I really hope we hang on to Clifford and Levis for the duration of their college careers. They could both pass/run for 4000 yards in the big 12 they wanted.
Getting over the hump and next steps..
- Thread starter TheWizardofCamelot
- Start date
Last few seasons our special teams was a joke
Like hold your breath how will will **** this up
Franklin made a change and look how much better we are this year
I used to hold my breath on every punt or kickoff
Our kick coverage is outstanding and special teams not the huuuuge liability it was
I think Franklin makes same changes to offense this year
First we need to recruit a few sure handed receivers
We have a lot of five star athletes but I think they are guys who just ran by everybody in HS and never learned nuances of position and aren’t here.
I think Franklin brings in some new staff on offense even if he keeps Rahne
And maybe gets Rahne some help this offseason in in game adjustments
Rahne seems to just stick with his basic plan even if it’s not working
I also think Franklin needs to take a look at some quality control issues on offense. Last two series as well as other time management and play clock management in past games have been bad
Like hold your breath how will will **** this up
Franklin made a change and look how much better we are this year
I used to hold my breath on every punt or kickoff
Our kick coverage is outstanding and special teams not the huuuuge liability it was
I think Franklin makes same changes to offense this year
First we need to recruit a few sure handed receivers
We have a lot of five star athletes but I think they are guys who just ran by everybody in HS and never learned nuances of position and aren’t here.
I think Franklin brings in some new staff on offense even if he keeps Rahne
And maybe gets Rahne some help this offseason in in game adjustments
Rahne seems to just stick with his basic plan even if it’s not working
I also think Franklin needs to take a look at some quality control issues on offense. Last two series as well as other time management and play clock management in past games have been bad
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anon_xdc8rmuek44eq
Guest
We need to get back to dominating recruiting in the DMV. In the 2020 Rivals Top 100, 10% are from DC, MD, and VA. LSU got four of them, we got one. The others are going to ND, Oklahoma, Clemson, and South Carolina. By contrast, Texas's currently ranked #8 2020 class has 18 recruits - 16 are from Texas.
To be elite you need to be dominate in the trenches. The PSU oline still seems light years way from being dominate. They can't even run a basic screen pass and I think it's largely due to the oline. It's mind numbing how bad they are at setting up a screen pass. They also need a better OC. I know it's beating a dead horse, but it's the truth.
Could not agree more. I have seen many people opine that CJF is a "CEO-type" coach, but I just wonder how well that really works. Does it work to have a coach that isn't top-notch on game day with people under him that are smarter than him? Ultimately the decisions come down to the head man.
"The Hump" of which people speak is, right now, the pinnacle for CJF - unless things do change. The recruiting has been very good but it is not going to get to be "elite" until championships are won.
Overall, it's a huge problem for both sides. CJF is doing well enough that he really doesn't "need" to make changes, and I don't see the school forcing his hand to make changes. As I say, what we have now is the pinnacle. IMO if the goal is "elite," it ain't gonna be via CJF.
Aggressively dumb take here. Would you rather have a coach like Saban or Dabo, who hire great coordinators and let them do what they do while the head coach runs the program? Or would you rather have a coach like Dantonio?
Agree. The OSU loss was expected but if that was PSU's only loss this year, who knows ? Still a lot of football to be played with the conference championships left. Oregon lost last night and Oklahoma had another shaky game. PSU - although a longshot - could have snuck in the playoffs with their only loss to OSU
Psu would have been 3 with out a lose to minny and would have dropped to maybe 5 or 6 with a lot of game to be played. Had a real shot at the playoff with a win at minny.
You could choose one play from the 2016, 2017, and 2019 seasons that very realistically could have gone differently (Hamilton’s Pitt drop, Oruwariye’s MSU INT drop, George’s questionable OPI at Minny, for example) and, keeping everything else in each season the same, likely would’ve resulted in a CFP berth. I realize this exercise could be used in the other direction, but nonetheless frustrating to keep being so close and falling short.
Very frustrating indeed. The thing is that OSU always seems to make those plays while PSU keeps coming up short. So many examples. Two years in a row PSU lost big leads late. OSU made the key plays, PSU did not. Last year we had a 4th near midfield and we mysteriously took the ball out of McSorley's hands and handed off to Sanders. This year Levis throws the INT in the red zone. OSU goes for it on 4th and 5 at the PSU 26 and Fields runs for 22 yds (followed by a TD).
PSU has had a few of those go their way (punt block return) but it seems as though 9 out of 10 times OSU came up big at the right time and PSU did not.
Yeah I did. I guess no quarterback ever played poorly in one half and better in the second huh? PSU had NO chance to win the game after Clifford went out. And If you think Clifford isn’t progressing you haven’t been watching the other games.
It does worry me that Franklin missed capitalizing on the window where he was THE young and upcoming coach with incredibly marketable superstars like Trace and Saquon. Penn State was really hip then and could have turned into a true elite national brand. If that 2017 team hangs on against OSU I think everything is completely different now. Do Fleming and Bresee stick with a 2017 PSU playoff appearance? I think so. We're seeing the magic wear off with this year's recruiting class resorting to significantly more plan B's than the previous two. Without a huge season next year the opportunity to become one of the perennial elites may have slipped away forever.
No, OL recruitment needs to improve. OL, OL, OL. It is EVERYTHING in college football
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anon_xdc8rmuek44eq
Guest
Agree. Pennsylvania as an elite HS football player producing state is declining, and more and more the DMV area kids, who have been the bread and butter of a lot of our recent highly rated recruiting classes (and still are), are looking elsewhere (specifically the SEC). Ohio is basically locked down by OSU. Franklin has made a lot of progress in Florida, but that's maybe a player here or there. Franklin's biggest strength has always been recruiting, but hovering around 12-15 isn't going to get it done in this conference. I think Michigan is in a similar situation. OSU more and more is running away with the B1G.
Fleming went to OSU because it was more glamorous and higher probability of playoff/NC. Joe in the glory years of late 70/mid 80s would tell elite recruits that every class coming through would play for a NC.
Analytics have shown that to win a NC, you need to have classes that average at least 6/7 in ranking over the classes on the team. This is over decades. Probably especially true now we do many leaving early that need to be replaced. We hover around 15 and there you have it.
Saban won it all in year 3 at both LSU and Bama; Jimbo In year 4; Urban Meyer in year 2 and year 3; Gene Chizik at Auburn year 2; Pete Carrol at USC year 3; Tressel in year 2, Coker at Miami in year 1; and Mac Brown in year 7 (who was 10/11 wins by year 2). That’s 20 years of data. And Joepa was undefeated by year 2 or 3. Dabo by year 7.
We are in Mark Richt (and maybe Harbaugh) purgatory. Purgatory is better than hell, but not quite heaven.
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anon_xdc8rmuek44eq
Guest
I believe it. Right now there is Bama, LSU, Clemson, OSU, Georgia, and Texas. USC will be in that group when they get their act together. Florida State could be too. I think we're in the next tier with Michigan, A&M, Oregon, Auburn, Florida, and Oklahoma who are capable of punching up to the top five, but only do so (or have only done so) every now and then.
It is fascinating. If you are a betting man and have some time you can run the numbers preseason and it’ll give you a very short list who will be left standing at year end, and get some good odds.
Many moons ago (and I can't remember where), I remember reading that a typical (M)NC coach will either get it done by the first 3 years or so or not at all. Swinney and Brown took a little longer, so there is hope for CJF yet!
Very much agree. One wonders if this is factoring into CJF's thinking, "should I stay or should I go?" Eventually, one would think that this will affect his stock as well. The reports of Hamler and Friermuth leaving for the NFL suggest to me that PSU will need to be active with the portal, and make staff changes, if 2020 is to be that "breakout" year to make it to the CFP. This promises to be an interesting offseason.
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