Not much discussion about our chances of beating MSU, I believe we can win!

[Jerademan74]

Michigan should have beaten MSU, if not for that last second punt fiasco. Yes, UM proved to be the better team when they beat us last Saturday, but frankly, we could have won if we had a few more lucky breaks. If we didn't give UM 7 points on that muffed punt and converted at least 1 of the FG's to TDs when we were first and goal, we would have had a great chance to win.

MSU is coming off an emotional high thinking they will be the B1G champs. They may be without Conner Cook again, and even if he plays, will not be 100%. They could be caught off guard from a Hack attack supported by a Barkley shuffle that could muster up just enough points to outscore them. Look, our team has pride and WILL NOT give up! We will play strong and give MSU a better fight than they will think. Wouldn't it be great to beat them in East Lansing and spoil their celebration? As far as the OSU-MI game, as much as I dislike both teams, I wouldn't mind seeing Urban beaten again and go into his psych sick mode again and retire!

 

[LaJolla Lion]

They have everything to play for and they are at home. The issues PSU has did not go away.

 

[JoeLion]

MSU strengths match up with PSU weaknesses perfectly. Its a long shot!

 

[Mixolydian]

If that happens it won't be the biggest upset in the history of mankind or anything like that, but I just can't see it. I think we get handled by Sparty fairly easily. Hope I am wrong.

 

[VaNtyLion]

Big question is, which MSU D shows up?

I didn't think MSU had a defensive effort like they put forth vs. OSU in them this year. Their D lost talent, was banged up and generally looked a lot more vulnerable. Not sure they can play at that level from last week again but they're going for an outright division title so have to expect it.

Three weeks ago, I thought the MSU game was more winnable than the Northwestern game. MSU has just looked extremely average for most of the season.

If Cook plays, I'd don't think we can put up enough points. If he doesn't, we're looking at another sloppy defensive slugfest that will probably come down to the 4th quarter

 

[Zenophile]

Michigan should have beaten MSU, if not for that last second punt fiasco. Yes, UM proved to be the better team when they beat us last Saturday, but frankly, we could have won if we had a few more lucky breaks. If we didn't give UM 7 points on that muffed punt and converted at least 1 of the FG's to TDs when we were first and goal, we would have had a great chance to win.

MSU is coming off an emotional high thinking they will be the B1G champs. They may be without Conner Cook again, and even if he plays, will not be 100%. They could be caught off guard from a Hack attack supported by a Barkley shuffle that could muster up just enough points to outscore them. Look, our team has pride and WILL NOT give up! We will play string and give MSU a better fight than they will think. Wouldn't it be great to beat them in East Lansing and spoil their celebration? As far as the OSU-MI game, as much as I dislike both teams, I wouldn't mind seeing Urban beaten again and go into his psych sick mode again and retire!

I'm with you, Jerademan. Bring it on, Sparty.

 

[fairgambit]

I'm with you, Jerademan. Bring it on, Sparty.

View embedded media

Why watch Ben Hur when you can see good stuff like this?

 

[PSUPALY]

Michigan should have beaten MSU, if not for that last second punt fiasco. Yes, UM proved to be the better team when they beat us last Saturday, but frankly, we could have won if we had a few more lucky breaks. If we didn't give UM 7 points on that muffed punt and converted at least 1 of the FG's to TDs when we were first and goal, we would have had a great chance to win.

MSU is coming off an emotional high thinking they will be the B1G champs. They may be without Conner Cook again, and even if he plays, will not be 100%. They could be caught off guard from a Hack attack supported by a Barkley shuffle that could muster up just enough points to outscore them. Look, our team has pride and WILL NOT give up! We will play string and give MSU a better fight than they will think. Wouldn't it be great to beat them in East Lansing and spoil their celebration? As far as the OSU-MI game, as much as I dislike both teams, I wouldn't mind seeing Urban beaten again and go into his psych sick mode again and retire!

 

[PSUPALY]

MSU strengths match up with PSU weaknesses perfectly. Its a long shot!

 

[fairgambit]

Michigan should have beaten MSU, if not for that last second punt fiasco. Yes, UM proved to be the better team when they beat us last Saturday, but frankly, we could have won if we had a few more lucky breaks. If we didn't give UM 7 points on that muffed punt and converted at least 1 of the FG's to TDs when we were first and goal, we would have had a great chance to win.

MSU is coming off an emotional high thinking they will be the B1G champs. They may be without Conner Cook again, and even if he plays, will not be 100%. They could be caught off guard from a Hack attack supported by a Barkley shuffle that could muster up just enough points to outscore them. Look, our team has pride and WILL NOT give up! We will play string and give MSU a better fight than they will think. Wouldn't it be great to beat them in East Lansing and spoil their celebration? As far as the OSU-MI game, as much as I dislike both teams, I wouldn't mind seeing Urban beaten again and go into his psych sick mode again and retire!

I'll bet you graduated from the ILLINOIS LION School of Optimism. That's OK, we need more upbeat posts around here. It's been awfully gloomy lately.

 

[nits74]

I'll bet you graduated from the ILLINOIS LION School of Optimism. That's OK, we need more upbeat posts around here. It's been awfully gloomy lately.

Stole my thunder. One of these times he's actually going to be right.

 

[fairgambit]

Stole my thunder. One of these times he's actually going to be right.

Well, I hope this is the week.

 

[nits74]

Michigan should have beaten MSU, if not for that last second punt fiasco. Yes, UM proved to be the better team when they beat us last Saturday, but frankly, we could have won if we had a few more lucky breaks. If we didn't give UM 7 points on that muffed punt and converted at least 1 of the FG's to TDs when we were first and goal, we would have had a great chance to win.

MSU is coming off an emotional high thinking they will be the B1G champs. They may be without Conner Cook again, and even if he plays, will not be 100%. They could be caught off guard from a Hack attack supported by a Barkley shuffle that could muster up just enough points to outscore them. Look, our team has pride and WILL NOT give up! We will play string and give MSU a better fight than they will think. Wouldn't it be great to beat them in East Lansing and spoil their celebration? As far as the OSU-MI game, as much as I dislike both teams, I wouldn't mind seeing Urban beaten again and go into his psych sick mode again and retire!

Jerademan74, did you watch the Michigan/MSU game? MSU thoroughly outplayed Michigan. Yeah the punt was a fluke, but MSU should have never been in the position they were to begin with.

 

[cyrizzle]

I'm about as optimistic of a PSU fan as there can be, and I think our chances of winning Saturday are slim to none (<10%). The best we can hope for at this point is to play a highly touted SEC team in our bowl game (Ole Miss or LSU) and knock them off.

 

[john4psu]

Personally, I love the fact that both Ohio State and Michigan fans are rooting for us this week.

As much as it may be a long shot, it would certainly be CJF's signature win and first over a highly ranked team as PSU HC (last year's ref robbery vs OSU will forever bother me and we wouldn't be looking for CJF's signature win) and prove that Penn State can beat one of the better teams in the BIG.

 

[PSU20]

Mich essentially had their 2nd team DL playing due to injuries and still spent a good part of the game in our backfield. A jail break with two DL at a time going unblocked to either sack Hack or tackle Barkley for a loss before he had a chance to get to the LOS. Pathetic indeed.

I can't see how we are going to block Mich St's DL, if so, game over and lost!

 

[Zenophile]

Mich essentially had their 2nd team DL playing due to injuries and still spent a good part of the game in our backfield. A jail break with two DL at a time going unblocked to either sack Hack or tackle Barkley for a loss before he had a chance to get to the LOS. Pathetic indeed.

I can't see how we are going to block Mich St's DL, if so, game over and lost!

 

[bdgan]

Michigan should have beaten MSU, if not for that last second punt fiasco. Yes, UM proved to be the better team when they beat us last Saturday, but frankly, we could have won if we had a few more lucky breaks. If we didn't give UM 7 points on that muffed punt and converted at least 1 of the FG's to TDs when we were first and goal, we would have had a great chance to win.

MSU is coming off an emotional high thinking they will be the B1G champs. They may be without Conner Cook again, and even if he plays, will not be 100%. They could be caught off guard from a Hack attack supported by a Barkley shuffle that could muster up just enough points to outscore them. Look, our team has pride and WILL NOT give up! We will play strong and give MSU a better fight than they will think. Wouldn't it be great to beat them in East Lansing and spoil their celebration? As far as the OSU-MI game, as much as I dislike both teams, I wouldn't mind seeing Urban beaten again and go into his psych sick mode again and retire!

Will Nassib play? Our DL did a nice job stopping the run vs. Michigan but we weren't able to put much pressure on Rudock. PSU's offense is pretty shaky so the defense has to be great. We already lost Wartman & Lucas. We can't afford to be w/o Nassib.

 

[BobPSU92]

You can't win, Rock!

 

[Lionguy32]

I just don't see it. Michigan State has the blue print to shut down our offense courtesy of Michigan, and I think our pass coverage is going to struggle once again without Lucas. Factor in the mess that is our special teams, and I can see this one getting ugly.

 

[Michael.Felli]

Michigan should have beaten MSU, if not for that last second punt fiasco. Yes, UM proved to be the better team when they beat us last Saturday, but frankly, we could have won if we had a few more lucky breaks. If we didn't give UM 7 points on that muffed punt and converted at least 1 of the FG's to TDs when we were first and goal, we would have had a great chance to win.

MSU is coming off an emotional high thinking they will be the B1G champs. They may be without Conner Cook again, and even if he plays, will not be 100%. They could be caught off guard from a Hack attack supported by a Barkley shuffle that could muster up just enough points to outscore them. Look, our team has pride and WILL NOT give up! We will play strong and give MSU a better fight than they will think. Wouldn't it be great to beat them in East Lansing and spoil their celebration? As far as the OSU-MI game, as much as I dislike both teams, I wouldn't mind seeing Urban beaten again and go into his psych sick mode again and retire!

 

[studed]

Big question is, which MSU D shows up?

I didn't think MSU had a defensive effort like they put forth vs. OSU in them this year. Their D lost talent, was banged up and generally looked a lot more vulnerable. Not sure they can play at that level from last week again but they're going for an outright division title so have to expect it.

Three weeks ago, I thought the MSU game was more winnable than the Northwestern game. MSU has just looked extremely average for most of the season.

If Cook plays, I'd don't think we can put up enough points. If he doesn't, we're looking at another sloppy defensive slugfest that will probably come down to the 4th quarter

well what happen against osu was on the osu coaches. msu put 9 men in the box and osu ran it on every down. the weak link on the msu defense is the msu db. the reason nebraska beat them is because they threw the ball deep on them. the msu db dont turn and look for the ball so jump balls will work also.

 

[studed]

I just don't see it. Michigan State has the blue print to shut down our offense courtesy of Michigan, and I think our pass coverage is going to struggle once again without Lucas. Factor in the mess that is our special teams, and I can see this one getting ugly.

msu special teams are also a mess. msu has the dline to cause a lot of problems but not the db. nebraska threw for 320 when the beat them. the rutgers qb that sucks was 15-24 208 yards 3 td no int. purdue lost 24-21 at msu. rutgers lost 31-24. should be in it till the end

 

[21Guns]

You cannot win close football games without an offensive line.

Until Penn State has a Division 1 quality offensive line, Penn State loses these games.

10 times out of 10.

 

[Ceasar]

You cannot win close football games without an offensive line.

Until Penn State has a Division 1 quality offensive line, Penn State loses these games.

10 times out of 10.

Surprisingly the MSU defense has been pedestrian much of the season. I say surprisingly because on Saturday they looked like the 1966 Spartans. IIRC they have given up 24+ points 5-6 times and three QB's have thrown for 300+ yards. As another poster pointed out, Rutgers and Purdue took them to the wire.
Of course 21 guns is correct that if our o-line cannot hold up it will be a long day.

 

[eric2015]

Michigan should have beaten MSU, if not for that last second punt fiasco. Yes, UM proved to be the better team when they beat us last Saturday, but frankly, we could have won if we had a few more lucky breaks. If we didn't give UM 7 points on that muffed punt and converted at least 1 of the FG's to TDs when we were first and goal, we would have had a great chance to win.

MSU is coming off an emotional high thinking they will be the B1G champs. They may be without Conner Cook again, and even if he plays, will not be 100%. They could be caught off guard from a Hack attack supported by a Barkley shuffle that could muster up just enough points to outscore them. Look, our team has pride and WILL NOT give up! We will play strong and give MSU a better fight than they will think. Wouldn't it be great to beat them in East Lansing and spoil their celebration? As far as the OSU-MI game, as much as I dislike both teams, I wouldn't mind seeing Urban beaten again and go into his psych sick mode again and retire!

The um and OSU offenses had a combined total of 360 yards and 15 first downs v MSU's D. Those games were played in AA and Columbus.

Hey, anything can happen, but for PSU to win this game, the scored will have to be something like 10-7. MSU has had a bad habit of playing to the opponents level this season.

 

[LRob]

Michigan should have beaten MSU, if not for that last second punt fiasco. Yes, UM proved to be the better team when they beat us last Saturday, but frankly, we could have won if we had a few more lucky breaks. If we didn't give UM 7 points on that muffed punt and converted at least 1 of the FG's to TDs when we were first and goal, we would have had a great chance to win.

MSU is coming off an emotional high thinking they will be the B1G champs. They may be without Conner Cook again, and even if he plays, will not be 100%. They could be caught off guard from a Hack attack supported by a Barkley shuffle that could muster up just enough points to outscore them. Look, our team has pride and WILL NOT give up! We will play strong and give MSU a better fight than they will think. Wouldn't it be great to beat them in East Lansing and spoil their celebration? As far as the OSU-MI game, as much as I dislike both teams, I wouldn't mind seeing Urban beaten again and go into his psych sick mode again and retire!

Yes, UM could've beat us. But wouldn't say they should have. MSU outgunned UM 390 to 230 and had 20 first downs to 10. UM's special teams was great however outgunning MSU 150 to 30. How ironic that there special teams that played great all game would be the unit that let them down in the end. But make no mistake MSU was the better team on offense and defense in that game.

 

[Jerademan74]

well what happen against osu was on the osu coaches. msu put 9 men in the box and osu ran it on every down. the weak link on the msu defense is the msu db. the reason nebraska beat them is because they threw the ball deep on them. the msu db dont turn and look for the ball so jump balls will work also.

And MSU will put 9 men in the box against us, which means we better have a short passing game plan to loosen up the line. If MSU crowds the line again, they will probably shut down Barkley like they did against Elliott. The difference is we have a QB who can hurt MSU if Hack can hit screen passes, TE's quick hitters ad WR short crossing patterns.

 

[pistol55]

Jerademan74, did you watch the Michigan/MSU game? MSU thoroughly outplayed Michigan. Yeah the punt was a fluke, but MSU should have never been in the position they were to begin with.

stupid.. msu never lead in the game and never had control. did you even watch the game? or does it just feel good to say that.

 

[21Guns]

Surprisingly the MSU defense has been pedestrian much of the season. I say surprisingly because on Saturday they looked like the 1966 Spartans. IIRC they have given up 24+ points 5-6 times and three QB's have thrown for 300+ yards. As another poster pointed out, Rutgers and Purdue took them to the wire.
Of course 21 guns is correct that if our o-line cannot hold up it will be a long day.

Unless new players are placed on the offensive line, it will indeed be a long day.

These kids are not going to get better. Kids who don't belong at this level, are not going to magically improve with time. If you don't have the talent to play at this level, then that's how it is. 15 extra practices, or 1500 extra practices.

By the way, Angelo Mangiro will be finished with his eligibility after our bowl game in late December. How much better did he get? I'll hang up and listen, HAHA.

 

[eric2015]

stupid.. msu never lead in the game and never had control. did you even watch the game? or does it just feel good to say that.

um was ahead due to special teams. MSU had 20 first downs to um's 10. MSU had close to 400 yards of O to um's 230. The game was played in AA.

For whatever inexplicable reason, the MSU coaches decided to go with their 2nd stirng punter because they thought the stage may be too big for the excellent true freshman punter. Damn near cost MSU the game.

 

[PSUSignore]

Well I'll be at the game so if we pull off the upset, I'm taking full credit.

FYI, I think we have one matchup we can potentially exploit. Our WRs vs. the MSU secondary. If we can connect on some passes that could force MSU to spread out a bit. I'm assuming, like most teams against us, they will stack the box. But their secondary has been vulnerable at times this season. If we can take advantage, we might be able to get something going. Of course, this requires our OL to give Hack time to throw. We might see something similar to the Maryland game where Hack was just chucking it downfield and asking the receivers to make a play. They did in that game. MSU is better than Maryland though, so that's no easy task.

 

[bdgan]

Unless new players are placed on the offensive line, it will indeed be a long day.

These kids are not going to get better. Kids who don't belong at this level, are not going to magically improve with time. If you don't have the talent to play at this level, then that's how it is. 15 extra practices, or 1500 extra practices.

By the way, Angelo Mangiro will be finished with his eligibility after our bowl game in late December. How much better did he get? I'll hang up and listen, HAHA.

The lack of improvement is indeed disturbing. Perhaps you can say the current starters improved enough to offset the losses of Smith and Dieffenbach but that's about it. Most of these guys had multiple D1 offers so you have to ask if they were overrated or poorly coached.

Beh, Brosnan, Sorrell, and Wright weren't any higher rated than the existing starters. They were all rated 3* but they had modest offer lists (MD, VA, PITT, etc. but not the big boys). We've gotta hope that one or two of these guys were underrated or our coaching improves.

 

[NewYC]

Michigan should have beaten MSU, if not for that last second punt fiasco. Yes, UM proved to be the better team when they beat us last Saturday, but frankly, we could have won if we had a few more lucky breaks. If we didn't give UM 7 points on that muffed punt and converted at least 1 of the FG's to TDs when we were first and goal, we would have had a great chance to win.

MSU is coming off an emotional high thinking they will be the B1G champs. They may be without Conner Cook again, and even if he plays, will not be 100%. They could be caught off guard from a Hack attack supported by a Barkley shuffle that could muster up just enough points to outscore them. Look, our team has pride and WILL NOT give up! We will play strong and give MSU a better fight than they will think. Wouldn't it be great to beat them in East Lansing and spoil their celebration? As far as the OSU-MI game, as much as I dislike both teams, I wouldn't mind seeing Urban beaten again and go into his psych sick mode again and retire!

They certainly have a chance, but it's not a good one. MSU may well be the best team we play all year. They did beat both OSU and mich on the road. Even with the last second miracle, that's no simple feat. Their schedule this year did not bode well for a championship and here they are. They deserve a lot of credit and are much better than PSU. PSU is going to have to run the ball well to win-and that's not likely.

 

[SR108]

Michigan should have beaten MSU, if not for that last second punt fiasco. Yes, UM proved to be the better team when they beat us last Saturday, but frankly, we could have won if we had a few more lucky breaks. If we didn't give UM 7 points on that muffed punt and converted at least 1 of the FG's to TDs when we were first and goal, we would have had a great chance to win.

MSU is coming off an emotional high thinking they will be the B1G champs. They may be without Conner Cook again, and even if he plays, will not be 100%. They could be caught off guard from a Hack attack supported by a Barkley shuffle that could muster up just enough points to outscore them. Look, our team has pride and WILL NOT give up! We will play strong and give MSU a better fight than they will think. Wouldn't it be great to beat them in East Lansing and spoil their celebration? As far as the OSU-MI game, as much as I dislike both teams, I wouldn't mind seeing Urban beaten again and go into his psych sick mode again and retire!

On the road against a well coached team that has pretty good motivation to win? Something drastically different will have to happen.