playing on ESPN2 against Louisville.

Beaver Stadium Sighting

My new running shoes arrived in the mail today. They are called Vibram Five Fingers and are unusual looking to say the least. I am anxious to try them. But in the course of researching them on the Internet, I came across this pic from the Temple game:

I actually saw a thumbnail of the above pic, but I immediately recognized our home away from home and all my friends. Okay--I don't know the guy in the shades. Yet.

Perspectives

Same game. Different fans. Different perspectives. But somewhat surprising nonetheless.

Per the Daily Collegian:

From an Iowa Fan:

I felt compelled to write this letter to show my appreciation for the way my friend and I were treated with respect and friendship by the Penn State fans and residents of the state.

The beauty of the state, the campus and the town combined with the hospitality and the great football atmosphere you have in State College was worth coming the distance to the game.

I plan to return again in the future. I only hope that Penn State fans making the trip to Iowa City next year will receive the many "good luck at the game" wishes and the other friendly overtures we received (directions, advice on not to drink on the street, friendly conversation, etc).

You Are ... Penn State and well deserving of that pride.

But a Penn State Alum had a different experience:

During Saturday's game against Iowa, university police were repeatedly brought into our section to put a stop to the unfathomable lawlessness of ... standing and cheering for our team.

I have no issue with the police. It's the stodgy, crotchety "fans" who were appalled when some of us in sections EG/EGU dared to show some enthusiasm. I think it's more than coincidental that all of those who were admonished for the unthinkable act of standing at a football game were wearing white while the ones doing the complaining were wearing a rainbow of colors at the White Out game.

If you don't want to actually have fun at Beaver Stadium, stay at home, open a nice bottle of wine and watch the game from the comfort of your living room.

FWIW: Our section--SK--stood the entire first quarter, which is rather unusual. As the team started to sputter more and more, the impetus to remain standing waned. To me, it's more a matter of seeing the game. I think I yell just as loud sitting as standing, but if you can't see the field, you have to stand. Unless you have a disability, is it really that big of an issue to stand up? I don't know. Ask me again in 20 or 30 years when I'm more crotchety and stodgy.

By The Numbers: Illinois

Here are the NCAA statistics for Penn State and Illinois:



NCAA Stats Comparison

Category:	Penn St.	Illinois
Rushing	80	35
Passing Offense	40	110
Total Offense	56	82
Scoring Offense	75	108
Rushing Defense	11	59
Turnovers Gained	75	88
Passes Had Intercepted	104	79
Pass Defense	19	100
Net Punting	99	57
Punt Returns	93	107
Kickoff Returns	115	101
Turnover Margin	98	89
Fumbles Recovered	101	55
Passes Intercepted	27	78
Fumbles Lost	70	19
Turnovers Lost	91	57
Passing Efficiency	52	110
Pass Efficiency Defense	23	102
Total Defense	9	90
Scoring Defense	6	88
Fewest Penalties Per Game	6	106
Fewest Yards Penalized Per Game	3	107
Punt Return Yardage Defense	113	24
Kickoff Return Yardage Defense	108	28
Offense Third-down Efficiency	11	65
Offense Fourth-down Efficiency	18	75
Defense Third-down Efficiency	21	106
Defense Fourth-down Efficiency	9	88
Tackles for Loss	5	37
Offense Tackles for Loss	35	105
Pass Sacks	12	85
Pass Sacks Allowed	59	111
Time of Possession	36	72
First Downs	34	73
First Downs Allowed	6	89
Red Zone Efficiency	100	49
Red Zone Efficiency - Defense	7	93
Average NCAA Rank:	49.38	79.11
Weighted Avg. Rank:	47.33	85.83

Penn State is abysmal in special teams categories. 115th in KO returns and 108th in KO defense. 98th in turnover margin, but there is a bright spot: Illinois is 89th in TO margin and 101st. in KO returns. We'll make them look better this week.

Going by the stats, Illinois should get more penalties than us.

Offensively, we have a pretty decent ranking in 3rd down efficiency--much better than the Illini. Our defense is also siginificantly better on third down than Illinois.

Defensively, the teams are night and day.

Compared to Iowa, we match up much better against the Illini. But turnovers--if they continue--will hurt us. The KO situation will put us in bad field position. That will hurt us like it did last week.

One thing that stats don't tell us is how conservative the playcalling will be. This is the first road game of the year, the team's confidence is shaky and the coaching staff is hell-bent on protecting Clark. I am afraid things will be scaled back, thereby effectively negating any advantage we have. We will have to depend on not turning the ball over, not making the critical mistakes, and basically play not to lose this game. I hope Joe proves me wrong.