Happy Days Are Here Again!

Well, not completely free. . . $60 million dollars and 112 wins.

The theme of the Blue Band Half-time show last Saturday  "Happy Days in Happy Valley."  It was a omen of things to come, as it was announced today that BOTH the scholarship reduction AND the bowl ban have been rescinded by the NCAA.

According to this ESPN recap:

Penn State will be eligible for the postseason this year and will have all its scholarships returned next year, after the NCAA agreed Monday afternoon to again reduce sanctions stemming from the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. 

Penn State's athletics integrity monitor, former Sen. George Mitchell, recommended both actions in his second annual report that gauges progress made by the university. Minutes after the report was announced, the NCAA said it would follow both recommendations immediately.

Woo-freaking Hoo!  About time!

The school still must pay a $60 million fine, 111 wins under Joe Paterno -- and one win under interim coach Tom Bradley -- remain forfeited, and the program will remain under monitoring.

However, it appears the 60 million dollar fine will remain in Pennsylvania.

The state of Pennsylvania has won a legal battle with the NCAA, ensuring the $60 million in fine money to be paid by Penn State will remain instead. The NCAA had been fighting to spread the fine money around the nation toward child abuse awareness efforts, but the organization has filed to withdraw its fight and will allow the money to stay within Pennsylvania.

So only the vacated wins remains to be reversed.  With the recent announcement of guidelines for athletic departments to follow--guidelines which Paterno actually followed before they were official guidelines--it remains a mystery how this final sanction can withstand the Paterno lawsuit which appears likely to continue.

Unfortunately, the Big Ten conference is not so forgiving.

The Big Ten also said that Penn State will continue to donate its share of conference bowl revenue (estimated at $13 million) to child-protections charities in Big Ten communities. Penn State will be eligible to receive its share of conference bowl revenue in 2016.

Wow!  Just . . .wow.  Unbelievable.  How can the conference stand behind the its punishment of Penn State when the NCAA has backed off?  Just freaking unbelievable.  The greed and hatred for Penn State is just so completely obvious.  If our BOT had half a spine, they would fight the conference on this one, and go after restoring Joe Paterno's victories.

WE ARE . . . SET FREE!

Football Funny

Zip-Pity Doo Dah Day

Penn State civilly outscored Akron 21-3 to move to 2-0 on the 2014 season.  It was not a pretty sight, but it was not exactly an ugly win.  And it sure as heck beat a pretty loss!

The invading Zips seemed hell-bent on raining on James Franklin's home opener, as the visitors marched down the field like a hot knife through butter.  They zipped this way and that way and ended up first and goal at the PSU 7 yard line before half the student population even made it to their seats.  But the Lion defense tightened up, and after consecutive sacks, Akron had to settle for a 3 point attempt.  Kicker Tom O'Leary (kind of ironic right there, doncha think?) missed the 31-yarder and the game was still even.

After an exchange of possessions, the Lions took over with good field position at their own 42 yard line.  Hackenberg went to work and did that thing he does with his arm.  Passes of 20 yards to Lewis and 15 yards to Hamilton were sandwiched around a one yard rush by Zwinak.  Hack than scored his first of three TD passes with a strike to a wide open Belton that fooled the Akron defense and reportedly Louis Freeh as well.

The half would end with the score still being 7-0, and the crowd a bit uneasy.  You hate close games like this when one play could turn things ugly in a hurry, and our secondary has been prone to giving up a few big plays now and then.

But there was no breathing room as the second half opened as Penn State fumbled on it's first possession, setting the Roos up with a short field at the PSU 41 yard line.  The defense bent a little but didn't break, and Robert Stein (I guess O'Leary lost his job, at least for the moment) booted the 28 yarder through to make it a four point game.

After a change of possessions, Hack hit Jesse James for a 14-3 point lead.  James would catch another pass in the fourth quarter to seal the victory at 21-3, covering the final game-time spread of 14.

So what can I say?

The running game just can't seem to get off the ground.  It's a reflex to blame it on the offensive line, but the O-line does seem to be able to pass block pretty darn well.  We did manage to break the century mark--which surprised me.  Watching the game, I'd have thought we had under 60.  We actually seemed to run better out of the wildcat, but that was in the second half and we may have worn the Akron line down by then.  Reading the message boards, the wildcat formation splits Nittany Nation between those that love it and those that hate it.  I don't love it, but if it works, I'm all for it.  I wonder if the playbook doesn't have more options from that formation, particularly with Hack split wide and still on the field.  We did see a throw back pass to Hack, but he couldn't make the catch.  Maybe more exciting possibilities await when Big Ten teams come to play.

Hack had two more INTs--not necessarily bad throws as much as BAD decisions.  He also took a sack after having almost 9 seconds to find a receiver.  I think those things will come in time--better decision making.

And the bottom line here Lion fans . . . we have played two games against quality opponents.  Akron came to play and played us hard.  Maybe they are not McNeese State, but they will win some ball games this year.  Central Florida was coming off a great season with a veteran head coach and was a few votes away from cracking the Top 25 preseason.  And despite a minus 5 turn-over margin, WE ARE UNDEFEATED.  Not a lot of our conference brethren can say the same.

BY THE NUMBERS:

Team Statistics

Team Totals	AKRON	PSU
FIRST DOWNS	17	27
Rushing	4	7
Passing	12	16
Penalty	1	4
NET YARDS RUSHING	69	106
Rushing Attempts	25	31
Average Per Rush	2.8	3.4
Rushing Touchdowns	0	0
Yards Gained Rushing	89	130
Yards Lost Rushing	20	24
NET YARDS PASSING	208	319
Completions-Attempts-Int	24-46-0	22-37-2
Average Per Attempt	4.5	8.6
Average Per Completion	8.7	14.5
Passing Touchdowns	0	3
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS	277	425
Total offense plays	71	68
Average Gain Per Play	3.9	6.2
Fumbles: Number-Lost	0-0	1-1
Penalties: Number-Yards	7-64	3-25
PUNTS-YARDS	7-331	5-244
Average Yards Per Punt	47.3	48.8
Net Yards Per Punt	40.9	45.4
Inside 20	2	3
50+ Yards	2	3
Touchbacks	2	0
Fair catch	3	0
KICKOFFS-YARDS	2-130	4-247
Average Yards Per Kickoff	65.0	61.8
Net Yards Per Kickoff	38.5	46.5
Touchbacks	0	1
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD	3-17-0	1-5-0
Average Per Return	5.7	5.0
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD	2-36-0	2-53-0
Average Per Return	18.0	26.5
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD	2-52-0	0-0-0
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD	0-0-0	0-0-0
Miscellaneous Yards	0	0
Possession Time	29:21	30:39
1st Quarter	9:15	5:45
2nd Quarter	9:32	5:28
3rd Quarter	4:10	10:50
4th Quarter	6:24	8:36
Third-Down Conversions	5 of 17	4 of 10
Fourth-Down Conversions	0 of 2	0 of 0
Red-Zone Scores-Chances	1-3	1-3
Touchdowns	0-3	1-3
Field goals	1-3	0-3
Sacks By: Number-Yards	1-8	4-14
PAT Kicks	0-0	3-3
Field Goals	1-2	0-0
Points off turnovers	6	0

Penn State continues to look better on the stat sheet than the scoreboard.  I really think that will get better as the season goes on, but perhaps it's something to worry about.

Time of possession was nearly equal with a slight edge to PSU.  Akron held the ball longer in the first half, but PSU dominated the second.  Can't complain about that.

We only converted 4-10 third downs, but we had 27 first downs--meaning that we moved the ball well on first and second downs that we only needed third down about a third of the time.

We were vastly improved in the penalty category this week.

INTANGIBLES:

The crowd was listed at 97,354, but it didn't look that full.

The temperature was warm--not unusual for this time of year, but it could have been a factor if Akron could run the ball and control the clock.  Depth is not our strong suit right now.

The Blue Band Drum Major stuck both flips.  In fact, the opening flip may be the best I've seen in a while.  New feature twirler.  Meh.

James Franklin is 2-0, baby.  Penn State is 5-0 over Akron all-time.

The 1994 UNDEFEATED PSU Football was honored at halftime!

Penn State won the toss and deferred.

THE BIG (TEN) PICTURE:

Well, well, well.  Pretty rough weekend for the BIG party of 14.

Let's start with the winners . . .

Iowa survived Ball State 17-13.

Nebraska squeaked by FCS McNeese State 31-24, scoring on a 58 yard catch and run to score with 20 seconds left in the game.  Makes a 21-3 outing against Zippy look pretty darn good right about now.

Illinois beat Western Kentucky 42-34 but trailed 27-21 going into the fourth quarter.

Minnesota held off Middle Tennessee State, prevailing 35-24--but they were up 28-0 at the half!

Maryland outscored South Florida 24-17, but trailed going into the fourth quarter as well.

Rutgers defeated Howard (who Akron pasted 41-0) by a score of 38-25.

And Wisconsin bounced back by pummeling Western Illinois 37-3.

And then there were the losers . . .

Purdue tanked against Central Michigan, losing 38-17.

MSU had arguably the toughest opponent in Oregon with the Ducks ranked 3rd at the time.  Michigan State trailed early, stormed back and seemed to be in control.  And then they collapsed.  Epic-ally.  Final Score:  46-27.  I wonder if D'Antonio has ever had that many points put up against one of his teams?

Notre Dame took THEM out to the woodshed, blanking the wolverines 31-0 in South Bend.  Not even a field goal.  I guess they were still upset about Notre Dame ending the series.  The Irish might want to rethink that.

And the Big's Marquee Stud, Ohio $tate, ranked number 8, fell to an unranked Hokie team 35-21.  Meyer started his post game presser with this:

And also our opponent, really did a good job preparing for us and exposed us a little bit, where some of the weaknesses right now on our team. And it was rather obvious what it is.

Really?  What was IT?  The coaching, perhaps?  Or are you throwing someone else under a Colum-BUS.

I wouldn't have said this in 2011, but I am SOOOO glad that man isn't coaching at Penn State.

Indiana was off, and no one noticed.

SHEDDING TEARS:

1.  Stanford lost to USC--the famous Pat Haden game where the USC AD came down from the booth to "talk" to the referees.  And he's on the selection committee!

2.  McNeese State--a few bad tackles away from OT.  Tsk.  tsk.

3.  The Big Ten--see above

4.  Texas--Longhorns beaten 41-7 by BYU

5.  UMass--41-38 loss to Colorado

LOOKING AHEAD:

Penn State travels to Rutgers to open the Big Ten season next week.

Game Time is 8 PM and the coverage is the Big Ten Network.

Rutgers is 2-0 with a 41-38 win on the road over Washington State and a 38-25 victory over Howard.

We'll preview this game in a Foe Pause later this week.


GO STATE!  BEAT KNIGHTS!

Foe Pause: Akron Edition

So here we are (PENN STATE!), ready to face Akron this Saturday in a noon showdown at Paterno Field inside Beaver Stadium.

What do you know about the Zips?

I don't know about you, but when I hear "Roo" this is what comes to my mind . . .

From Wikipedia, we learn about the history of the Zips:

The Zips name is unique in college athletics and comes from "zippers", rubber overshoes made by the BF Goodrich Company that were popular in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1925, a campus-wide contest had been conducted to choose a nickname for the university's athletic teams. Suggestions submitted by students, faculty, and alumni included Golden Blue Devils, Tip Toppers, Rubbernecks, Hillbillies, Kangaroos, and Cheveliers. The winner, freshman Margaret Hamlin, received a prize of $10 for "Zippers". Athletic director Kenneth Cochrane officially shortened the nickname to Zips in 1950. The university's mascot is "Zippy", a kangaroo. Zippy is one of only a few female college mascots in the United States.

Female?  I did not know that.  I'm not about to check and verify that fact either.

Of course, until this week, I did not know that Terry Bowden was the head coach of the Akron Zippers.

Fear the Terry-tubbie!

Okay, seriously, we have a game against Akron that some have called a "trap game."  You know the deal.  Team Goliath comes off a big emotional win.  Goliath is favored to beat David by a large margin.  Doesn't take David seriously.  David takes advantage of the situation and down goes the giant.  KaPow!  Upset.

But what Goliath didn't have, was a coach like James Franklin.  Driven.  Ambitious.  Energetic.  Let's go to the tape on this:




 This is HIS home opener.  Sure, the team snaps the ball, kicks the ball, throws the ball, catches the ball, tackles and blocks.  The team wins the game.  But this 2014 Nittany Lion football team is HIS team.  The beauty of this . . . he doesn't think of it that way.

If you ever asked Paterno about his 409 wins, he wouldn't talk about his wins.  He was always uncomfortable with that conversation.  He would talk about Penn State's wins.  He didn't win any games.  Mike Reid won games.  Chuck Fusina won games.  Kerry Collins and Ki-Jana Carter won games.  His teams won games.  That's the kind of coach you want leading your team--one who knows deep down that his wins and the team's wins are one and the same, but he only sees the team.

Last Saturday, the team just won the game, and Franklin's looking for Ficken!  He's got a million things to do, but he stops to engage the loyal fans that came to watch in a WE ARE PENN STATE cheer.  The only time coaches like that look in the mirror is when the team fails--because they failed.

There will be mistakes.  Maybe another INT.  Maybe some more fumbles. Clock mismanagement.  Maybe a blown coverage. Akron did pass for over 400 yards against Howard.  Howard who?  Stern?  Hughes?  The Duck?  I'm not really sure, but some sportswriters think that means they are going to score a lot of points against Penn State this week.   We shall see.

Akron did put up 41 points.  Their QB Pohl threw three touchdown passes in his first five throws.  They didn't score again until the third quarter.  All but seven points were scored in the first quarter of each half.  Looks like one of the keys to this game is not to let them zip out to a fast start.  Better yet, I hope Penn State scores early (and often).

I'm reluctant to say this will be a rout, because we just don't know that much about these two teams after one week of play.  But I do think we cover the spread in a win.

GO STATE!  BEAT ZIPS!

Dunkin Donut And Coffee

 Someone left a sacrifice on my Penn State "altar."

I did not know Dunkin Donuts was the PREFERRED COFFEE of Penn State Athletics. You learn something new every day!

Blue Band Budgets and Passe Paterno

Did you hear the Blue Band playing at Croke Park?

No you did not.

The Few, the Proud, The Lucky to Be There at all

You heard a pep band.  A mere fraction of a Blue Band.

You didn't get Moe without Larry or Curly.  You didn't get The Beatle (Ringo without the rest.)  You basically got The Steeler (Ben Roethlisberger without the rest of the offense.)  You got 33 members of the Blue Band.

About 10%.

I can only imagine the issue was money.

So I did a little research.  The cost of "student" housing per the PSU website starts at $289 per person for four days and three nights, three breakfasts and a game ticket.  This article on travel costs projects airfare at about $900 round trip.

So for the sake of argument, and since I really have no clue how much it might actually cost, let's assume a cost of $1500 per Blue Band Member.  Now, there are 315 Blue Band Members--but 33 have already been paid for.  So we are looking to finance 282 additional members, and probably some support staff, so lets round it off at 300.

300 x $1500 = $450,000.

WOW.

But wait a minute.  Not so fast.  Not so fast.

According to this NBC Sports Report on the cost of marching bands at bowl games, it cost LSU $450,00 to send 529 to New Orleans.  My God, they could drive themselves there--that's just lodging, food and ticket prices!

The Blue Band normally travels to Bowl Games each year.  They have not traveled to one in two years and likely won't be heading to one this year.  I don't know where the money ordinarily comes to finance the Blue Band Bowl trips, but surely that source could have been tapped for this trip.  (It may have come out of the bowl money the school earns, which of course, would not be available for this non-bowl game.)  But even if that is where the money ordinarily comes from, I find it odd that a University with over ONE BILLION in endowments can't find a half a million dollars somewhere to send the full Blue Band to Ireland, which essentially might be the ONLY bowl game this class of musicians ever has a chance to enjoy (barring a reduction in sanctions and of course, the team actually being bowl eligible next year.)  They are already saving $70,000 by cancelling TailGreat.

Can you tell I used to play in the marching band?

And then there is this article that claims that "James Franklin Shows Joe Paterno-Style Football Never Coming Back to Penn State".

And what exactly does that mean?

Penn State will no longer have high graduation rates?

Penn State will no longer be in the Top 10 or 15 Universities in winning percentage all time?

Here is the author's premise:

That was made clear Saturday as Franklin bet all his chips on the arm of sophomore quarterback Christian Hackenberg and had his faith rewarded with a game-winning drive and the first 400-yard passing game in school history.

The bad news for Penn State fans is that if the Nittany Lions are to have more joyous days like this, it will all be on Hackenberg. Penn State rushed for only 57 yards on 28 totes, a 2.0 average.

Paterno didn’t obsess over the three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust game quite as much as Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler, but he was always content to win without airing out his offensive attack.

Wow.

With just one game of analysis, we can see that Penn state won't be gaining any rushing yards this year against anybody.  We won't improve in that category obviously.

And what I found most interesting was the characterization of Paterno and a rewrite of history.  The writer obviously doesn't know his Penn State history, or he would know that Penn State's FIRST national championship team in 1982 was Paterno's first team to gain more passing yards in a season than it gained rushing.

Hmmm.  Maybe Franklin is more like Paterno than we thought!

I wonder if this writer predicted Dewey to defeat Truman?  Or maybe he would have written that Japan would take over the world after Pearl Harbor.

Nice Try.

Shoop! There It Is!

Having been blogging about Penn State football since the mid 1990's, you'd think I would finally be able to post a game recap without forgetting something.  As if!

But while thinking back over the game notes, I realized I hadn't mentioned how great a job Bob Shoop did as defensive coordinator.  The second half was tarnished a bit by the performance of Holman at QB, but then those things happen.  When you prepare for one type of QB, and then suddenly face another, it's not always easy to adjust for that.  And Holman certainly looked like a better passer.

So here are some more thoughts that I forgot to hit yesterday:

* Zettle is a FORCE.

* Penn State played the 1st quarter with no headset communication.  Maybe that contributed to the disparity between the stats and the points.  Apparently, the NCAA doesn't have rules like the NFL, which would have equalized the situation by not allowing UCF to use their headsets.  Despite the set back, we prevailed.

* Penn State had TWO receivers over 150 yards on the day.  That's the first time in school history!

* Ficken Kickin Good--we all know he hit the game winner, but he was 4-4 on the day!

* Forgot to mention the parachutists--the PSU guy hit the stadium, but the UCF rep landed along some train tracks off the mark!  Talk about your omens from the sky!

* Did anyone notice how well we did on first downs?  I meant to look back on this but forgot.  Especially in the first half, we kicked butt on first down, leaving a LOT of 2nd and short situations.  If you look at the second down situations in the first half, Penn State had 5 second and one's, 2 second and two's, and was second and six or less 11 out of 14 second downs.  (One second and six was actually a second and one that became a second and six after a five yard penalty.)  In the second half, there were 11 second down opportunities, and PSU was 2nd and five or less 5 of those times with three second and one's.

* The running game didn't generate much yardage, but as you can see above, it didn't have to in order to keep the sticks moving.

* Hamilton and Ficken pulled in Big Ten Players of the Week Honors--not something I forgot, but worth noting at this juncture.

Some great articles were written across the pond.  Johnny Watterson of The Irish Times writes:

But first the cast and inventory: two parachutists, one on the pitch the other on the railway track; a choir of 17; two three-storey sized flags; two marching bands; three Irish Army soldiers and four marines, all bearing flags; a team of Penn State dancers and two teams of cheerleaders; soft drinks engineers; chair arranging executives; four lieutenants of the tape measure; two team rosters of 100 players each; eight team captains; 24-ish coaches and two F16s drowning out the Star Spangled Banner. Gridiron loves its hardware.   

But Penn State had a quarterback called Christian Hackenberg. “Hack”, a young man in just his second season, threw for 454 yards on Saturday, breaking Zack Mills’s single-game school record of 399 yards. 

The most important of those yards came in the run-up to Ficken’s winning field goal as “Hack”, with composure beyond his years, engineered the territory and kept the ball in Penn [State] hands.  

As it sailed over the posts at the Hill end on a trajectory towards Nally, Croke Park became the Bull Run in Pamp lona. The Penn State bench burst on to the pitch and cheerleaders were thrown in the air.

Aisling Crowe describes it as theater and sport colliding:

It was a jaw dropping, awe inspiring sight when first glimpsing the transformed interior of the stadium before the University of Central Florida clashed with the Penn State University. It was Croke Park but not as we know it. The surreal panorama spread out before your eyes. A shrunken pitch surrounded by athletic cheerleaders, acrobatically somersaulting into dangerous positions, marching bands putting a brass spin on some classics including the theme tune to The Sunday Game and flagbearers, mascots and whatever else was needed in the way of support.
The truly awesome scene was in the middle of the pitch where 200 athletes prepared to begin their college season, hopes and dreams spread out before them and the glory of last season behind champions University of Central Florida. 

The clock counted down the minutes to kick off, and a parachutist clad in the Penn State blue and white landed in the middle of the pitch. The UCF Knights parachutist went missing in action, his radar slightly wonky. He came up a little short of the pitch and landed on the train line behind Hill 16. Saturday afternoon shoppers suffered the convenience that shadows the commuter daily as trains were delayed while the errant knight was rescued.  

The NFL may be America's game but the college version is giving it a run for its money.
This may have been a spectacle but it was also a serious sport. Every tackle, every intercept, every pass that found a runner was greeted with a roar the like of which is usually only heard when the referee blows the final whistle in an All-Ireland final. 

Anyone with dismissive attitudes towards American football would have had their prejudices seriously challenged by the on-pitch action. The first collision from the opening kick off saw the helmet of one of the Nittany Lions fly through the air, knocked from a head with the force of the impact. 

They followed Flynn's advice to the letter in Croke Park with razzle dazzle to beat Banagher but the sequins were not some frippery tacked on as a distraction. Sport and theatre collide with spectacular results in American football. The sparkle and the show are an integral part of the spectacle but there is real steel behind the stardust that was sprinkled on Dublin yesterday. 

The author had Sam Franklin kicking the winning field goal, but otherwise it was a good report.

And if you are really bored, here is an Irish message board with some locals regaling their thoughts such as these:

That's was a great game! My first time ever seeing live football, only got sucked in in the last few years. Now I reeeeeally want to see if I can get tickets to one of the Wembley games! The Penn State support was great, really cool to be in the thick of it. 

Fantastic game. Made a converted out of my brother who begrudgingly came along, moaning right up to the start about how ****e AF is. He was screaming at the pitch at the end and has just called me to find out when the next one is.. 

The Penn State head coach stayed for a little while by the tunnel to start up chants with the fans as he left the field, crazy guy  [He's a WILD and CRAZY guy!]

Just home from a thoroughly enjoyable day. Went with Penn State in all our bets, all came in, Outright win, 1st Touchdown and over 43.5. Some show, great entertainment and at least the rain stayed off. Managed to get a vid of the National anthem and the F-16's too. 

Fecking savage day. 8th game I've been to (3 college, 5 NFL) and first I've seen settled by the final play. Had the over backed too so happy out. Pity it wasn't in the Aviva, looked silly looking down on an empty hill all day, mind you, the ESPN crew did a great job of avoiding that. Jesse James is a legend, plus that WR, thing he was number 7 for Penn. Great day out. Penn state fans were a credit. Really, really great day. 

Apart from the empty stand and rip off programme, great day. Sat with some Penn State fans amongst the UCF hoarde in a great spot. Wife very pregnant and we had planned to ship a few mins before the end. Glad I didn't, what a finish! Super atmosphere, some slick game play from QB#14 and WR#7 for Penn. The Wife got right into it too but was puzzled why the game, apart from stoppages, just seem to pause quite often? When I told her it was for commercial breaks she cracked up 😁 The noise was cool, the F16s very cool, mexican wave fun and I cannot wait for the NFL reg season to K.O!!! 

Really enjoyed that yesterday. Penn State fans were great even if I was cheering for UCF. Great second half of football. Not sure what it looked like on TV but looking around, it felt quite cavernous. My mate was more interested in the gargle but I really got into it.  [Gotta love the gargle!]

Great day out - great game. First time to go to a game "in the flesh" - absolutely loved it. First two qrts I thought Penn State were gonna walk away it (despite only leading by a single score). UCF's rushing game was poor and the passing game was non-existant - only for their defence , they would have been buried. 3rd & 4th Qrt's - UCF's Qrtback remembered he could throw and the drama went up a notch. To have the game decided on the final play with 3 secs left on the clock - just brilliant (even if I was a tiny bit gutted for UCF).   Will definitely go to the next one (if/when it happens). 

Good day. One of the closest games I've seen live, score wise. Atmosphere was okay were I was sitting . Wish I had a chance to do this every week. 

Great game. Really enjoyed it, and was a bargain for e20. My seats were great. Very happy that it was close, as it was a good way to show my friends from here the sport. A blowout would have sucked. . . .A few small things about it did bother me though. The quality of the replays was shocking. I remember a big important offensive PI call happened, and I looked up to see the replay of it, but all they showed was the QB throwing the ball... Hill 16 being closed was also odd and looked awful behind the goal. That last field goal was one of the most exciting finishes to a game this weekend, and will have been all over sports highlight reels in the states last night, and the backdrop is an awful, empty terrace, which is a little embarrassing. The PA system was also terrible, especially for the ref. Could barely make out what was being said half the time. [Sounds like a "true" PSU fan--c/o replays, empty seats and the sound system!]

I have yet to read any reports of "bad" PSU fans.  And the reports from Penn Stater's sound like they were treated exceptionally well by the locals.