Quotable Quotes

Civil Celebration

Here are some assorted comments in the aftermath of yesterday's announcement that the bowl band and scholarship sanctions would be lifted immediately:

Bill O'Brien:

"I think that’s great news for Penn State," said O'Brien, who spent the last two football seasons as the Nittany Lions' head coach. "Penn State is a fantastic place. It’s a great education, great football program, a lot of good people who have done a lot of great things over there over the last couple of years to make sure that they’ve learned from the past mistakes and understood that that’s a special place.
"And so I feel very happy for Penn State and, mostly, I feel happy for the players and the coaching staff that’s there now."

Some have focused on the latter comment as an intentional snub of administration and perhaps even the fan base, but I'm not going to nitt-pick here.

James Franklin:

"We are very appreciative of the opportunities the NCAA and Big Ten have provided with today's announcement," Franklin said. "This team plays for each other. We play for Penn State, our families, the former players, our students, alumni, fans and the community. We are so proud to represent Penn State and the Big Ten Conference and are working hard to prepare for our Big Ten opener at Rutgers." 

Can this be the spark that takes the level of play of this team to the NEXT level?  This could go either way--having something to play for may put more pressure on the players/coaches to win.  Or it might just fire them up!  We shall see this Saturday in prime time!

PS4RS:

"We are very happy that some of the sanctions have been rescinded. This is great news for the football team, and the entire unfairly punished Penn State community. However, there are still wrongs to be righted. The Freeh conclusions are not supported by evidence, and they never should have been used as a pretext for sanctioning Penn State. We are disheartened by false rationalizations that Penn State has somehow changed or atoned to deserve this “reward.” Penn State athletics programs have ALWAYS demonstrated the highest level of integrity. Three years after their indictment, the three Penn State administrators have yet to have their day in court due to mysterious appeals by Penn State and clandestine document sealing by the PA court system. Prosecutor Frank Fina has publicly stated that there was no evidence to support the Freeh Report’s conclusion that Joe Paterno was aware of or participated in a cover up. Further, the NCAA’s new sexual assault reporting handbook instructs coaches around the country to do exactly what Paterno did in 2001. There is no basis for ANY of the sanctions and they must be entirely rescinded.”

AMEN!

And last but not least, Admiral Yamamoto:

"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."

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!

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.

Dublin or Nothing

With the college football season already started, and Penn State's first game of the James Franklin Era literally hours away from kick-off, I realized that I have not officially prognosticated in public.

My emotions swing from 5-7 to 11-1.  There was that one moment when I toyed with the idea of predicting a 12-0 season (which flashed through my mind when I read that Braxton Miller was out for the season), but I am officially going to settle on 10-2.

Don't ask me why.  Don't ask me which two games I think we will lose.

There is no more merit in my forecast than any weatherman out there right now.

But with kick-off nearing in Dublin at Croke Park, I will predict a victory for the blue and white over George O'Leary's Golden Knights.

And here are my reasons, in no particular order.

1.  Lee Corso picked UCF to wax Penn State.
2.  No Bortles.
3.  James Franklin.
4.  Christian Hackenberg.
5.  Come on people, it's UCF.  Sure they went 12-1 last season, but this ain't Florida State.  I think people are underestimating how important Bortles was to the offense, and are over-estimating what kind of defense the Knights will have this year.
6.  James Franklin
7.  Clucko the Chicken picks Penn State.
8.  Five of six Harrisburg writers pick UCF
9.  James Franklin  Seriously.  This man is a dynamo.  And he brings with him a complete staff that he has already worked with and developed chemistry with.  THIS IS CRUCIAL.  This is not Bill O'Brien parachuting into a war zone with a rag tag team of old friends assembled at the last minute.  This is a well oiled machine that managed to post back to back 9 win seasons at Vanderbilt, a school that had not had a 9 win season since 1915.
10. George O'Leary, undefeated ND head coach, who will be toasted to no end at every pub in the country and pickled in free drinks by the time kick-off rolls around.
11.  Because WE ARE . . .

PENN STATE!

The Game Will Love You Back

Maybe THIS is why I'm really looking forward to this season!

Life (and football) Goes On

I want to apologize to my faithful legion of readers, small group of readers, some guy in Quincy, MA who actually reads this blog, for the paucity of posts this summer.  I posted a guest column a few weeks ago, but I have not actually posted since May!

In my defense, my dad passed away on July 27th. after suffering multiple strokes.  I have not felt like blogging much.  You can read about my amazing golf ball story on my other blog.

My dad won't be attending games with me for the first time in my life.  He has missed a few games the past couple of years for various reasons.  He pretty much gave up the 8pm games since 2005.  But I always knew he COULD go.  There was a game against Michigan State back in the mid-1990's when we had travel plans to go to Disney.  My dad and I went to the game anyway.  We had to leave before the game was over to make our flight out of University Park Airport.  My daughter asked my wife what would happen if I didn't make it to the airport in time.  She answered, "We're going without him."  When she asked my mom what would happen if Pap Pap didn't make it, my mom replied, "We're going without him."  We did make it.  Barely.

And while I know he will be there in spirit, any son who has lost their dad will tell you it is not the same.

Yet, I find myself looking forward to this season starting.  Perhaps it is the anticipation of James Franklin and the opportunity to see what he can do with this team that many have written off as the "worst year of the sanctions."

Or perhaps it is this article about James Franklin leading Penn State back to glory.

Brick by brick. This is how one of the nation’s premier college football powers will be resurrected. It won’t happen today or tomorrow or even next year, but it will happen. It’s only a matter of time before a small, power-packed foundation grows into something more. You see a family, 16 grown men functioning as a unit. And it’s not just these men. It’s the wives and children who have celebrated the highs and lows in football and in life, at schools and at barbecues. You see this same family expanding, embracing open wounds with open arms, listening to those who have endured unspeakable change before worrying about more pressing football matters. You see a staff that was crafted to work in this very location. It’s as if this group were constructed for this purpose and this purpose alone, and the geographic familiarity is already paying dividends. You see a quarterback with a golden arm, an enormous Band-Aid at a time when it’s needed most. And you see why, eventually, this will all be so much bigger than it is now. You can’t help but admire the bricks being laid, one strategically placed block at a time.

Perhaps it is the news that Braxton Miller will be out for the season.  As if we needed any more of an advantage over those Buckeyes ;)!

Perhaps it is the news that the Holier-Than-Everyone-Else Notre Dame is investigating 4 football players for academic fraud.  Slightly amusing.  Probably deserved.  But after the glass house built by the media and Jerry Sandusky, it's really tough to pick up a stone right now.  But maybe I'll have some fun with this later.

Perhaps it is Penn State's 6th ranked recruiting class (according to Rivals) which beats the nearest Big Ten competitor by 10 slots.  If Franklin can coach half as good as he can recruit . . .

Perhaps it's the report that an Icelandic Volcano could threaten the travel plans for the match-up in Ireland against UCF.  I blame this on Joel Myers.  It's weather related--volcanic ash or some sort of excuse.

Or maybe it's this copy of a letter supposedly written by Peggy Bauer Glaser to Dr. Barron:

Whereas in 2012 the NCAA, based on the flawed Freeh report, criticized Joe Paterno and others for not investigating the allegations of Sandusky's sexual abuse of a child, now the NCAA is saying that no members of athletics should attempt to direct or intervene in a sexual abuse investigation. So now, they have concluded that Joe Paterno was correct in reporting the allegation and then stepping aside. If you will read my letter from 2012, that is exactly what Joe Paterno should have done--and what he did.  So Joe Paterno was fired for doing what he should have done from an HR policy position and from the ultimate position of the NCAA. 

Whereas in 2012 the NCAA, based on the flawed Freeh report, criticized Joe Paterno and others for allegedly covering up Sandusky's abuse, the Pennsylvania state prosecutor Frank Fina addressed the question of whether or not there was any evidence of the involvement of Joe Paterno in a cover up and he replied that no such evidence was found.So Joe Paterno was fired even though there was no evidence of a cover-up. 

Now is the time to formally recognize Joe Paterno. Recognition can be achieved by such actions as: return the statue, name the stadium field Paterno Field, seek the rightful return the 409 record built by success with honor, seek to overturn the sanctions, adopt a culture of standing up for the University, and let the alumni community know the University also believes in success with honor.  Do the honorable thing. . .

Not going to hold my breath on this, lest I turn bluer than I already am.

I don't know what it is, but I am really looking forward to this season!

What think you????

Paterno to O’Brien to Franklin. Is history on Franklin’s side?

It is hard to believe that I haven't posted since May 27th, but such is life.

A few weeks ago, a sports writer/historian sent me an article musing that Franklin may be in a better position than O'Brien if sports history has anything to say about it.

The article is reprinted below.  I thought I was pretty special, having a guest contributor, but alas, my site is not the only one Mr. Baranowski contributed.

Unfortunately, while the concept and comparisons are interesting, the situation at Penn State is unique.  None of the other programs discussed--Nebraska, Notre Dame, Alabama or USC--faced the near-death penalty and crippling sanctions that Penn State faced.  O'Brien's tenure must be examined from that perspective.  Hunk Anderson, Ron Zook, Ray Perkins nor Frank Solich faced the uphill battle that O'Brien faced.  And the fact that Bill was modestly successful despite those odds only argues to success rather than failure.  Moreover, the University did not "part ways" with Bill O'Brien nor was the fan base viewing his efforts as being "not good enough."  Bill O'Brien chose to leave.  That is not to say that there weren't some rumblings amongst some alumni, but most of Penn State's dissatisfaction was aimed at the NCAA, the sanctions, and the Board of Trustees that enabled that situation.

While I certainly was not happy to see O'Brien leave, I cannot understate how important his tenure was to the Penn State football program.  He held the ship together with some duct tape and a couple guys like Mike Mauti.  I think there are more than a few "successful" coaches out there who would have been unable to keep things together or who would have jumped ship altogether after the sanctions came down from Emmert Almighty and the Gospel According to Freeh.

That said, I do think James Franklin will benefit from being the next hire.  The situation is less "toxic" and the sanctions have already been reduced with whisperings of perhaps a reduction in the bowl ban to come in the next month or so, although I ain't holding my breath on that one.

But any success that Franklin has must be measured in terms of what he would be able to do if someone other than Bill O'Brien had been at the helm.  I don't think many coaches could have survived or done as well as Bill.  To call O'Brien's tenure less than a success because you measure him against Paterno is unfair.

But you may draw your own conclusions . . . read on:

Paterno to O’Brien to Franklin. Is history on Franklin’s side?

There is an axiom in sports that it is better to be the coach who follows the coach that followed a coaching legend rather than the coach that followed the coaching legend. I would venture to guess that Bill O’Brien and Lane Kiffin would concur with that notion.

There was no doubt that whoever followed Joe Paterno as Penn State head coach at Penn State would certainly have big shoes to fill. O’Brien went 15-9 in two seasons and bolted for the NFL. Kiffin at USC had a 28-15 record following Pete Carroll’s record of 97-19. Kiffin’s .651 winning percentage wasn’t enough to keep him from being fired not after losing nearly as many games in less than four years than Carroll did in nine. Beginning this season, Penn State’s new head coach James Franklin and Steve Sarkisian at USC will have the opportunity to test that coaching axiom. But how true is it really?

Looking at examples that support the axiom, in 1931, Hunk Anderson had the unenviable task of following Knute Rockne as head coach at Notre Dame. Anderson’s 16-9-2 record with a winning percentage of .630 at many schools would be welcome but not following Rockne’s coaching record of 105-12-5. In three seasons, Anderson lost nearly as many games as Rockne did in 13. Rockne’s winning percentage of .881 just happens to rank first among Division I coaches all-time. Good luck following that. Elmer Layden, the coach who took over after Anderson, had a 47-13-3 record. This was more to Irish fans’ liking.

At the University of Florida during the ‘90s, the Fun ‘N Gun offense was in full force as Steve Spurrier won 122 games in 12 seasons and racked up a winning percentage of .817. His successor, Ron Zook, lasted only three seasons going 23-14 and that set the stage for Urban Meyer. Meyer in six seasons as Florida’s head coach won 65 games and two national championships and had a winning percentage of .813.

The situation at the University of Alabama was slightly different. One can say that the shadow cast by Bear Bryant affected the next two men that succeeded him or at the very least set a near impossible standard to follow. In 25 seasons, Bryant won 232 games with a winning percentage of .824. Ray Perkins could relate to Anderson at Notre Dame as Perkins lasted only four seasons as his teams compiled a 32-15-1 record for a .677 winning percentage. That is not nearly good enough at Alabama, particularly after following the Bear.

Bill Curry followed Perkins and even with a 26-10 record and a .722 winning percentage, Curry lasted only three seasons. Gene Stallings followed Curry and despite having a slightly lesser winning percentage than Curry, .713 to .722, Stallings lasted seven seasons, no doubt aided by winning a national championship in 1992.

At Michigan, it was an interesting situation as well. Following Lloyd Carr proved to be more difficult than following Bo Schembechler. Schembechler paced the sidelines in Ann Arbor for 21 years and amassed a 194-48-5 record for a winning percentage of .796. Following Schembechler was not going to be easy. Gary Moeller did so for five seasons, winning three conference titles, and had a winning percentage of .758. Moeller resigned in May of 1995 and the head coaching job now belonged to Carr. Carr won five conference titles in 13 seasons and a national championship in 1997, Michigan’s first since 1948. Carr’s head coaching record was 122-40 for a .753 winning percentage.

Rich Rodriquez, “a non-Michigan man” succeeded Carr. Rodriquez brought a radically different offensive mindset to Ann Arbor and some might say a non-defensive mindset as well. After three seasons and a 15-22 record, Rodriquez was replaced.

There are numerous examples where a coaching legend’s successor did well but the following coach did not.

Perhaps a long-time successful coach creates such a well-oiled machine that it helps facilitate success for his immediate successor but by the time the next head coach comes along, significant fall-off begins.

John McKay at USC compiled a 127-40-8 record for a winning percentage of .749. One would think trying to match McKay’s winning percentage would have been very difficult. However, John Robinson nearly did just that succeeding McKay. Robinson’s record was 104-35-4 for a winning percentage of .741.

The fall-off at USC came following Robinson under Ted Tollner. Tollner, in four seasons from 1983 to 1986, went 26-20-1 for a winning percentage of .564. That is not going to cut it at USC.

Another example was at the University of Texas where Darrell Royal became a coaching legend winning 167 games losing 47 with five ties for a winning percentage of .774 over 20 seasons. His successor, Fred Akers, was 86-31-2 for a .731 winning rate over the next

The fall off in Austin came following Akers. David McWilliams managed only a 31-26 record over the next five seasons for a .544 winning percentage.

Meanwhile in Norman, Oklahoma, Chuck Fairbanks won 77% of his games compiling a 52-15-1 record. His successor, Barry Switzer, took that to an even higher level winning nearly 84% of his games with a record of 157-29-4. Switzer’s successor, Gary Gibbs, managed only 44 wins over the next six seasons going 44-23-2 from 1989-1994.

At Notre Dame, Ara Parseghian’s .836 winning percentage from 1964-1974 was followed by Dan Devine who produced a .764 winning percentage. Following Devine, who was under a hot seat following Parseghian until he won a national championship in 1977, proved too much for Gerry Faust. Faust’s 30-26-1 record just was not good enough for Notre Dame.

Then enters Lou Holtz, the last head coach to lead the Fighting Irish national championship in 1988, and his coaching record at Notre Dame was 100-30-2. Succeeding Holtz was Bob Davie and then Ty Willingham, and each had an identical .583 winning percentage in their short tenures as Notre Dame’s head coach.

Tom Osborne roamed the sidelines as Nebraska’s head coach for 25 years compiling a 255-49-3 record and a winning percentage of .836. Following the legendary Osborne would not be easy. Keep in mind that Osborne followed Bob Devaney who won national titles in 1970 and 1971 and had a 101-20-2 record in 11 seasons and a winning percentage of .829.

Osborne was succeeded by Frank Solich in 1998 and in six seasons Solich won 58 games losing only 19 for a .753 winning percentage and was fired by then Nebraska Athletic Director Steve Pederson. Pederson hired Bill Callahan and over the next four years, Nebraska went 27-22-0, which definitely did not sit well with Husker fans.

So perhaps more importantly than simply being the coach who follows the coach that replaced a coaching legend, it is more important to have the right coach for the job.

Nittany Lion and Trojan fans hope and believe they do.

John Baranowski is a Sports Historian and contributor to newspapers, sports publications and sports websites.

Premature Anticipation

Last week, we saw Sports Illustrated's Campus Union roll out their list of "100 things we’re most excited for in the 2014 college football season." From that, we found a new definition of Pitt football at #82. This week, they have finished off their list, and Penn State makes an appearance at lucky #13:

13. James Franklin’s impact at Penn State. Franklin redefined expectations during his three-year stay at Vanderbilt. Now, the Nittany Lions new coach has a chance to revitalize Happy Valley. The Langhorne, Pa., native has wasted no time making an impact: His 2015 recruiting class ranks second in the nation, according to Rivals.com. Better yet? Franklin inherits an ultra-talented quarterback in Christian Hackenberg and a trio of pass-catching tight ends in Jesse James, Kyle Carter and Adam Breneman.

I don't know about you, but the anticipation of this 2014 season is killing me!

Oasis on Ice

The 2014 Coaches Caravan kicked off at Pegula Ice Arena on May 1st.  

Yours truly was there.

I should have brought a stool or something to stand on!

I also ran into Carolyn Todd, another blogger.  She's a Penn State professor who has recently lost her husband to cancer.

And here I am taking a piece of coconut chicken.  My bowling buddies are at the table with me.

So what do I think?

I am really excited to get this season going.  The recruiting has been fun--still is--but it won't be anything compared to watching Coach Franklin lead his team onto the field September 6th in Beaver Stadium.

The main ceremony took place on a carpeted area on the ice rink.  

Franklin was joined by Russ Rose and Bob Warming.  Assistant coaches Brent Pry, Bob Shoop, Josh Gattis, and Charles Huff also mingled with the crowd of around 450 guests before hand.  Bob Shoop offered another buddy of mine and his son a chance to come to a practice sometime.  Coach Chambers was also there but did not speak in the main program.

Once again, Franklin got choked up talking about being the head coach of the Nittany Lions.  He has gotten choked up before.  Genuine emotion, or hamming it up for the crowd?  You decide.  I think it's for real, but I have been known to be wrong before.  It certainly sounds like this is his dream job.  

"For a lot of people, this is a job," Franklin said.  "This is personal for me.  This means the world to me.  For a guy growing up in the state of Pennsylvania to come back and be the head football coach at Penn State is unbelievably special."

"I love that the expectation here is for the head coach to be here for 80 years," Franklin joked.

And it was with a heavy heart, that I suddenly realized that I am probably older (and shorter) than all of the football coaches at Penn State now.  I've always been shorter.  I might have Spider Caldwell beat!

WE ARE . . . PENN STATE!

Tae Bo Tuesday

Bo Pelini, head coach at Nebraska, took his cat to their spring game. In and of itself, not a big deal. But he apparently took the cat through the tunnel onto the field and held Mr. Bigglesworth aloft.

Well, we can't pass up this opportunity, can we?



Separated at Birth?

RAFINI !



Or maybe this rings a familiar note . . .

Bo-feld                                                                 Blofeld

 

 

Feeling BLUE?

Blue dismantled White 37-0 before an announced crowd of 72,000 fans, who joined James Franklin in a WE ARE . . . PENN STATE cheer during the break between the first and second quarters.

In no particular order, are some random thoughts . . .

The weather was beautiful. It just can't get any better than that. It might have been too hot, but after the winter we've had, I am NOT complaining! Pass the lemonade!

Nice 409 memorial to Joe where his statue SHOULD be.

It looked better in person than with my crappy cell phone and pasting!

The numbers were created with blue pinwheels stuck in the ground. A sign offered fans to take one after the game--but not before, since they ARE NOT allowed in Beaver Stadium. Really? Seriously? Afraid of a drive-by pinwheeling? Since when do terrorists use pinwheels? This would appear to be some serious pinwheel profiling here, folks!

You don't realize how much you miss the video screen until it isn't there.

Can't we recruit better scoreboards????

Offense looked a little shaky. 3-0 after the first quarter. Only 17-0 at the half. Second half quarters were only 10 minutes with the clock kept running. Defense added a pick six and set up some short fields--four of the five turnovers were notched by blue jerseys. Is our defense that good or offense that shaky? Too early to tell.

Great trickeration with Geno Lewis throwing off a reverse to a wide open Zanellato for a score. Maybe the D ain't that good after all!

Hackenberg only played a couple of series early on. No other quarterback looked especially good in my humble opinion.

I like me some Cole Chiappialle! He looks like a midget, but even with a shaky line, seemed to pop open some good runs.

Awards--

Jim O'Hora Award: Defensive tackle Anthony Zettel
Red Worrell Award: Guard Brian Gaia
Frank Patrick Total Commitment Award: End Deion Barnes
Coaches Special Teams Award: Kicker Sam Ficken

Congratulations!

Only noticeable injury was Wendy Laurent (center). It just had to be a lineman, didn't it?

This may not be their year, but with Penn State riding the #1 recruiting class right now, the future looks bright.

And with a few schools still left to play spring games (notably Alabama and Michigan State), here are the rankings of attendance:

Team Day Attendance (Cost)

Penn State Saturday, 72,000 (free, plus free autograph session)

Tennessee Saturday 66,548 (free)

Nebraska Saturday 61,772 ($10)

Ohio State Saturday 61,058 ($5, price originally $20 and $12)

Florida State Saturday 36,500 (free)

Florida Saturday 35,834 ($5)

LSU April 5 18,565 (free)

Michigan April 5 15,000 (free)

Indiana Saturday 9,231 (free)

Maryland Friday 8,319 (free)

Wisconsin Saturday 8,204 ($5)

Purdue Saturday 7,175 (free)

Illinois Saturday 5,105 (free)

Minnesota Saturday 5,000 (free)

Northwestern Saturday N/A (free, no game, just open practice)

Nothing to be BLUE about!