Vote 4 Hackenberg

Vote for Christian Hackenberg in the Capital One  Impact Performance . . .

LET'S GO STATE!

FAIL! To the Victors!

FAIL!  FAIL! To Michigan!

What a game?!  Seriously?!  YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!

Penn State blows a 21-10 half-time lead to fall behind 34-24?   YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!

Ficken misses a 40-yard FG in the first OT?!   YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!

Penn State blocks a FG in the first OT to send it into a second OT?!  YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!

Both teams manage to kick field goals without incident in the second OT?!  YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!

Allen Robinson fumbles on the first play of the third OT?!  YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!

Gibbons misses a field goal from the 33 to send this game into a FOURTH OT?!  YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!

Gibbons kicks a field goal.

THEM kicks a successful field go to go up 40-37?!  YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!

O'Brien goes for it on fourth and one in the fourth OT?!  YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!

And Penn State makes it?!  YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!

A PI call against THEM?!  YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!

Touchdown PSU on a sneak that failed to get a first down in the first quarter, which seemed like a couple of days ago?!  YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!

I AM SERIOUS!

This was the BEST GAME ever.  Not the best win (think OSU in 2005, or Nebraska in 2002, 1982, or the 1987 Fiesta Bowl) ever, but the most exciting up and down, back and forth, hit the other guy in the face, make a mistake and then atone for it game I have ever witnessed in person.  BAR NONE.  And the fact that it was against THEM?  Priceless.

I feel sorry for the fans that left to get a jump on traffic when it looked like the referines were going to find a way to make sure this previously undefeated THEM squad came out with another W, earned or not.

You left to beat the traffic?  YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!

I am not going to discuss the officiating in any detail, suffice it to say that is was another stellar performance by the Big Ten crew.  They did their best, but their best just wasn't good enough.  So many games against this team have been swayed by bad and, quite frankly, atrocious calls, that nothing surprises me anymore.  The crowd hailed loud boos on the crew late in the game, and there was a poetic justice, a perverse irony that a pass interference call against the wolverine defense helped set-up Penn State's winning touchdown to end the game 43-40.  I was sitting above the north end zone and it certainly looked like PI to me.  But I had already seen plays more egregious than this one not flagged, and plays far less obvious flagged.  You just never know what these Big Ten officials are going to call. 

For years, THEM fans have told Penn State fans to stop complaining and stop being whiners.  Bad calls equal out.  I'm not sure PSU actually benefitted from any bad calls yesterday, but for once, they didn't hurt us.  I have nothing to complain about.

I can't remember when the last time PSU came back from a 10 point deficit in the final quarter to win a game.  I'm sure it has happened (OSU for win #323 maybe).  Actually, against Northwestern last year we scored 22 points in the fourth to win 39-28.  But in the Big Ten JoePa era, those kinds of wins were few and far between.  And this win/comeback was all the more difficult with a freshman QB and only 50 ticks left on the Timex.

Allen Robinson almost pulled a Tony Johnson 2002, but replay overturned the bad call on the field this time.  Ain't modern technology great?  And then, in one of the "plays of the game" Allen Robinson grabbed the jump ball at the six inch line to set Penn State up for the tying TD in regulation.

And if the 2002 flashback catch/non catch on the sideline was not frightening enough, it appeared as if Penn State left too much time on the clock.  With 29 seconds left, Penn State elected to kick-off instead of squibbing.  The ghost of 2005 reared its ugly head, and THEM returned the ball to the 35 yard line.  One play later, the wolverines were on the PSU 40 and inching towards a game winning FG try.  The wolverines would get as close as the PSU 35 yard line, but with 7 seconds left, and only third down, Hoke opted to kick the FG instead of running another play to get a few more yards.  Bad choice for THEM; good one for us.  In what would be a foreshadowing of the ensuing OT conflict, Gibbons missed the 52-yarder, leaving it short instead of wide.

And the rest, as they say, is history. 

“History belongs to the victors, legends to the people, fantasy to literature. Only death is certain.”  --Péter Esterházy

Only the victors valiant wore Blue and White on this night.

BY THE NUMBERS:

The stats from GoPSUsports:

	THEM	PSU
FIRST DOWNS...................	21	24
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............	54-149	44-85
PASSING YDS (NET).............	240	305
Passes Att-Comp-Int...........	29-15-2	45-23-2
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS.....	83-389	89-390
Fumble Returns-Yards..........	1-24	0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............	0-0	3-26
Kickoff Returns-Yards.........	6-154	2-39
Interception Returns-Yards....	2-5	2-32
Punts (Number-Avg)............	6-40.8	4-44.8
Fumbles-Lost..................	2-1	2-2
Penalties-Yards...............	7-62	5-56
Possession Time...............	36:13	23:47
Third-Down Conversions........	4 of 18	3 of 16
Fourth-Down Conversions.......	0 of 0	2 of 3
Red-Zone Scores-Chances.......	2-3	5-6
Sacks By: Number-Yards........	4-16	3-22

Above, I put "plays of the game" in quotes, because there were several.  The fumble by Zwinak to open the second half was one.  Not good for us, but sparked the wolverine resurgence.  The Allen Robinson fumble in the third OT.  Again, not a great play for us, but it could have been disastrous.  The blocked field goal by Baublitz.  Great!  The catches by Allen Robinson in the final drive--exceptional.

The defense held Toussaint (Mr. Halloween) to 27 yards.  Unfortunately, Gardner posted 121 yards to make their offense look presentable.  The wolverines controlled time of possession--a lot of good that did THEM.

Technically, his name translates to All Saint's Day, but close enough to be funny.

The key stats, which you don't see above--are the missed/blocked field goals by both teams.  Penn State (read Bill O'Brien) again gambled on fourth and short fairly deep in his own territory--and lost.  But this week, it did not cost us any points directly, as the defense held and forced a punt.  However, it set-up bad field position and THEM eventually added a field goal to go up 10-7.

INTANGIBLES:

Penn State won the toss and deferred.  After fumbling the first possession away, that didn't work out so well.  THEM won the toss in OT.  Didn't work out so well for THEM either.

The homecoming crowd numbered 107,884.  Most stayed until the very end.

According to a television announcer I heard, this was the LONGEST game in Big Ten history.

The drum major stuck both flips and the half time show featured the a cappella group, The Statesmen, as well as the Alumni Band.

One of the people in our group wore a THEM jersey (at least it was white!)  He is a student at PSU Altoona.  Don't ask me.  My daughter brought him.  Some girls bring home dead beat derelicts with tattoos and piercings.  My daughter brought home a THEM fan.  What can I say?  She tells me he is just a friend--not a boyfriend.  So I've got that going for me.

Why do opposing fans have to be so obnoxious?  Such as asking all the white-clad PSU fans why they are no longer standing and cheering after the wolverines made a play?  You can't possibly be THAT stupid, so it must be asked for the sole purpose of being annoying.  My brother-in-law's friend was behind us, and he asked my daughter's "friend" what his name was.  After telling him, he said.  "Nice to meet you, ___.  Now shut the [bleep] up."  He felt sorry, though--he thought he was only thinking it, but he actually said it out loud.  Our win made the trip home much more tolerable, although his tears were annoying at times.

The Goodyear Blimp sailed over Beaver Stadium in a rare appearance.  This must have been a B1G game!

Penn State is 4-3 in OT games, riding a four game winning streak in post-regulation play.

The B1G PICTURE:

The Cornhuskers threshed and thrashed Purdue 44-7.  Michigan State had no problem against the Hoosiers, winning 42-28.  And Wisconsin went all Bret Bielema over Northwestern, running up a 35-6 victory over the Wildcan'ts.

Speaking of Bielema, Arkansas was smothered by South Carolina 52-7.  Schaudenfreude, baby.

Illinois, Iowa, the Suckeyes, and Minnesota were all off.

SHEDDING TEARS:  (plenty to go around this week--"upset" Saturday)

1.  Stanford falls to Utah, 27-21.
2.  Georgia falls to Mizzou 41-26.  Five offensive starters for Georgia were out.  Boo Hoo.  Try playing with 65 scholarships, bulldogs.
3.  Oklahoma lost the Red River Rivalry to Texas, 36-20.
4.  Virginia Tech beat Pitt 19-9.  Oh, wait.  That wasn't an upset.
5.  Temple (0-6) loses to Cincy 38-20.
6.  Rutgers falls to Louisville 24-10.
7.  Virginia loses to Maryland 27-26.  Hope they missed an extra point! ;)

LOOKING AHEAD:



This is a big one, Billy!

Bye Week.

The Buckeyes at Columbus are on deck.  The Bucks face Iowa next week in Columbus.

This is a big one.  Gotta pull out the old Billy (O'Brien) Baroo.  Oooo, Billy, Billy, Billy.

Weekly Game Guide: Us vs. THEM

For those who have followed this blog, THEM refers to the Wolverines.  That "team Up North" was already taken by Woody Hayes, and from a Penn State point of view, Ann Arbor is Up Northwestern.  And there's already a Northwestern, so that didn't make any sense.

Hence, THEM.  As in, THE M.  You know--that big block "M" that marches to the fight song that makes 110,000 idiots pump their fists in the air while yelling about concrete heroes and liters of the best.  They are too sexy for their helmets.  Their helmets have wings.  Like a maxipad.  Whatever.

THEM is favored by 2 over the Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium.  Two weeks ago, I thought this was a pretty sure win.  We seemed to be improving each week.  Our defense seemed capable.  THEM was struggling to beat the likes of Akron and UConn. 

But then a funny thing happened on the way to that sure thing.  We played one of our worst games top to bottom of the Bill O'Brien era.  Nothing seemed to go right in Bloomingdale.  I racked my brain to come up with a positive and this is the best I could do:  We didn't have any serious injuries in a TWENTY point loss to a team that had never beaten us in the history of college football.

Now, I'm not so sure how we'll handle THEM.  But with a few beers and watching Louisville struggle a bit against Rutgers, I'm confident that we are not in Indiana anymore Toto.

I'm not sure where we're at, but I do know this . . . WE ARE . . . PENN STATE!

BEAT THEM!


In the Big Ten (favorite noted in parentheses with points):

Michigan State (9 pts.) is favored over the Hoosiers.  Was last week a fluke, or is Indiana that capable?  The Spartans may have a better defense than PSU, but MSU is averaging 21.5 points per game against FBS schools (they scored 55 against Youngstown State that I didn't include because they are FCS and it didn't help my argument here.)  I'm leaning toward the Hoosiers on this one.  GO INDIANA!

Nebraska (14.5 pts) is favored over the Boilermakers.  GO BIG RED!

Wisconsin (10 pts.) is favored over Northwestern at Camp Randall.  ON WISCONSIN!

The Illini, Iowa, Minnesota, and the Buckeyes are off this week.

In Games from around the country:

Alabama (27 pts) returns to their old Kentucky home.  ROLL TIDE ROLL.

Can Rutgers beat Louisville tonight?  They're down by 10 heading into the fourth quarter.  Looks like Papa's in the house tonight.  The Rutgers QB--Nova?  Shouldn't he be playing for Villanova?  And doesn't Nova mean "it doesn't go" in Spanish?  Hopefully the Cardinals don't speak Spanish.  I hope Rutgers pulls this out.  After watching the Pirates, I've seen way too many happy Cardinals recently.

Maryland take son Virginia (no line.) GO TWERPS!

Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plain, takes on Mack Brown's Texans in Dallas.  GO SOONERS!

LSU (7pts.) plays Florida.  GO GATORS!

Temple (0-5) is playing worse than the Steelers (0-4) at least to this point.  They are 21.5 point dogs to Cincinnati on Friday.  I guess the Owls are hoping for a #1 draft pick next year.

Good COP: Bad COP

I have come down from the ledge.

The Hoosiers, like it or not, played a good, almost flawless game.   (Why does it seem like everyone brings their A-game against Penn State?   Is it just me?)  I remember as I watched the game thinking about how Latimore tiptoed and danced along the sidelines, plucking perfect passes out of the air against decent coverage.  IU made the plays.  PSU--not so much.

Yet, as we saw in the recap, the stats weren't as lopsided as the score.

Often times, that can be traced to turn-overs.  But in this game, the turn-overs were "equal."  One fumble lost for us.  One INT for them.  But not every turn-over is equal, and turn-overs in and of themselves don't always paint the complete picture.

But COP does.

What is COP?  Change Of Possession.  That includes turn-overs but it also includes failed fourth down conversions and missed field goals, which are essentially a turn-over, but not recorded as such.  One of our fumbles we recovered--sounds great.  But in reality, we recovered in the end zone (better than giving up a TD!) but it was a safety and we still lost possession.

But not every COP is bad.  There are good COPs.  Such as kicking off after a field goal or score.  Or sacking the QB in the endzone to create a safety.  Covering an on-side kick is a good COP.  Losing an on-side kick is a bad COP.  These can be game changing plays that don't show up well on the stat sheet.

OK--we can play this the easy way, or the hard way.

Bad COPs include having a punt blocked, missing a field goal, failing to convert on fourth down, especially deep in one's own territory(!), and giving up a safety.  We managed all but one of those in the loss to IU.

I'm not sure why the statisticians don't record COPs, because they do explain the outcome of the game better than turn-overs alone.  Of course, the stats are all there if you look close enough--the fourth down conversion percentage, number of punts, missed field goals, blocked or otherwise, etc.

Of course, not every COP is clear cut in theory and has to be viewed in the context of the actual game.  Turning the ball over on downs on your own 33 yard line down by 11 is BAD.  But turning the ball over on downs inside the opponents red zone when you're leading by 10 with seconds left in a game where you don't want to risk a blocked field goal is probably GOOD.  Neutral at worst.

Either way, you always want a good COP.

Judge Not, Lest Ye Be Judged

It's Sunday, and time to cleanse our football sins at the Altar of the Irreverent Church of the Gridiron.

Look at this place!

Packed with Irish fans who skipped Mass last night to watch Notre Dame beat Arizona State. 

The Baptismal font overflows with tears of Iowa State, Penn State and Northwestern fans.

The Hoosiers virginal win, sanctified by the Big Ten Network, will be christened with their tears.

Listen now, as we read from Referees 12:1-2, for the Word of the Ref:

The instant replay process operates under the fundamental assumption that the ruling on the field is correct. The replay official may reverse a ruling if and only if the video evidence convinces him beyond all doubt that the ruling was incorrect. Without such indisputable video evidence, the replay official must allow the ruling to stand.

Thanks be to the Ref!

The fundamental assumption is the infallibility of the Ref.  The call on the field, in real time and without the benefit of slow motion, high definition, and multiple angles, must be better than the eyes of the beholder in the booth.  Does this make sense?




What is indisputable?  Indisputable to whom?

How can a panel of sports announcers and perhaps hundreds of thousands of fans see a replay one way, while the Ref can see it another?  No one is unbiased.  We are all sinners!

The referee on the field must be right.  Yet, he is a sinner like all of us.  Replay is his chance to repent--to turn from sin and make the correct call.

From SBNation:

You be the judge. ESPN's cameras turned up about three different angles, none of which showed with 100 percent certainty that the ball came out, but it appeared most impartial observers agreed there was enough evidence to overturn the ruling. Looks out [sic] to me. It's very close, though.

Judge not refs!  Lest Ye Be Judged!

Amen.

Unwelcome to the Rock

Just what the hell was that?

Welcome to the Rock!

Did you know that the Indiana Hoosiers had never beaten Penn State in football before today?  There is no way you could have watched that game on BTN and NOT known.  It was repeated ad nauseum in the fourth quarter more time than they used to show Dan Persa's mother ort Brady Quinn's girlfriend.  Now in all fairness, I did point out that stat in the Weekly Game Guide, but I'm a Penn State homer and that is expected of me.

The problem was that they never put it in a graphic.  Had they put it in a graphic, Penn State would have won.  It's the curse of the TV graphic.  They flashed up a graphic that Penn State led the nation in 24 straight scores in the red zone right before Butterworth watched a pitch in the dirt go past him to the back stop on a field goal attempt.  Graphic=Curse.  It's as simple as that.

We can dispense with the usual pleasantries.  This was a lousy game from top to bottom against a mediocre, at best, opponent.

How do we sucketh, let me count the ways . . .

Go for it on fourth and short on our own 33 yard line in the fourth--and failing.  Check.

Fumble a kick-off to set up a score.  Check.

Bad snap on a field goal.  Check.

Have a field goal blocked.  Check.

Fumble in our own end zone for a safety.  Check.

Throw a pick six?  What?  We missed one?

We can spend a lot of time blaming--the sanctions, the coaching, the bad breaks.  The bottom line is this: this is not the most difficult game on the Big Ten schedule, and if Bill O'Brien can't find some answers and create some improvement, it is going to be a long second half of this season.

Let's look at the stats, shall we?

BY THE NUMBERS:

From GoPSUsports:

	PSU	IND
FIRST DOWNS...................	27	23
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............	38-70	41-150
PASSING YDS (NET).............	340	336
Passes Att-Comp-Int...........	55-30-0	39-24-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS.....	93-410	80-486
Fumble Returns-Yards..........	0-0	1-3
Punt Returns-Yards............	1-3	2-6
Kickoff Returns-Yards.........	3-64	1-13
Interception Returns-Yards....	1-0	0-0
Punts (Number-Avg)............	4-45.2	6-41.5
Fumbles-Lost..................	2-1	0-0
Penalties-Yards...............	5-20	5-42
Possession Time...............	35:11	24:49
Third-Down Conversions........	11 of 22	4 of 15
Fourth-Down Conversions.......	1 of 5	0 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances.......	2-3	5-6
Sacks By: Number-Yards........	4-22	1-5

Penn State actually looks good on paper.  They led in first downs, third down conversions, and time of possession--by a lot.  There was a lot of separation in the total yardage category as well.  But it was the key turnovers on downs and fumbles that contributed to the lopsided margin of loss.  The stats showed PSU only lost one fumble, but the second fumble was recovered for a safety.  Still a turn-over when you consider we had to free kick it back to IU.

INTANGIBLES:

INDIANA WON ITS FIRST FOOTBALL GAME AGAINST PENN STATE IN SCHOOL HISTORY!!!  Didn't know if you knew that or not.

Penn State won the toss and elected to receive.

Attendance was an anemic 42,125 in less than ideal weather.

Penn State is 3-2 on the season and 0-1 in the conference.

THE B1G PICTURE:

Minnesota lost to THEM without their coach for the fifth time (seizure.)  Final Score: 42-13.

The Spartans upset Iowa in Iowa by a score of 26-14.

Nebraska shucked the Illini 39-19.

Northwestern currently leads the Buckeyes by 3 starting the fourth quarter.


SHEDDING TEARS:

1.  Maryland--crushed by Seminoles 63-0.
2.  Iowa State--longhorned by Texas 31-30
3.  Temple--0-5 and beaten 30-7 by Louisville
4.  Alabama--beat Georgia State 45-3, but didn't cover the spread.
5.  This spot is for Northwestern or Arizona State, but hopefully neither

LOOKING AHEAD:

THEM.

Beaver Stadium.  5pm start.

Homecoming.

White Out.

The wolverines are undefeated with wins over Central Michigan (59-9), Notre Dame (41-30), Akron (28-24), UConn (24-21) and Minnesota (42-13.)

GO STATE!  BEAT THEM!

Weekly Game Guide: Hoosier Rooting For Edition?

We're a little late here this week with the game guide edition.  Pirates are in the play-offs--> 1-1 now

Indiana believes in truth in advertising.

with the St. Louis Cards.  Pens opened with a 3-0 win last night.  But the last I checked, the Stillers still suck.

Which reminds me about the game last night . . .Iowa State screwed and Texass walks away with a one point win.  This indisputable video evidence crap is for the birds.  Indisputable by whom?  A knowledgeable football analyst or a brain dead moron?  It was a fumble.  If the damned play in question was so indisputable on video, then how the hell did all the refs get it wrong on the field?  If it looks like a fumble on replay--it's a fumble.  Let's just have a panel of five guys review the play simultaneously and without talking to each other.  Each votes whether to let the play stand as called or over-rule it.  Majority wins.  Probably won't change the game much, but I could have found 5 out of 5 people anywhere that could have told you Penn State scored a touchdown against Nebraska last year.  Indisputable?  More like indefensible.  But I digress.

Sorry about the impromptu rant.  Obamacare has me seeing red right now.  If shutting down the whole damn government will help, then Katie bar the door.  Lock 'em all out.  But I have done digressed again.

So this weekend, the Indiana Hosers, sporting a magnificent 2-2 record, host the Penn State Nittany Lions in Bloomingdales Bloomington.

The Hosers are looking for some hidden vigorish.   (Bob Prince coined the term "hidden vigorish" to hilariously tautologically describe the allegedly mystical force that makes a hitter who has been hitless closer to his next hit every time he makes an out.)  Indiana has NEVER beaten Penn State on the football field, unless you count a cheap shot at Michael Mauti that ended his season.

The Red I's have pasted Indiana State 73-35, and struck out Bowling Green 42-10.  But when playing teams with a pulse, they lost 41-35 to Navy and 45-28 to Missouri.  They can score points.  They have a bad defense.  Penn State can score points.  And while we might not have the best defense in the country, we've been holding our own.

Sometimes winless teams are like a blind squirrel finding an acorn.  But this is not their acorn.  Penn State wins.  At least a couple of scores.  Pirates making me think we are family.  We are invincible.  We are . . .PENN STATE!

In the Big Ten:

Michigan State hosts the Iowa Hawkeyes (1.5 points).  Gotta root for Sparty here.

Nebraska (10.5 points) hosts the Illini.  Easy call here.  GO HUSKERS!

Minnesota travels to the Big OutHouse to take on THEM (21 points.)  GO GOPHERS!

Northwestern hosts the Buckeyes (5.5).  GO WILDCATS!

Wisconsin, and Purdue have a bye.  The bye is favored by three touchdowns over the Boilers.

In other games:

Alabama is a 56 point favorite over Georgia . . . . State.  ROLL TIDE ROLL.

Arizona State is a 5.5 point favorite over the Irish.  GO SUNDEVILS!

Future Big Ten team Maryland is a 15 point underdog to the Seminoles.  GO TERPS!

And the other future Big Ten team, Rutgers, is favored by a touchdown over SMU.  GO BIG R!

UCF is favored by 10 over Memphis.  GO KNIGHTS!