WildCatastrophe

What in the name of sweet baby JoePa was that????!!!!!

Seriously.  What the [insert word] happened?

Granted, we knew this team had some issues.  The offensive line has been about as good as France when it comes to keeping the enemy out of its territory.  Christian Hackenberg vacillates from Heisman hopeful to blind man chucking acorns at a cat.  Our defense has traditionally (as in so far this season) started slow, allowing most opponents to score early on us or at least move the ball at will early, but has to date closed the door when the freaking door needed closing.  It seemed like they not only left the damned door open Saturday, but put up signs to show the way.

This was a team effort loss, that no missed pass interference penalty could hope to save.  Losing on Homecoming, 29-6?  To Northwestern?  Ugh!

Special teams were anything but special.  A blocked field goal and a long punt return to give the Wildcats a short field were glaringly obvious, but what went through Grant Haley's mind when he tried to run the ball deep out of our endzone on a couple of kick-offs.  This game could have been a lot worse if Northwestern hadn't kept trying to let us back into it, with missed field goals of their own and one decent punt return by Della Valle, and TWO-count em--PATs missed.  And they still won!

This is worse than a 63-14 loss to a top ranked team.  This was an unranked Northwestern team that although they played fired-up and inspired football against us, is a very pedestrian team.  They will be will be lucky to become bowl eligible (and we appear to be in that location as well.) This was a match-up of two mediocre teams and we outmediocred the competition.  There are no bowls for that kind of effort, unless you count your own toilet bowl.

I honestly thought this was going to be a breakout game.  I hedged my prediction, knowing that we had the aforementioned "issues," but I did not see this beat down coming.

I don't know where to begin to pick up the pieces.  Is it simply the sanctions?  Is it coaching?  I really like James Franklin.  I love his style; his energy.  I love his recruiting ability.  But some of his game time decisions leave me scratching my head, although I don't know for sure if he calls the offensive plays or not.  He is not coaching a group of athletes that he recruited, so we must temper that with our criticism.  Sanctions notwithstanding, he started from zero with this team.  But just because the sanctions have vanished in the future, does not change the effect they had on this team to date.

And you can't blame the coach for Hackenberg flat out missing a wide open Belton, or any other of the numerous really bad throws he had.  But one wonders why we didn't see Crook late in the game, when the chance of winning was really beyond what we had time left to do.  Speaking of which, why weren't we going no huddle in the fourth quarter?  We needed scores, and instead were throwing pick sixes and taking our good old time failing at this one.  I actually think Hack plays better in the hurry-up, pressure on, package--in general.

I'm not saying that Northwestern didn't play a good game--so if you are a Wildcat fan, don't get your panties all bunched up.  Ya done good.  Your coach was prepared for this game.  Ours was not, for whatever reason.  And maybe if you keep up that intensity week after week, you'll make me eat my words.  But until then . . .

I'm going to blame this on ourselves.  The only reason we're not 5-0 right now is because we did not execute, did not adapt during the game, failed to capitalize on our opponent's mistakes, and played some of the most uninspired football I have personally witnessed since we lost to Iowa 6-4.  And at least the defense played a great game then!

But this is not a sky is falling rant.  We have another very beatable opponent coming up in the form THEM.  They followed up their epic loss to Utah with an even more epic fail against Minnesota.  Unfortunately, I think we could still outmediocre them as well, but at least we have an extra week to teach blocking, tackling, and kicking.

BY THE NUMBERS:

Per GoPSUsports:

Team Statistics

Team Totals	NU	PSU
FIRST DOWNS	17	14
Rushing	3	3
Passing	14	9
Penalty	0	2
NET YARDS RUSHING	103	50
Rushing Attempts	38	25
Average Per Rush	2.7	2.0
Rushing Touchdowns	3	0
Yards Gained Rushing	121	79
Yards Lost Rushing	18	29
NET YARDS PASSING	258	216
Completions-Attempts-Int	21-37-1	22-46-1
Average Per Attempt	7.0	4.7
Average Per Completion	12.3	9.8
Passing Touchdowns	0	0
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS	361	266
Total offense plays	75	71
Average Gain Per Play	4.8	3.7
Fumbles: Number-Lost	0-0	1-1
Penalties: Number-Yards	8-75	4-35
PUNTS-YARDS	6-223	7-250
Average Yards Per Punt	37.2	35.7
Net Yards Per Punt	26.7	29.7
Inside 20	0	0
50+ Yards	0	1
Touchbacks	1	0
Fair catch	0	4
KICKOFFS-YARDS	6-384	3-191
Average Yards Per Kickoff	64.0	63.7
Net Yards Per Kickoff	44.5	36.7
Touchbacks	2	1
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD	1-42-0	2-43-0
Average Per Return	42.0	21.5
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD	2-56-0	4-67-0
Average Per Return	28.0	16.8
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD	1-49-1	1-2-0
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD	0-0-0	0-0-0
Miscellaneous Yards	-20	0
Possession Time	30:23	29:37
1st Quarter	8:58	6:02
2nd Quarter	5:46	9:14
3rd Quarter	5:52	9:08
4th Quarter	9:47	5:13
Third-Down Conversions	7 of 17	3 of 17
Fourth-Down Conversions	0 of 2	1 of 4
Red-Zone Scores-Chances	4-6	1-2
Touchdowns	3-6	0-2
Field goals	1-6	1-2
Sacks By: Number-Yards	4-20	1-13
PAT Kicks	2-4	0-0
Field Goals	1-2	2-3
Points off turnovers	18	0

Pick a number--any number.  It's bad. I wouldn't even know where to begin.  Oh, we were okay in time of possession!  And we actually held the Wildcats to around a 100 yards rushing.

INTANGIBLES:

The Drum Major stuck both flips, so we got that going for us.

The weather was perfect.

The Alumni Band performed--great to see the combined units playing together!

This is Franklin's first loss.

PSU still owns the all-time record at 13-4.

And just what the hell is with the traffic going through Toftrees???!!!  What a clusterf*ck!  Been going that way for 14 years.  Traffic usually doesn't back up until you go under the 322 underpass going up Fox Hollow Road.  Took me a goddamned hour from getting off the exit on 322 until we got to our parking spot (bumper to bumper from the first golf cart crossing!)  I shouldn't have to leave Altoona earlier than 8 am for a freaking noon game.

The traffic at Toftrees . . .

THE BIG (TEN) PICTURE:

The Buckeyes struggled early but pulled away from Cincinnati, 50-28.

Likewise, Wisconsin started slow, but beat South Florida 27-10.

MSU soundly defeated Wyoming 56-14.

Rutgers defeated Tulane 31-6.

In conference action . . .

THEM lost to Minnesota 30-14.

Nebraska crushed the Illini 45-14.

Maryland defeated Indiana 37-15.

Purdue Outmediocred Iowa, losing 24-10.

SHEDDING TEARS:

1.  For the Penn State Alumni--at least the tailgate weather was nice.
2.  For Pitt--losers to Akron 21-10.  Hey, didn't we beat Akron???
3.  Arkansas--lost to 6th ranked Aggies in OT
4.  UMass--lost 47-42 to Bowling Green to go 0-5.
5.  New Mexico State--lost 63-7 to LSU

LOOKING AHEAD:

Bye week.  We're not looking any further than that.

Foe Pause: Catfight Edition

The Northwestern Wildcan'ts are coming to Beaver Stadium, assuming that their flight wasn't cancelled in Chicago.  If it isn't a volcano, it's a fire at a radar facility.

Northwestern is an unimpressive 2-3, but there are those that would argue Penn State's 4-0 record is equally without awe.  I don't know about you, but wins and undefeatedness trumps any lame attempt to compare Cal to Rutgers or Northern Illinois to UCF.

The betting line is 10.5 in favor of the home team.

Penn State pwns the all-time record between these academic institutions with a 13-3 advantage.  (This is obviously a rivalry game!)  It is HOMECOMING for the PSU faithful.  The Lions are 4-0 and looking to take one more step closer to bowl eligibility.

So it doesn't really matter if the Wildcat's show up?  Well, I wouldn't go that far.  Our offensive line still has some proving to do.  Our running game, which hinges on the aforementioned offensive line and its success therein, has yet to prove consistency (other than being consistently non-existent.)  Hack might have a great day.  He might not.  We won't know until about 12:15 tomorrow, or maybe not even until the fourth quarter, say 2:45 give a timeout or two.

The last game versus the men in purple was in Bill O'Brien's first year.  It was also homecoming.  The Lion's trailed by 11 at one point, but scored 22 unanswered points, including a two-point conversion, to win 39-28 in the fourth quarter.  Interestingly, the Wildcan'ts were 5-0 that season going into this game.  It is also the game where Pat Fitzgerald, in a decidedly un-Fitzgerald like moment, mocked Bill O'Brien who was chewing out the refs over a bad PI call, while assistant coaches and players taunted the Beaver Stadium crowd who were cheering The Chin's assault on the myopic refs.  It was not their finest moment, nor their finest game--the Wildcan'ts that is.

So what do we know of this foe?

That just about says it all.

Northwestern is a private institution of higher learning in Evanston, Ill.  Now we could argue until we're purple in the face as to whether it was smart to build anything in Evanston, but it really won't get us anywhere, especially if the planes are still grounded at O'Hare.

Most learned people would agree, that northwestern is a compass direction, not a school.  Compasses were around before colleges.  Just sayin . . .

Their school motto is: Quaecumque sunt vera   which means something in Latin.  (I think it might mean compass for a school.)  They say it means "whatsoever things are true," but who really knows, since Latin hasn't been used as a legitimate language since the Roman Empire.  Worked out well for them, didn't it?

Among their many famous Alumni, is Charlton Heston.  Can any one forget this scene:

In the Big Ten this week:

Michigan State takes on Wyoming.  GO SPARTANS!

THEM opens as an 8.5 point favorite over the gophers.  GO MINNESOTA!  (even though a win by THEM helps our strength of schedule.  I'd also rather the wolverines not have any confidence coming into our match-up if its all the same to you.)

The Hoosiers, coming off an upset of Missouri, are favored by 3 over the Terps.  GO INDIANA!

The Badgers are 33 point favorites over South Florida.  Guess we'll root for Bucky this time!

Rutgers hosts Tulane and is favored by 11.5 points.  Don't like Rutgers, but strength of schedule, baby!  GO KNIGHTS!

Iowa is favored by 13.5 over Purdue.  We don't play either one.  Flip a coin and root for whomever you wish!

The Buckeyes square off against Cincinnati.  GO BEARCATS!  (We screw the strength of schedule argument if it means seeing Urban Meyer lose.  That's priceless.)

The Huskers over the Illini.  GO BIG RED!

In games featuring past opponents:

UMass looks for their first win against Bowling Green.  GO MINUTEMEN!

Akron is a 17.5 point underdog to the panthers.  GO ZIPS!

Prediction:

Penn State wins, 24-10.

GO STATE!  BEAT CATS!

Purple Slain

Words will fail me. 

In the great, grand scheme of things, this game was fairly meaningless.  Penn State is not playing for a national championship.  They're not playing for a conference title.  There is no bowl game on the horizon.  Virginia lost today, but no one really cares about our strength of schedule.  Northwestern cared; they were ranked and 5-0.  Key word there is were.

But to the people that still care about Penn State football . . .  the players, their coaches, the alumni and all the loyal fans . . . this was an amazingly emotional and gratifying win.  It can't compare to games like the 1987 Fiesta Bowl, the 1983 Sugar Bowl, the 48-14 thumping of #1 Pitt, or the 2005 victory over Ohio State, to name a few, but make no mistake about it, this was a special win.

It almost brought tears to my eyes, and it did bring a lump in my throat.  I am losing my voice from yelling.

Even if I could speak, words would fail me.

Make no mistake about it, what started as a wet, overcast day, got more raw and cold as the crowd watched Alex Butterworth uncork a 54 yard punt (and really, let's be honest here, we were just ecstatic that he didn't shank it again) that would then be returned 75 yards to put the boys in purple up 28-17 with less than a minute to go in the third quarter.  Things looked bleak, indeed.

But then a funny thing happened on the way to an imminent loss.  McGloin took control of his team, and Penn State needed him to step up.  He wasn't helped by four or five drops by his receivers, nor his less than laser sharp throws in the game to this point.  The sharks were circling and he was bleeding in the water.

But he capped off an 18 play, 82 yard drive with an 8 yard strike to his favorite target, Allen Robinson.  And then O'Brien opted to go for the two point conversion.  Certainly, this makes a lot of sense because a field goal will tie the game if you are successful.  But that assumes we can kick another field goal, and if Northwestern holds, you are four points down and forced to score 6, since two safeties would be a ridiculous extrapolation of this thought process.

Penn State converted the two point conversion and you could feel the emotion shift in the stadium.  Although the stadium was no where near capacity, it was perhaps as loud as it has ever been as Northwestern was humbled by the Penn State defense into a three and out.

This was a team on a mission, and it was a team effort.

Under a punishing rush attack by Zach Zwinak ("Z Rally Wheels!"), McGloin led this team on an 85 yard, 15 play drive capped off by his own scamper into the corner of the south endzone to put the Lions on top 32-28.  Unfortunately for us, there was still 2:37 on the clock.

But before the thundering crowd, the defense rose to the occasion like the sun rising over this game as it emerged from the darkness like a phoenix born again from ashes.  Northwestern turned the ball over on four downs, leaving 1:48 on the clock. 

All Penn State had to do was run out the clock, and run they did.  Northwestern held on first down and then called a time out.  They had enough time outs to possibly get the ball back and threaten to ruin this day once again, but the football Gods were angered by this impudence, and Zordich broke the line of scrimmage to the left on the next play, bouncing it outside and up the sideline to the three yard line.  Zordich then scored on the next play, and a Sam Ficken who was perfect on the day gave the final score of 39-28 and finished a 22 point turn around in the fourth quarter.

Yet, the purple monster wouldn't die.  Northwestern managed a single first down (the only one of the fourth quarter for the Wildcats,) before Gerald Hodges said no more of this, knocking the ball on the turf so that Da'Quan Davis could recover it.  Game.  Set.  Match.

McGloin took a knee and sprinted across the field to shake hands with Pat Fitzgerald.

Ohio State players may not want to go to class, but Penn State players are all class.

Congratulations, Nittany Lions.  And thanks for a great game!

BY THE NUMBERS:

A week after the Wildcats gained 700 yards against Indiana, Penn State held them to 247, well below their season average.  PSU amassed 443 yards with 161 on the ground and controlled time of possession 39:17 to 20:43.  Northwestern had the ball on 3:15 in the fourth quarter, and gained only 26 yards in the final 16 minutes of play.

Penn State had only three penalties, one of which was a befuddling phantom PI that kept a Wildcat drive alive for a TD, brought boos from the crowd, and brought O'Brien out on the field in righteous indignation.  His fire ignited the team though, and may have been crucial spark to the offensive explosion that Penn State produced in the final quarter.

Northwestern's best plays were the phantom PI and the muffed punt by PSU.

INTANGIBLES:

The Blue Band Drum Major stuck both flips and the Alumni Band performed for the 50th straight year.

Penn State won the toss and took the ball first.

The listed crowd of 95,769 looked much less than that.  What is wrong with everyone?  This is an exciting team that is FUN TO WATCH.  You want to be dissatisfied with the BOT and administration, so be it.  But get your ass in that stadium and cheer on these young men.  Although it took until the second quarter, the students finally managed to make it to the game.  We need to step up for O'Brien, Mauti, McGloin and all the rest.  JUST.  DO.  IT.

THE BIG (TEN) PICTURE:

The Spartans were almost but not quite upset by the pesky Hoosiers.  Sparty prevailed 31-27, scoring two TDs in the fourth.

THEM dominated Purdue 44-13.

Urban Meyer won his second Big Ten game, pasting Nebraska 63-38.  But then, the Buckeyes did go there to play football, not to go to classes.

Illinois tussled with Wisconsin, but came up short, losing 31-14.

SHEDDING TEARS:

1.  F$U--beaten by the Wolfpack 17-16 late in the game.
2.  Pitt--lost to Syracuse 17-16 in that coveted Friday night spot.
3.  Irish fans who had to see those God awful helmets with the split personality.  Seriously, is there a prize for the team that comes up with the worst uniforms????
4.  Texas--lost to West Virginia 48-45 with Fera missing a field goal.  Schadenfreude.
5.  LSU--swamped by Florida 14-6.  Twenty points in the SEC?  And the lowest scoring Big Ten game featured 45 points this weekend, with one game over a 100!
6.  Georgia--romped by South Carolina 35-7. 

LOOKING AHEAD:

Penn State has a bye week next week before heading to Iowa.

Weekly Game Guide: Northwestern GPS Edition

It's Friday night. The bands are playing. The teams are playing. The crowds are cheering. There's nothing like high school football!

Pitt's playing too, and the crowd in the Carrier Dome won't be cheering for them.  The panthers are a 3 point favorite.  And Friday night is their night.  The great thing about playing for Pitt is that you always get to watch football on Saturday!  GO ORANGE!

Penn State remains about a 3.5 point favorite at home over ranked Northwestern.

Just what is Northwestern northwestern of?  Seattle is northwestern.  For an academic institution, you would expect better directions.

Northwestern . . .of Cincinnati?

The people in purple apparently had a quaint tradition of dumping the goal posts into Lake Michigan following a win.  According to the Urban Dictionary:

Lake the Post
	At Northwestern University, it refers to old tradition of dragging the field goal posts from the football field to Lake Michigan in order to dump them. This happened in the period of time when NU had one of the worst football teams in the nation, and laking the posts was done during the occasional victory or notable defeat.

Apparently "lake" can be used as a verb. I did not know that.  And why one would want to pollute a lake in this manner, one can only guess.  But Northwestern is known for their geniuses--they are the Michigan of Chicago, the Michicago--so the event must be something special.

I hope they have a notable defeat this Saturday.  It will be fun to see them drag those goalposts across the country to Lake Michigan.  They may have to settle for Lake Raystown, though.  Or they might just skip it altogether, and no one would notice.  GO STATE!  BEAT WILDCATS!

Ross Went to Northwestern.  Rachel went . . . elsewhere.

IN THE BIG TEN:

The Spartans are 14.5 point favorites at Indiana.  What the heck!  Let's root for the Hoosiers.  Sooner or later they are going to beat a Big Ten team, and I'd just as soon it not be us.  Michigan State's season has already descended into Greek purgatory.  GO HOOSIERS!

Denard Robinson takes on the Boilermakers at Purdue.  He's favored by 3.  No brainer here.  GO BOILERS!

The Badgers try to rebound from wearing ugly uniforms last week to play at Illinois.  Bucky is favored by 14.5.  We still don't like Beckman and his merry band of recruiters.  GO BADGERS!


Julia Louis-Dreyfus learned to dance
. . . at Northwestern!

The Big Bad Buckeyes are 5 point favorites over Nebraska in Columbus.  I'll have to give this some thou . .. GO HUSKERS!

MINNESOTA and IOWA are off.  Well, we all knew that.  But they're not playing football this weekend either.  Maybe practicing.  Didn't they play each other last week?  Now they are off.  Together.  This is more than a little suspicious.  I think they're fooling around.  Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

Previous Opponents:

Ohio is a 16 point home favorite over Buffalo.  GO BOBCATS!

Navy is a 10 point dog to the Air Force.  GO NAVY!

I didn't see a line for Duke hosting Virginia.  GO CAVS!

South Florida is a 5 point favorite over the Temple Owls.  GO HOOTERS!

Jerry Springer went to Northwestern
. . .  and he's still smiling!

Around the Nation:

USC beat Utah last night, but the Utes scared them a bit, jumping out ot a 14 point lead.  The prophylactics won 38-28.  Did you know if you rearrange the letters S-I-L-A-S-R-E-D-D, it also spells Ass Riddle?  Or Reads Lids?  Sad Slider?  Dried Lass?  But I digress.

LSU is favored by 3 over Florida.  GO GATORS!

The Irish are 13 point favorites over Miami (FL).  The game is in Chicago.  Go figure.  GO CANES!

Oklahoma is a 4.5 point fave over Texas Tech.  GO RED RAIDERS!

Texas is a 6.5 point favorite over the Mountaineers.  I can't believe I'm typing this, but., GO WVU!

The pro team in Tuscaloosa is off this week.

The Wreck of the Pat Fitzgerald

No one had Northwestern penciled in for Big Ten Champion.  No one was talking about them as a dark horse to win the conference.  Lindy's preseason magazine picked them 5th in the Legends Division, ahead of Minnesota but behind everyone else.  After seven games, guess what? Lindy's was wrong.  They are behind Minnesota who only has 3 conference losses. They are tied with Indiana.

Yet, the talking heads insisted on putting Penn State on upset alert.  It seemed as if everyone they interviewed or asked was picking Northwestern.  If given the chance, even Clucko the Chicken would have picked Northwestern.  Richard Nixon, if he were still alive, would have picked Northwestern.

Why?  Were the Wildcats suddenly going to find a defense?  Was this a case of mass dyslexia, and everyone thought they were really 4-2 instead of 2-4?

Granted, Penn State has been anything but consistent this year, but SERIOUSLY??!!  SERIOUSLY!!

Is this how far this program has fallen that a game against a team like Northwestern, who won't even sniff a top 25 ranking and will now not likely even sniff a bowl game, is the media favorite to beat a Penn State team that, despite all it's warts, is putting on its best face in this BCS beauty pageant with a 6-1, now a 7-1, showing?

Where was the karma?  Penn State beat Northwestern for Joe's 323rd win to tie Bear Bryant.  PSU came from behind last year to beat the Wildcats for Joe's 400th win.  Is it not fitting that the Lions should beat Northwestern for Joe's next milestone, win #408 that ties Eddie Robinson???

And with only a four point spread, against a team with one of the worst defenses in the conference, this was a game that screamed break-out for Penn State, not TRAP.

And while the final score, 34-24, does not scream break out either, consider this: Penn State was able to put 34 points on the board and not many of the so-called experts would have predicted that.  Even while Penn State was matching NU point for point in the first half, the dimwits on TV were talking about how Penn State could not win a shoot-out against the Wildcats.  What?  Huh?  Was that pre-recorded and they weren't even watching what was going on down on the field?

Silas Redd amassed 164 yards on 18 carries.  Penn State turned the ball over just once, on the opening kick-off, and Matt McGloin was not interecepted.  Holy McWow Batman!

Unfortunately, for Penn State, this really was just Northwestern.  The experts had it all wrong.  This wasn't an upset waiting to happen--that happened in East Lansing.  (Michigan State beat the badgers last season, like they couldn't see this one coming!  They were too busy alerting the nation that Penn State might lose.)  We'll gloat about that below.  In the end, the Wildcats are a pedestrian team that will be fortunate not to end up at the bottom of the Big Ten.  Thankfully, they will play both Indiana and Minnesota, so they probably will win a couple of conference games.

But I have come to the acceptance that this Penn State team is just a scrappy, reckless group of underachievers who just don't know how good they could be.  The play calling I thought was better this week, except for the ill-timed call on third and short when we decide to pass and McGloin gets sacked for about half the field behind the line of scrimmage.  Come on!  We were running the ball down their throats.  Clucko could have made a better play call on that one!  It was reminiscent of the almost-comeback in East Lansing where we ran the ball down the field, only to inexplicably throw four incomplete passes to lose the game.  You're not trying to score in this situation.  Run the damned ball.

We play pretty much to the level of our competition, Alabama notwithstanding.  Have you seen what Alabama is doing to opponents?  That loss is no shame.  I just wish we had gotten the right call on that fake field goal.  Might not have changed the outcome, but it certainly would have made things interesting.

And we are not the only team with problems, as evidenced by Northwestern's insistence to run a two quarterback system.  At least in their system, each QB brings a different style to the game, but the changing of quarterbacks seems so random.  Fitzgerald changed QB's more than Kristina Helfer changed partners.  And I don't think Pat had as much fun doing it!

All the talk about Penn State losing riled up Silas Redd:

Redd had tweeted earlier in the day that he was motivated by everyone on ESPN's "College GameDay" picking Northwestern to win the game.

"It hurt because we're ranked and we beat Northwestern the past four years," Redd said. "We wanted to shut those guys up, and we did that today."

Maybe we should get him riled up more often!

Earlier this week, Arizona dismantled UCLA.  One poster quipped that we could drop Neuheisal off the list of Paterno replacments.  Can we now cross off Pat Fitzgerald?  It's curious that a former QB, albeit from a different era of football, has built his coaching career on defense, while a former linebacker can't field a team with a good defense.  Northwestern is one defense away from being scary good.

BY THE NUMBERS:

From the GoPSUsports site:

Team Totals	PSU	NU
FIRST DOWNS	20	23
Rushing	12	8
Passing	8	14
Penalty	0	1
NET YARDS RUSHING	189	94
Rushing Attempts	38	37
Average Per Rush	5	2.5
Rushing Touchdowns	2	2
Yards Gained Rushing	225	161
Yards Lost Rushing	36	67
NET YARDS PASSING	192	312
Completions-Attempts-Int	17-27-0	28-39-1
Average Per Attempt	7.1	8
Average Per Completion	11.3	11.1
Passing Touchdowns	2	1
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS	381	406
Total offense plays	65	76
Average Gain Per Play	5.9	5.3
Fumbles: Number-Lost	3-1	0-0
Penalties: Number-Yards	4-38	3-20
PUNTS-YARDS	4-158	5-188
Average Yards Per Punt	39.5	37.6
Net Yards Per Punt	34.5	29.6
Inside 20	1	1
50+ Yards	1	0
Touchbacks	1	2
Fair catch	2	2
KICKOFFS-YARDS	7-470	5-322
Average Yards Per Kickoff	67.1	64.4
Net Yards Per Kickoff	48.4	36.4
Touchbacks	3	0
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD	1-0-0	0-0-0
Average Per Return	0	0
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD	5-140-0	4-71-0
Average Per Return	28	17.8
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD	1-63-0	0-0-0
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD	0-0-0	0-0-0
Miscellaneous Yards	0	0
Possession Time	27:36	32:24
1st Quarter	5:42	9:18
2nd Quarter	7:56	7:04
3rd Quarter	5:33	9:27
4th Quarter	8:25	6:35
Third-Down Conversions	5 of 13	7 of 15
Fourth-Down Conversions	1 of 1	1 of 2
Red-Zone Scores-Chances	5-6	4-5
Touchdowns	3-6	3-5
Field goals	2-6	1-5
Sacks By: Number-Yards	7-64	1-20
PAT Kicks	4-4	3-3
Field Goals	2-2	1-1

Time of possession is skewed this week, since two of Penn State's "drives" lasted six seconds (one pass McGloin to Devon Smith) and five seconds (one play run by Redd after the INT return by Hodges.)  Also, given that Northwestern is a dink and dunk ball control type of team, I think Penn State held their own in this category all things considered.

A more telling statistic is the ZERO points allowed by the defense in the second half.

Maybe I'm drinking way too much Kool Aid, and maybe I'm putting way too much faith back in the coaching staff, but I really get the sense that things are starting to come together.  The offensive line is doing it's job.  The running game is looking good, albeit against questionable defenses.  The kicking game is solid--we couldn't say that after the first few games.  And our future opponents are all looking mortal instead of invincible. 

Gotta love the seven sacks.  Twice in the game, the defense rose up with back-to-back sacks to end Northwestern drives.

INTANGIBLES:

Northwestern won the toss and deferred.  They still got the opening possession after the fumble by Powell.  Still didn't help them win, though.

JoePa sits at 408 wins, with a good chance to move past Eddie Robinson next week.

Northwestern passes Bowling Green on the list of JoePa milestones.  BG was the victim for wins 200 and 300, while Northwestern has now been part of win #323, win #400 and win #408.

The all-time series favors Penn State 12-3.

Attendance at the game was listed at 40,004.

THE BIG (TEN) PICTURE:

Well, well, well.  What a difference a week makes.  Penn State now stands alone in the LEADERS division.  The Spartans are king of the LEGENDS.

Sparty beat the Badgers on the final play of the game.  MSU had a 14 point lead in the fourth, that the Badgers were able to overcome for a tie.  With 51 seconds left, Sparty took over but came up short of field goal range with 4 ticks left on the clock.  Cousins threw a Hail Mary pass that was batted around and then caught by a MSU receiver at the goal line.  The call on the field was no TD--time for OT.  But on further review, the ruling was overturned as the ball had broken the plane.  TD MSU.  Good bye Badgers.  Final Score:  37-31.

Purdue upset Illinois 21-14.  The Illini offense is struggling.  I don't see that changing next week.

Nebraska mirrored Minnesota 41-14.

Iowa took care of business against the Hoosiers, 45-24.

SHEDDING TEARS:

1.  Wisconsin--bet Bret Bielema wishes he had some of those points from the games he ran the score up.
2.  Notre Lame -- do they have enough losses to be eliminated from a BCS Bowl yet?
3.  West by God Virginia-- lost to Syracuse 49-23.  Will there be any Big Least teams ranked this week?
4.  Washington--crushed 65-21 by Stanford
5.  Georgia Tech--humbled by Miami (FL) 24-7
6.  Boise State--may lose style points after 33-26 win over Air Force
7.  Oklahoma--TECH that!  Lost to Texas Tech 41-38 in a lightning delayed game.  Don't you mess with Mother Nature!

LOOKING AHEAD:

The Illini come to Beaver Stadium next week. 

Illinois season to date looks like this:

W  Arknasas State 33-15
W  South Dakota State 56-3
W  Arizona State 17-14
W  Western Michigan 23-20
W  Northwestern 38-35
W  Indiana 41-20
L   Ohio State 7-17
L   Purdue 14-21

The only "quality win" is a 3 point victory over 5-2 Arizona State who was taken to OT by Missouri and was taken behind the woodshed by Oregon.

Illinois was the 7th most difficult game on our schedule on my pre-season countdown.

Basically, I don't see Illinois being a more formidable foe than Iowa, Alabama, Ohio State, Nebraska, or Wisconsin. The only other team to be ranked yet is Northwestern, and quite frankly, that game is on the road and I fear Pat Fitzgerald more than Ron Zook. And perhaps that, in the end, is the reason that Northwestern went higher in the draft than Illinois.


Prediction: I may be drinking the Kool Aid here, but I do think we will be improved from last season. I am not as optimistic for Illinois as their fans may be. I call this a close win by Penn State, maybe one of those where we kick a field goal late in the game and hope that Illinois doesn't pull a 1999 Minnesota or a 2005 THEM miracle out in the end.

I haven't posted a final season prediction, but I'm leaning towards 8-4. I could be talked into 10-2. Either way, I think Penn State needs to win this game to achieve that level of success.

 I think it will be a close game, but Penn State wins with defense at home.

408 . . . FEELS GREAT!

Penn State defeats Northwestern 34-24 to give Joe Paterno win #408, now in a tie with Eddie Robinson on the all-time list.

Gerald Hodges had a monster of a game.

Silas Redd ran amok.

Full recap to follow later!

Statistically Speaking: Wildcat Edition

Here are the stats for Penn State and Northwestern from the NCAA site:

NCAA Stats Comparison
Category:	Penn St.	Northwestern	Delta
Rushing	52	40	-12
Passing Offense	81	68	-13
Total Offense	78	52	-26
Scoring Offense	96	62	-34
Rushing Defense	22	76	54
Turnovers Gained	10	50	40
Passes Had Intercepted	64	8	-56
Pass Defense	7	99	92
Net Punting	95	94	-1
Punt Returns	75	13	-62
Kickoff Returns	32	68	36
Turnover Margin	20	17	-3
Fumbles Recovered	33	67	34
Passes Intercepted	7	37	30
Fumbles Lost	70	14	-56
Turnovers Lost	70	6	-64
Passing Efficiency	102	36	-66
Pass Efficiency Defense	3	108	105
Total Defense	6	101	95
Scoring Defense	6	88	82
Fewest Penalties Per Game	33	28	-5
Fewest Yards Penalized Per Game	37	28	-9
Punt Return Yardage Defense	65	6	-59
Kickoff Return Yardage Defense	85	12	-73
Offense Third-down Efficiency	73	20	-53
Offense Fourth-down Efficiency	5	102	97
Defense Third-down Efficiency	32	114	82
Defense Fourth-down Efficiency	87	97	10
Tackles for Loss	32	96	64
Offense Tackles for Loss	6	94	88
Pass Sacks	48	77	29
Pass Sacks Allowed	18	102	84
Time of Possession	27	73	46
First Downs	74	29	-45
First Downs Allowed	7	61	54
Red Zone Efficiency	91	91	0
Red Zone Efficiency - Defense	119	60	-59
Average NCAA Rank:	47.78	59.3	11.52
Weighted Avg. Rank:	47.33	70.08	22.75

Unlike Purdue last week, whose weighted stats were considerably better than the straight up average, Northwestern is actually worse when key stats are weighted.

In the offensive categories, NW is ranked on average 21.25 spots better than PSU.

In the defensive categories of rushing, pass, pass efficiency, scoring and total defense, Penn State is ranked on average 85.6 spots BETTER than the Wildcats.

Neither team performs well in the red zone.  If it weren't so sad I'd be laughing.  And as good as our defense is, our red zone defense is tied for last in the country.  It's like the goal line is some weird electromagnetic force that creates havoc whenever our players get near it, whether they are on offense or defense.  It's creepy really.

But on the bright side, they can't get any worse and there's only one way to go from here.

My preseason countdown had this game ranked as our 6th most difficult game.  Illinois was #7 and Iowa was #5.  Here was my prediction:

I think Penn State will be 6-1 going into this game and building momentum. I look for a shaky start, a solid third quarter and pulling away with a win by at least 10 points. Don't ask me why. It's just a feeling I have. It might be gas.

I may be a fool, but I'm standing by that prediction, even though the line has us favored by 4.  The best thing for a struggling offense is to face a struggling defense.

Behind Enemy Lines: Wildcat Edition

Northwestern is an unknown commodity.  When I was younger--and before Penn State joined the Big Ten--Northwestern was the doormat of the league.  Perhaps of the nation.  They were smart, but they couldn't play football worth a damn.

Should people in Glass Beaver Stadiums throw stones?

Ara Parseghian once coached at Northwestern.  That was BEFORE my time.  And even with a notable coach like Ara (of Notre Dame fame for the youngsters) the Wildcats only went 36-35-1.

But after Penn State joined the Big Ten, Northwestern underwent a metamorphosis that Indiana can only dream of.  Gary Barnett took over in 1995 and promptly beat Penn State 21-10 en route to their first Big Ten championship since 1936.  Their defense was led by a young man named Pat Fitzgerald.

And while Northwestern today is not what you would call a powerhouse by any stroke of the imagination, they are playing decent football (is 2-4 really decent?) behind a QB named Persa.  But Fitzgerald is now on the sideline coaching, and they really need someone like him on the field playing defense, as this Northwestern team seems prone to late game collapses.  Iowa scored 24 points in the fourth quarter last week to win by 10.

One way to get a feel for another team is to see what their fans are saying.  That is not to say that we fans are experts but you must admit the scuttlebutt in Nittany Nation would have one thinking we were 1-6 instead of 6-1.  If nothing else, it has its entertainment value.

There is actually a Northwestern Blog--Lake The Posts, "serving a daily dose of Wildcataganda since 2007."  That's four years of Wildcataganda!  And that's way better than Wild Scat!

Here are some tidbits from the past weekend:

If you think it is tough as a fan to let go of the extreme disappointment of this season, put yourself in my shoes. A week’s worth of posts lay in front of us and our match-up with Top 25 Penn State.  You want to see a real defense, well you’ll get to see it up close and personal next Saturday.

It truly is freaky. If you look at the box score you’d have to guess NU would win this by at least 14 points. 29 first downs, 495 yards of offense, Army-like domination of TOP.  However, the one “how can you possibly lose with THIS stat?” stat is NU’s ridiculous third down conversions against Iowa. NU went 16-22 on the night which was one week after our “D” got torched to the almost exact same percentage by Michigan and we all held it up as THE stat of the game.

Iowa’s Defensive Gameplan
Give credit where credit is due. Norm Parker chose to force NU to dink and dunk and let us have whatever we wanted in short yardage situation. He banked on his defense being able to do what so many “D’s” do against us and capitalize on keeping us out of the end zone in red zone situations. Iowa had great deep ball coverage forcing Persa to tuck and run on several occasions and in several instances hold on the ball too long.

The Penn State defense is the paradigm for the bend but don't break defense, which allows teams to dink and dunk their way down the field.  Look for the same this weekend.

QB Shuffle  – I loathe rotating QBs. I really do. I’ve just never been a fan as I’m hard-pressed to find successful teams that have done this. If you say “Penn State” I’m going to say “hah!” as they prove my point. They are winning DESPITE the QB rotation and winning based on their stellar defensive play and the re-emergence of Silas Redd at RB.

What is football's fascination with shuffling quarterbacks?  Temple did it.  Iowa did it.  Purdue did it last weekend.  Now Northwestern.  Is it possible that Jay Paterno is mainstream after all?  Say it ain't so, Joe!

THE DISAPPOINTING
Secondary - James Vandenberg’s stat line looks rather pedestrian – 14/22, 224 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT. Yet, 92 of those yards came on absolutely ridiculously blown coverages by Northwestern. Keenan Davis torched Demetrius Dugar for a 47 yard TD and Marvin McNutt embarrassed the NU defense on a 35-yard TD that once again exploited a miscommunication of our secondary. Offensive coordinators are feasting on the deep ball as the worst kept secret – NU gets confused on the deep patterns – is out. Illinois, Michigan and Iowa have all exploited it and “we made a couple of bad plays” is no longer acceptable. The damning part of this was the inexcusable postgame revelation by Pat Fitzgerald that our secondary is coming off the field confused about which coverage we were supposed to be in. What?!!! We’re midway through the season and compound the very same mistakes that have cost us the previous week and haven’t corrected a COMMUNICATION issue? It’s one thing to get beat on an athletic play. It’s another to simply not be even in the same area code of receivers based on confusion of what coverage we are supposed to be in.

You know, if you change some names, and talk about offense instead of defense, this rant could very well be found on any Penn State message board bitching about our offense and its coaches.  He further writes:

I think I speak for most of us when the tide has turned from faith in the coaches actually making these changes happen has worn thin. When you can recite the postgame press conference and it is the same broken record of the coaches accepting responsibility, at some point you need to look within and really perhaps change the ones responsible.

At least Fitzgerald has admitted that things are unacceptable.  Some coaches still insist that everything is just Peachy Paterno.

It appears the big difference between NW and PSU is our defense.  We don't expect a fourth quarter collapse.  But Northwestern was 3-5 in the red zone against Iowa and Persa threw a pick six that really swung momentum away from the Cats early in the game and put them in a hole they were never able to claw back out of.

So do we hope McGloin does a good impersonation of Persa or not?  Which team will switch quarterbacks more?

Pre-Season Countdown: #6

The sixth most difficult game on the schedule this season is . . .

NORTHWESTERN.

This game is sandwiched between home games with Purdue and Illinois. 

The Wildcats return a remarkable 17 starters, with an offense almost completely intact.  The Prince of Persa returns as starting quarterback.

Last season, Penn State fell behind by 21 points in the first half, only to roar back to a 35-21 victory that gave Joe Paterno win #400.  Interestingly, Penn State has a pretty good chance of going into this game 6-1 (with a loss to Bama) which would put Paterno at 407 victories.  A win against the Wildcats would tie Eddie Robinson's record at Grambling.  IF--and its an if the size of an elephant--Penn State rolls into Evanston undefeated, it would be a chance to break that record.  Either way, there may be some historical excitement accompanying this game again.

I'm surprised that Northwestern doesn't have a better defense.  They ranked 97th in the country last year and will lose three of their front seven.  I'm surprised, of course, since Fitzgerald was a tenacious linebacker.  Maybe I expect too much.

But Northwestern always seems to be one of those opponents dubbed as a trap game for some reason.  In fact, this idiosyncrasy made it into a top five list of potential message board meltdowns this season:

5. The Northwestern Trap Game – I love this argument because this year it can actually happen. If this were to happen, all of the previous meltdowns would merge into one massive meltdown where... I don't even want to think about this one...

Obviously, Northwestern has that capability to come up with a marquee win now and then.  They knocked off Iowa last year the week after blowing a three touchdown lead to Penn State.  Then they lost to Illinois and followed up with a blowout loss to the badgers, giving up 70 points.  Of course, I believe Persa was out at that point, but 70 points off a defense has nothing to do with the starting quarterback.

But with a schedule that includes Eastern Illinois, Army, and Rice, the Wildcats look capable of keeping their head above .500 and seeking a fourth straight bowl appearance.

While we will be coming off a homecoming game against Purdue, Northwestern will be returning from a trip to Iowa.  That's never a good thing.

Prediction:  I think Penn State will be 6-1 going into this game and building momentum.  I look for a shaky start, a solid third quarter and pulling away with a win by at least 10 points.  Don't ask me why.  It's just a feeling I have.  It might be gas.

Can't Get Enough of This

Purple Wane

I never meant to cause you any sorrow.
I never meant to cause you any pain.
I only wanted to one time see you laughing.
I only wanted to see you laughing in the purple wane.

As darkness fell and the cold chill of November swept through Beaver Stadium, the Nittany Lions mounted a record tying comeback in Joe Paterno’s already historied tenure to notch victory #400 for the Old Lion King.

A combination of inconsistent offense and virtually non-existent defense had Penn State in a 21-0 hole with but fifty seconds to go in the first half of play. The chances of celebrating win #400 were as bright as the clouded and darkening sky that fortunately only dropped mist and a few tiny pellets of sleet on the 104,147 fans.

But comebacks do happen. The program itself came back from the dark years of 2003 and 2004. The Lions were down 14-0 to #1 Pitt before surging to a 48-14 victory in 1981. Kerry Collins led Penn State on a 95 yard scoring drive against Illinois, the #1 rated defense in the Big Ten—in 1994 on the road in Champaign to preserve an undefeated season. And in 2001, Zack Mills rallied his team from an 18 point deficit to give Joe Paterno his 324th win, breaking Bear Bryant’s record.

So is it really surprising that this milestone not come with some drama?

The Prince of Persa was slicing and dicing the Penn State defense like a Ginzu knife through butter. He was like a chef in those Japanese restaurants, throwing knives around with flashes of steel and vegetables and serving a dish of points to the sparse purple clad crowd that made the trip from Evanston.

Sitting in the stadium, we had no way of knowing that Mr. Persa's parents were in attendance.  But apparently the television audience was reminded a couple of times.  From what I understand, there was more coverage of his parents than there were commercials.  Think about that.

Northwestern had just capped a 7 play, 66 yard drive with a one-handed circus catch in the back of the end zone to make the score 21-0. With less than a minute to play, Penn State could take a knee and run out the clock, try to find a way to make some yards to get a field goal without risking another costly turn over, or . . .

Let’s be honest. No one except maybe Matt McGloin was thinking there was a third possibility. But he ran the two minute offense in 47 seconds, finding Brett Brackett in the back of the end zone to pull State to within 14 points heading into the locker room.

But the late score energized the crowd. It energized the defense. It turned the game around, but I submit to you, dear reader, that the player of the game—the one responsible for this remarkable turnaround—was Hunter Bates in purple and white, the guy that sacked Bolden and caused the fumble. If I were in the habit of handing out proverbial game balls, he would have one right now. That play got Bolden out of the game. Although he struggled a bit initially, McGloin came into the game after that disastrous play and the rest is, dare I say, HISTORY.

What happened at halftime?

A. Team received a talk from Dr. Lou
B. Team went and stayed at a Holiday Inn Express
C. Sue served carbo-loading spaghetti

McGloin’s presence and confidence is infectious. His teammates talk about how he is a calming influence in the huddle. He cracks a joke to lighten the tension. Whatever he does, I wish IT could be bottled and sold. I am a big fan of Rob Bolden, but this McGloin kid has IT, that intangible quality or spark to just make things happen.

Behind this new leader, the Lions came out and took the second half opening possession 84 yards on 14 plays to bring the score to within a mere 7 points. Sitting in the stadium, you could just feel IT. Whatever that kid had, IT was radiating throughout the hallowed structure. The fans were back into the game. They were on their feet. The kids were making plays on both sides of the ball. What had minutes ago in clock time been an insurmountable mountain, was now a realistic goal. You could FEEL the momentum swinging. You could sense that this team was on the cusp of greatness.

The defense rose to the occasion and stuffed the Wildcats, forcing a three and out. In fact, the Wildcats would get only one first down in the third quarter of play, with less than two minutes left on the clock. Penn State owned the third quarter and scored on five consecutive possessions that started with that seemingly innocent 47 second drive to close the first half. THIRTY-FIVE UNANSWERED POINTS. Northwestern was shut out the second half. Paterno got win #400 and a much-deserved ceremony at the end.

Here’s the stadium tribute to Joe Paterno.

Here’s the 400 Win Celebration Site.

Congratulations Joe! And let’s beat Ohio State!

BY THE NUMBERS:

Penn State outgained Northwestern 528 to 369 yards.

McGloin went 18 for 29 for 229 yards and 4 touchdowns. Silas Redd scored the fifth TD.

Evan Royster rushed for 137 yard on 25 carries, while Redd gained 134 on 11 totes.

Penn State punted only 3 times. Fera had two kick-offs downed in the end zone.

#400—speaks for itself.

INTANGIBLES:

The drum major stuck both flips. PSU won the toss and deferred.

Paterno was carried by his team to the makeshift podium at the south end of the field. Paterno is 8 behind Eddie Robinson and 76 behind John Gagliardi of St. Johns, but stands alone among FBS schools.

PENN STATE IS NOW BOWL ELIGIBLE!

THE BIG (TEN) PICTURE:

In a wild shoot out in Ann Arbor, THEM edged Illinois 67-65 after the Illini failed to convert a two-point conversion in triple OT. I guess since the Big Ten has 12 teams now, we’ll have to start playing defense like the Big XII.

Michigan State beat Minnesota 31-8.

Indiana dropped a pass in the end zone that would have beaten the Hawkeyes, but they held on to win 18-13.

Wisconsin topped Purdue 34-13.

SHEDDING TEARS:

1. Alabama—lost to LSU 24-21.
2. Texas got pounded by Kansas State 39-14
3. F$U lost to North Carolina 37-35
4. Oklahoma got beat by A&M 33-19
5. Utah dropped their first game 47-7 to TCU

LOOKING AHEAD:

This is the Big One, Elizabeth. The Lions travel to Columbus for a showdown at 3:30 next Saturday.

Can they win? Of course they can. Will they? Aye, there’s the rub.

I didn’t think we stood a chance in the pre-season, and thought we had even less a chance after we actually played some early games. BUT . . .

If Pryor makes some mistakes—and as good an athlete as he is, he does that sometimes—and Penn State comes out playing 4 quarters of football like we played the last two, then all bets are off.

I think you have to go with McGloin as the starter. He has the hot hand and that special IT thing that gets the offense moving. I don’t think he can turn around 21 points against a team like the Buckeyes, so we have to come out playing full tilt and not get into that kind of hole. Then again, maybe the kid plays better under pressure.

Either way, I am actually looking forward to this game. And I couldn’t have honestly said that two weeks ago.

ESPN College Gameday will be in Columbus as well.

GO STATE! CRACK NUTS!

Look Around

"Look around . . ."



"Let's Go Beat Ohio State!"

AMEN!

Congratulations Joe on WIN # 400, an exciting 35-21 win over the Northwestern Wildcats.

Purple Wane

Halloween got a little scary for the Penn State Nittany Lion football team. Northwestern came out playing like one-eyed, one horned flying purple Lion eaters, taking a 13-10 halftime lead into the lockerroom. But Penn State stormed back with a second half defense that did not yield a point, and three quick scores to pull the plug on purplepalooza before a crowd of 30,546, winning 34-13.

Northwestern fumbled on their first drive, but the Wildcat defense held off the Penn State offense as the Lions settled for a field goal. I think this set the tone for the first half, giving the home team some confidence.

The Mildcats responded with a methodical, 17 play, 65-yard drive for a tying field goal on their next possession. This drive summarized the whole Northwestern offense—slow and deliberate. Dink and dunk. Crawl across the field. Kafka came in as one of the best passers in the Big Ten, and who knows how this game might have turned out if he hadn’t gone down with a hamstring injury with 8:15 still to play in the first half.

Northwestern controlled the clock in the second quarter. Penn State managed to block a field goal (Odrick) but could not capitalize, going three and out on a series of incomplete/dropped passes. The Mildcats took over with good field position and finally posted 3 more points to take the halftime lead.

Penn State opened the second half with a 36 yard return by Powell to set up good field position. But the drive sputtered at the Wildcat 6 and Wagner tied the game at an unlucky 13 all. The game would remained tied until early in the fourth quarter when Penn State capped a 7 play, 58 yard drive with a punishing run by Beachum to put the Lions up 20-13. I thought Beachum had a great day, but he did drop an easy screen pass that forced a Penn State punt.

Following Beachum’s TD run, Halloween became Groundhog Day for the Mildcats. Northwestern would fumble two consecutive kick-offs, recovering both but ending up with poor field position. The PSU D holds and NW punts. Penn State would then take the next two possessions and score on one play drives, the first a beautiful 53 yard pass strike to Moye and the second a burst up the middle by Royster for 69 yards. Penn State scored on three consecutive offensive plays and put 21 points on the board in the matter of about three minutes or so.

Kevin Newsome got some playing time at the end of the game, and I’m not going to argue about whether he should have seen time sooner or not.

This was the classic trap game, sandwiched on the road between THEM and the Buckeyes. Things looked shaky for awhile, but the team put it together for a nice solid win.

BY THE NUMBERS:

From GoPSUsports:

Team Totals	PSU	NU
FIRST DOWNS	21	24
Rushing	7	8
Passing	13	13
Penalty	1	3
NET YARDS RUSHING	163	119
Rushing Attempts	27	37
Average Per Rush	6.0	3.2
Rushing Touchdowns	3	1
Yards Gained Rushing	175	156
Yards Lost Rushing	12	37
NET YARDS PASSING	274	252
Completions-Attempts-Int	22-31-0	29-43-0
Average Per Attempt	8.8	5.9
Average Per Completion	12.5	8.7
Passing Touchdowns	1	0
TOTAL OFFENSE YARDS	437	371
Total offense plays	58	80
Average Gain Per Play	7.5	4.6
Fumbles: Number-Lost	0-0	2-2
Penalties: Number-Yards	5-41	5-45
PUNTS-YARDS	5-210	5-181
Average Yards Per Punt	42.0	36.2
Net Yards Per Punt	29.6	36.2
Inside 20	1	1
50+ Yards	0	0
Touchbacks	2	0
Fair catch	1	4
KICKOFFS-YARDS	7-450	4-228
Average Yards Per Kickoff	64.3	57.0
Net Yards Per Kickoff	45.7	36.2
Touchbacks	0	0
Punt returns: Number-Yards-TD	0-0-0	2-22-0
Average Per Return	0.0	11.0
Kickoff returns: Number-Yds-TD	4-83-0	7-130-0
Average Per Return	20.8	18.6
Interceptions: Number-Yds-TD	0-0-0	0-0-0
Fumble Returns: Number-Yds-TD	0-0-0	0-0-0
Miscellaneous Yards	0	0
Possession Time	28:46	31:14
1st Quarter	6:48	8:12
2nd Quarter	5:00	10:00
3rd Quarter	11:02	3:58
4th Quarter	5:56	9:04
Third-Down Conversions	3 of 10	7 of 19
Fourth-Down Conversions	0 of 0	1 of 2
Red-Zone Scores-Chances	4-4	2-4
Sacks By: Number-Yards	6-31	1-8
PAT Kicks	4-4	1-1
Field Goals	2-2	2-3

Penn State uncharacteristically had problems w/ third down conversions. This of course becomes moot when you score twice on single play drives. Who needs third down? We also lost TOP for maybe the first time all season, due in large part to Northwestern's early success in long, sustained drives, and our own one play drives. And while the purple paloozas ran 22 more offesnive plays than we did, they averaged 3 yards less per play and 21 few points.

INTANGIBLES:

Penn State won the toss and deferred.

JoePa notches win #391. STILL five ahead of Hot Bobby.

Penn State is now 10-3 versus Northwestern.

THE BIG (TEN) PICTURE:

!*w@ managed yet again to remain unscathed, playing like sh!t for 3 quarters and benefiting heavily from the refereyes in one of the most horribly officiated games I have ever seen. At one point Stanzi had thrown like 5 INTs but then donned his Halloween costume—a Heisman winning QB mask—to lead the Hawks to the promised land. They beat the Hoosiers 42-24 but the game was much closer than the final score alludes. The Buckeyes rolled over New Mexico State 45-0. Wisconsin steamrolled Purdue 37-0. And Sparty returned to schizophrenic form, losing to the Gophers 42-34.

But the highlight of the conference was Illinois’ first win in the conference over THEM. They spanked the boys in piss yellow pants 38-14.

Next week:

Ohio State @ Penn State
Wisconsin @ Indiana
Purdue @ THEM
Northwestern @ !*w@
Illinois @ Minnesota
Western Michigan @ Michigan State

SHEDDING TEARS:

1. For Indiana—horribly hosed by hankie throwers.
2. For the Demon Deacons, 28-27 losers to Miami.
3. For the Trojans—all quacked up in Oregon
4. For Va Tech—Tar-heeled on Thursday night football

LOOKING AHEAD:

Let’s see . . . who’s next on the schedule? Indiana. Nope. Not yet. It is a home game. Hmmm. What’s that smell? Bucknuts roasting on a tailgate fire?

Ohio State will invade Beaver Stadium next Saturday at 3:30. What appeared three months ago to be the match-up of the season for a Big Ten Title is now, barring a couple of losses by the Hawkeyes, a game to determine the runner-up in the conference. The loser has practically no chance of an outright title and likely no chance for a BCS bowl. And a Buckeye win might not get them into a BCS game either, unless they can also upset !*w@.

The Bucks are 7-2 with a close loss to USC and a lopsided loss to Purdue in the conference. In common opponents:

OSU beat Illinois 30-0. We won 35-17.
OSU beat Minnesota 38-7. We won 20-0.

And, as we will see later this week from the stats, the two teams are very similar, and both with highly rated defenses.

Ready for another slugfest? Who blinks first?