Obli's Observations: The case of the missing "W"

[BBrown]

I think you’re overlooking Slade.

as is the staff. Ok he had a fumble. I've seen much worse from upperclassman that are still playing.

 

[BBrown]

What I have seen are WR's not are not getting separation and a defense that tries to blitz relentlessly at the end of games. I know that fans don't like prevent at the end of games but percentage-wise it works. You can't keep giving up TD's in a minute.

I thought we blitzed a good bit all game and still couldn't get to a QB with a patchwork OL that NW was able to sack.

 

[jrd23psu]

Expecting to beat this MSU team at home is absolutely not having expectation that are too high. That's insane. This same MSU team barely beat Utah State, lost to ASU and Northwestern and has looked bad this year. They have mountains of OL issues as well.

The idea that expecting this team to win this and and be 5-1 are ridiculous. This was 100% a let down by Franklin and Co.

 

[BBrown]

Agree...my concern is the heat CJF is taking when, in my mind, we over performed against tOSU and shot ourselves in the foot versus Sparty. What needs to be fixed can be fixed. We are a very young team except at QB.

CJF brought some of that heat on himself after the OSU pc.

 

[GregInPitt]

• Lets face it, expectations for this team were way too high. We are starting LB's that wouldn't start for Illinois. We have two DT's and are playing a OG at DT. Out secondary is OK but certainly won't carry a team. We get zero pressure on the QB and can't blitz because our corners can't be counted on to defend a screen. We have to commit our S to stop the run. That is the defense. On offense, the OL is under achieving. We've abandoned the deep ball. Stevens has been a non-factor. JJ and the rest have been iffy in pass catching (at best). We have no senior leadership from any kid whose first name doesn't rhyme with Brace. We are starting a true Fr at TE and WR.
• Why were expectations so high for this team? There were those of us that predicted a 3 or 4 loss season and were told we were being too negative. Fact is, we over performed against tOSU and under performed against Sparty. Don't forget Appy St took us to OT. This isn't a good team, fellas.
• With all of that, we suffered death by a thousand cuts. Penalties, officiating, TO's, lack of TOs, dropped balls, an uncharacteristic off day for #9....all led to a last second loss when we were winning the entire game. And this was to a team that many expected to win the B1G East. So life isn't so bad.
• Players?
  • Trace seems to have lost confidence in JJ. And JJ is never going to be the kind of guy that gets open the way a Hamler or Thompson can. JJ isn't that fast, he's not going to separate. His skill is that he is HUGE for a WR. Gotta let him make plays when he is covered.
  • Where has the deep ball been all season? We've got guys that can go deep in Thompkins, JJ, Hamler and Polk. This has been a hallmark of our offense the last two years and it is simply missing this year.
  • OL has under achieved. I'll just leave that there. They haven't pass blocked very well at all. Trace has to leave the pocket a lot. As a result, Trace seems to not trust his stuff and think too much.
  • Speaking of Trace, I feel he is trying to carry this team and is trying to do too much. He isn't trusting anyone to catch the ball anymore. Its like he is afraid to fail.
  • DE's have not done much, perhaps because it is easy to DT them when 30 isn't in the game. Our LB'ers are just not good at blitzing and our CB's are not good at tacking. This makes us very susceptible to traditional and bubble screens. A problem with playing well coached teams early in the season is that they give blueprints to teams on how to beat you.
  • The one bright spot has been Sanders, at RB. Kid has been awesome. It appears we simply do not have a second string RB. This is where I think 2 could have been utilized better, if only to take some pressure off of Sanders.
  • The True Freshmen have pretty much disappeared.
• It appears the coaches decided to concentrate on the basics and didn't put anything in on the bye week. I always wonder about bye weeks. They do allow you to heal but the team always seems to play flat the following week.
• Back to the game, it was so frustrating as Sparty was ready to fold so many times. The fumble by Trace when we were driving to go up by 10 or 14 in Q1 might have killed Sparty. Then, we just kept shooting ourselves in the foot and letting them hang. Momentum is such a big issue in football, we just could sustain it. Way too many self inflicted wounds but it always seemed like Sparty was the beneficiary of a lucky bounce or call.
• With all of the problems of our defense, the offense was the real problem. Trace's worst game and no back up RB to spell Sanders really hurt us. And, we don't have that possession WR that we had last year to keep the ball. Then, Trace running OOB was simply inexcusable. We ran 11 seconds off the clock in our final possession. 11 seconds....and we allowed them to keep a TO. Why was that important? It allowed them to use the middle of the field in the final drive knowing they had a TO in their pocket if they didn't get a first down or go OOB.
• Why do we not get turnovers with this defense? INT's almost nonexistent but we don't seem to recover fumbles either.

In the end, we've seen the fourth quarter failures way too much. To me, it is part depth and part scheme. Our thin D is gasses at DT, DE and LB in the 4th quarter. It used to be sanctions, now it is injury and youth. The scheme doesn't have a way to maintain drives without throwing the ball. And when you throw and it is incomplete, it stops the clock. In addition, it is risky from a TO perspective.

This is a critical year for CJF. It is the first non-Barkley year. He is showing, with the Giants, how big of a loss he is. But we also lost a ton on D at S and LBer. I am fine with the defensive coaching, given what we have. But the O has been a mess. The OL isn't there, the WR's aren't improving and the coaches need to understand we need to have a large lead going into the 4th Qtr. Or, we need to add to the offensive scheme. I have to ask, would you rather be up by six or down by six going into the 4th quarter? I am honestly not sure. The task now is to win a game and feel good again. Indy is a critical game....and its on the road.

In the meantime, Michigan looked good but it is crazy that Wiscy didn't try to pass in the second half? Wiscy is a very beatable team. UM seems to be gaining momentum and their QB is improving game by game.

Bottomline? This team is what it is. We aren't really that good and the over expectations have hurt the team's attitude. Honestly, we lost a one-point game to one of the best teams in the nation. we then lost to a team many expected to contend. Had we lost both games by ten points, and played well, we'd probably feel differently. We need to reconsider that this is a 3 to 4 loss team. Next year, IMHO, will be a better year.

Nice summary. Hamler is a redshirt freshman, not true freshman, and one of the best RS freshmen WR's in college football at that.

I agree 100% regarding JJ at WR. He does not get open and is not a factor at all for very long stretches of games. If I was his coach I would tell him to lose 15 lbs and get faster.

With what we see out of our WR's regarding lack of big play ability and inability to catch 50-50 balls, where are George and Shorter? I trust CJF's judgement, but why not throw them a couple jump balls each game.

And with Sanders showing his talent, why don't we get him a couple swing passes, or passes to him after the pocket breaks down, each game?

Nice DL summary. For as good as Miller is, and for all the talent that YGM has, our DE's can not get consistent pressure on the QB. Do those two get worn down and become less effective as the games go on? We just don't have the DE talent that OSU does, and I agree that the lack of DT talent allows teams to double our DE's. I saw YGM get doubled on Saturday and he is just not good enough to take on two big olinemen and still get in a play. Same with Toney. We need a player like Harrison added to what we have, and a healthy Simmons, to compete well against top Olines. And we need our young DT's to get some experience this year, get stronger this off season, and form a better DT rotation than what we have this year.

I hope CJF gets Barber, Cullpepper and Hawkins some snaps in the games we should win handily (Rutgers and ??) so that they progress, looking ahead to next season. The good thing is that all of our DT's should be back for 2019. The bad is that CJF does not have a commitment from a 2019 top DT talent that could come in and make an early impact. We need a couple of DT's to make major leaps forward in performance going into 2019.

 

[manofsteel200]

When your blitzes start from 10 yards off the LOS, you are setting yourself up for failure.

 

[lein]

Why is believing we should win a game when up by 12 with 8 minutes left, a game we were dominant, having too high expectations?

 

[artsandletters]

I believe he played a few plays to spell Sanders and had one carry.

Not a vote of confidence.

 

[royboy]

I thought we blitzed a good bit all game and still couldn't get to a QB with a patchwork OL that NW was able to sack.

Lewerke was sacked 3 times and pressured many other times; he went 24-52, a low percentage for a capable QB.

But....two notes on the MSU passing -- Conner Heyward was a very important 1-1 with his halfback pass, and Lewerke drove the team 76 yards when it counted, with another disturbing PSU experience of the opponents moving effectively late in the game.

 

[danvillenit]

As well as Sanders is playing I don’t see Slade not playing as an issue

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

As well as Sanders is playing I don’t see Slade not playing as an issue

Any reason they can't be out there together? Slade is electric with the ball (when he holds onto it); he and Hamler should play a ton more.

 

[artsandletters]

I'd certainly like to see PSU get more interceptions (who wouldn't?)….

FWIW:
Interceptions in 2018: PSU 6, OSU 6, UMich 7, Wisconsin 4

Last five years: PSU 52.... UMich 45.... OSU and Wisconsin both among national leaders over that time frame at 77 and 64 respectively (OSU had a HUGE year in 2014 with 25 of them)
Overall - that puts PSU squarely in the middle-of-the-pack among P5 programs.


I think one of the "frustrations" this year is how many potential (and even "how can he f-ing drop that one?!?!?!") interceptions PSU has had.


Penn State is NUMBER 1 IN THE NATION (among P5 programs.... behind only Fresno State and Houston) in getting their hands on opponent passes this year.
http://www.cfbstats.com/2018/leader/national/team/offense/split01/category23/sort02.html
So there is certainly nothing lacking wrt scheme/talent/etc..... they are just not hauling those opportunities in this year.


PSU has had their hands on 43 opponent passes this year (that is on pace for the highest total for PSU since "Passes Broken Up" became an official stat).
Sooooooo many "coulda's" this year - - - - a couple of them that coulda' been game changers.

I love how you get to the facts. If I was a PS alumnus I’d absolutely vote for you. Reminds of the scene in Annie Hall with Marshall McLuhan. People say shit based on untruths. POS in the WH being the benchmark.

 

[Obliviax]

As well as Sanders is playing I don’t see Slade not playing as an issue

most teams feel that the RB position is one where the starter needs to be spelled. Sanders got a ton of time, last season, when Barkley was the starter, for example.

 

[okinburg1]

Any reason they can't be out there together? Slade is electric with the ball (when he holds onto it); he and Hamler should play a ton more.

Dare I say Miles isn't getting enough love? He was pretty electric on that 48yd TD romp - that jump cut looked like Saquon 2.0.
Not saying Slade isn't a good back, but as others have mentioned Sanders was PSU's best player on the field against MSU and only had 17 carries. Except for immediately after the 78yd run he didn't exactly look gassed.

 

[danvillenit]

Facts would say different. Slade has 26 carries thru six games. Sanders had 25 carries for the entire season

 

[BBrown]

Lewerke was sacked 3 times and pressured many other times; he went 24-52, a low percentage for a capable QB.

But....two notes on the MSU passing -- Conner Heyward was a very important 1-1 with his halfback pass, and Lewerke drove the team 76 yards when it counted, with another disturbing PSU experience of the opponents moving effectively late in the game.

Yea you are correct and probably my biggest issue with our play against their OL wasn't the pressure on their QB but the inability of our defense to put them in 2nd and long. They had waaayyyy too many 2nd and 5's.

 

[Obliviax]

???????????


In 2017:
Sanders had 31 carries last year (in 13 games, 2.4 carries per game)
ALL other RBs but Barkley - including Sanders - had 49 total for the season(3.8 per game)

This year:
Slade has 26 carries (4.3 carries per game)
ALL other RBs but Sanders have 54 (9 carries per game.... and already, through 6 games, more than they had last year on 13 games)

Slade has had one carry in the last two games.

 

[Obliviax]

Facts would say different. Slade has 26 carries thru six games. Sanders had 25 carries for the entire season

one carry against tOSU and Sparty combined. His "26 carries" were mostly in mop up time versus lesser competition and before our #2 RB got injured.

 

[BBrown]

Lewerke was sacked 3 times and pressured many other times; he went 24-52, a low percentage for a capable QB.

But....two notes on the MSU passing -- Conner Heyward was a very important 1-1 with his halfback pass, and Lewerke drove the team 76 yards when it counted, with another disturbing PSU experience of the opponents moving effectively late in the game.

True and those would be good numbers against most OL, but that was a patchwork OL and with 50 some passing attempts I would like to have seen the sack numbers in the 6+ range.
That being said I was more disapointed in the amount of yardage they got on first down running the ball.

 

[BBrown]

THAT is an issue that needs to be improved upon. No doubt (IMO).

PSU did get a fair number of pressures - and against a normal offense one might even consider it a "good job" - - - - but that MSU OLine should have been abused when they tried to throw nearly 60 times, and they weren't.

Yea 3 sacks is good against a normal B1G line but not that line with that many attempts. I would have like to see the sack total at 6+

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

Dare I say Miles isn't getting enough love? He was pretty electric on that 48yd TD romp - that jump cut looked like Saquon 2.0.
Not saying Slade isn't a good back, but as others have mentioned Sanders was PSU's best player on the field against MSU and only had 17 carries. Except for immediately after the 78yd run he didn't exactly look gassed.

Sanders has been better than advertised IMO. I still would like to see them out there in some formations. If you're going to try to get one over on an opposing D, I'd rather have Slade out there than Stevens.

 

[fkkkjm]

People need to stop saying we don’t have talent or that talent is thin!! I’m sick of hearing it. We are now playing 4* or 5* players all over on both sides of the ball. The below talent pool on offense should be able to score more than 17 against MSU at home!!! We have no depth at Tailback??? You need to go to our 3rd string to get to a guy who wasn’t a 5* recruit. Put on an Alabama game and watch underclassmen play - they have guys like Hamler all over (Henry ruggs can fly and is a sophomore as one example). On the list below i’d say only Freiermuth, Hamler, Sanders and Mcsorley are really standing out.

On defense, Matos and Simmons are two of our highest rated D-end recruits in the last decade and they both had offers from programs like Alabama. Wtf is with the excuse making there? Daquon Jones, Austin Johnson and Jordan Hill probably wouldn’t even have gotten offers under this staff. I get we don’t have the best team in the country, Franklin and Crew are getting a pass like they have nothing to work with.

At a certain point Franklin needs to stop bitching about talent gaps and being “thin” and beat someone he’s not supposed to beat. Franklin makes excuses because he’s a players coach. He has PLENTY of talent and way more than Dantonio!!!!!

Here is your 17 point offense at home after a bye against a team that lost to Northwestern and is a sieve in the pass game::::

Sanders - 5* - upperclassman
JJ - 4* - upperclassman
Trace - 3* upperclassman
Polk 4* - upperclassman
Slade - 5* - N/A
Thompkins -4* - upperclassman
Freiermuth 4*
Hamler - 4*
Menet - 4/5*
Fries - 3*
Gonzalez - 4* - upperclassman
McGovern - 4* - upperclassman
Bates - 4* - upperclassman
Shorter -5*
Kuntz -4*
Bowers - 3* - upperclassman
Dalton - 3*
George - 4*
Dotson - 4*

 

[lionpride90]

People need to stop saying we don’t have talent or that talent is thin!! I’m sick of hearing it. We are now playing 4* or 5* players all over on both sides of the ball. The below talent pool on offense should be able to score more than 17 against MSU at home!!! We have no depth at Tailback??? You need to go to our 3rd string to get to a guy who wasn’t a 5* recruit. Put on an Alabama game and watch underclassmen play - they have guys like Hamler all over (Henry ruggs can fly and is a sophomore as one example). On the list below i’d say only Freiermuth, Hamler, Sanders and Mcsorley are really standing out.

On defense, Matos and Simmons are two of our highest rated D-end recruits in the last decade and they both had offers from programs like Alabama. Wtf is with the excuse making there? Daquon Jones, Austin Johnson and Jordan Hill probably wouldn’t even have gotten offers under this staff. I get we don’t have the best team in the country, Franklin and Crew are getting a pass like they have nothing to work with.

At a certain point Franklin needs to stop bitching about talent gaps and being “thin” and beat someone he’s not supposed to beat. Franklin makes excuses because he’s a players coach. He has PLENTY of talent and way more than Dantonio!!!!!

Here is your 17 point offense at home after a bye against a team that lost to Northwestern and is a sieve in the pass game::::

Sanders - 5* - upperclassman
JJ - 4* - upperclassman
Trace - 3* upperclassman
Polk 4* - upperclassman
Slade - 5* - N/A
Thompkins -4* - upperclassman
Freiermuth 4*
Hamler - 4*
Menet - 4/5*
Fries - 3*
Gonzalez - 4* - upperclassman
McGovern - 4* - upperclassman
Bates - 4* - upperclassman
Shorter -5*
Kuntz -4*
Bowers - 3* - upperclassman
Dalton - 3*
George - 4*
Dotson - 4*

Great post. The Defense is not a juggernaut but it is the Offense that has caused the problems this year (outside of App State). Just for kicks, can we compare how well the offense has made post-halftime adjustments this year? Also, Trace is immediately forced to run and rarely can set hit feet to pass. Even on his fumble in the 1Q, you will notice our O linemen on their knees and looking like they just lost a street fight all around him. Not tough. I knew when the ball hit the ground our guys would not be there to help.

 

[Obliviax]

That isn't what I was responding to....
I was just showing the numbers that illustrate - overwhelmingly - that PSU has "rotated" their TB carries much more this year than last year.


And, FWIW, Sanders had 4 games last year were he didn't have a single carry.
PSU had three games where NO other TB had a carry. (Which, FWIW, I didn't see a problem with)

Great...all that and $.99.

My point is, we have had one carry by a running back not named Sanders in the last two games. Coincidently, the two best opponents and two losses.

 

[okinburg1]

People need to stop saying we don’t have talent or that talent is thin!! I’m sick of hearing it. We are now playing 4* or 5* players all over on both sides of the ball. The below talent pool on offense should be able to score more than 17 against MSU at home!!! We have no depth at Tailback??? You need to go to our 3rd string to get to a guy who wasn’t a 5* recruit. Put on an Alabama game and watch underclassmen play - they have guys like Hamler all over (Henry ruggs can fly and is a sophomore as one example). On the list below i’d say only Freiermuth, Hamler, Sanders and Mcsorley are really standing out.

On defense, Matos and Simmons are two of our highest rated D-end recruits in the last decade and they both had offers from programs like Alabama. Wtf is with the excuse making there? Daquon Jones, Austin Johnson and Jordan Hill probably wouldn’t even have gotten offers under this staff. I get we don’t have the best team in the country, Franklin and Crew are getting a pass like they have nothing to work with.

At a certain point Franklin needs to stop bitching about talent gaps and being “thin” and beat someone he’s not supposed to beat. Franklin makes excuses because he’s a players coach. He has PLENTY of talent and way more than Dantonio!!!!!

Here is your 17 point offense at home after a bye against a team that lost to Northwestern and is a sieve in the pass game::::

Sanders - 5* - upperclassman
JJ - 4* - upperclassman
Trace - 3* upperclassman
Polk 4* - upperclassman
Slade - 5* - N/A
Thompkins -4* - upperclassman
Freiermuth 4*
Hamler - 4*
Menet - 4/5*
Fries - 3*
Gonzalez - 4* - upperclassman
McGovern - 4* - upperclassman
Bates - 4* - upperclassman
Shorter -5*
Kuntz -4*
Bowers - 3* - upperclassman
Dalton - 3*
George - 4*
Dotson - 4*

All the more reason that if the O doesn't improve as the season progresses, Rahne should be shown the door. Pry doesn't have quite the same talent to work with, but not doubling Davis on the game-winning drive might be a fire-able offense, in and of itself.

 

[royboy]

Sanders has been better than advertised IMO. I still would like to see them out there in some formations. If you're going to try to get one over on an opposing D, I'd rather have Slade out there than Stevens.

I'm in favor of seeing Slade and Sanders both on the field on some occasions. Both are elusive, very talented runners.

Is that being looked at? Is their blocking an issue that would preclude this? Don't know. But for developmental reasons, hope to see this type of lineup, at least experimentally, in the second half of the season.

 

[LundyPSU]

Passing game the pass few years has been largely centered on WR's and TE's making tough catches. Loss of Godwin, then Hamilton and Gesicki have hurt because for each them, it was their strength. This current group has not demonstrated that, which likely impacts Trace's decision to throw downfield. Hamler has been the best WR by far, but that isn't his game.

 

[djr4rebs]

In regards to Slade, until we game plan to give him the ball defenses know that Trace is going to pull it out and keep it or that we are passing (our RBs line up a hair in front of Trace on passes vs beside him on runs).

LBs abuse our middle a good DEs crash our ends. How often do we take advantage of this?

The draw Sanders scored on is one example, and he had to make a DT miss or that play is stopped for a short gain.

 

[PSU&Trout]

I wish we were Nebraska.

BTW, just an aside. I watched the Nebraska loss after a 10 point lead and 5 to go. Then after our game switched to the VB and watched a cadre of red Nebraska fans sit in Rec Hall and watch their very excellent VB team choke away a 2-1 lead and lose to a group of mostly PSU freshman. Talk about a very bad day-

 

[pandaczar12]

If taylor was more aware he had plenty of room to make sure he didn't get touched and then he runs in untouched for the TD to go up 21-7. I think that huge of a momentum would have carried PSU to the win.

The first half had a feel that if if PSU would have just put 7 more on the board, the game would have been out of reach, and they likely would have added a few more late.

But it wasn't far into the second half you could feel the 4th quarter collapse coming. It was almost comical how every single bounce kept going MSU's way. At least it made coming to terms with the inevitable loss easier.

 

[Media Fan]

Ex-Alabama, consistent effort seems to be a far in the past expectation.

 

[N&B4PSU]

Taylor has been decent, but he also dropped an easy pick on Saturday in MSU territory during the 4th quarter. still not sure how he dropped that

I always do the palm-forehead slap when it happens, but then I remember the old bit of wisdom... there's a good reason those kids aren't receivers. Sometimes you get a kid who has it all, but most times you hope for a good cover guy who makes tackles and anticipates well.. if he grabs one now and then, all the better.

 

[dailybuck777]

Although from the posts here, apparently there is a lot of negativity towards Dantonio, I think he needs to be given credit as a great coach. He was OSU's defensive coordinator during the 2002 OSU national championship season under Tressel.

Also, he beat a very talented OSU team in 2015 at OSU with his second team quarterback.

Wisconsin had an All American center, and after the 2002 game with OSU he stated words to the effect that OSU's defense had used run blitzes from all angles the likes of which he had never seen before. After he left OSU, OSU's defense, although sometimes good, was never the same.

The Detroit Free Press today has an article about Dantonio where it discusses the game plan. For some reason I can't paste the link.

 

[N&B4PSU]

Nice summary.

Nice DL summary. For as good as Miller is, and for all the talent that YGM has, our DE's can not get consistent pressure on the QB. Do those two get worn down and become less effective as the games go on?

There are teams who put their fists in the air at the conclusion of the 3rd qtr to signify their absolute belief that they are the stronger and will dominate play and win the 4th qtr (and likely the game).

No matter what our lead, I haven't felt that way about a penn state team in a while.

In large part that's because of depth issues... we are gassed and I full well expect to struggle and hope we have enough cushion to overcome the onslaught.

I'm hopeful that as we add more depth this team will become dominant again in the final stanza. Losing a couple of important DL's before the season (and a certain unnamed LB) really hurt our depth. It shows.

 

[N&B4PSU]

Although from the posts here, apparently there is a lot of negativity towards Dantonio, I think he needs to be given credit as a great coach. He was OSU's defensive coordinator during the 2002 OSU national championship season under Tressel.

Also, he beat a very talented OSU team in 2015 at OSU with his second team quarterback.

Wisconsin had an All American center, and after the 2002 game with OSU he stated words to the effect that OSU's defense had used run blitzes from all angles the likes of which he had never seen before. After he left OSU, OSU's defense, although sometimes good, was never the same.

The Detroit Free Press today has an article about Dantonio where it discusses the game plan. For some reason I can't paste the link.

They (TV folks) noted how many huge games he has won without key players (really key)... I don't like him but I sure as hell respect his ability and he kept that msu team going when it would have been ez for them to fold on saturday. Not a guy i personally care for, but the man can coach.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

Saw this on TOS (which I guess got it from here somewhere?) - play-calling at the end of games where we had a lead:

2014 Illinois

Penn State gets the ball up 14-13 with 3:14 left.

Akeel Lynch run for 3
Akeel Lynch run for 2
Hack run for 4
Punt

Illinois drives 54 yards - kicks winning FG with 0:08 left.

---------
2014 Maryland

Penn State gets the ball up 19-17 with 3:00 left.

Lynch run for 4
Lynch run for 0
Lynch run for 3
Punt

Maryland drives 17 yards - kicks winning FG with 0:28 left

---------
2015 NW

Penn State gets the ball up 21-20 with 3:10 left.

Barkley run for 6
Barkley run for 3
Barkley run for loss of 1
Punt

NW drives 36 yards - kicks winning FG with 0:08 left

---------
2016 ('17) Rose Bowl

Penn State gets the ball up 49-42 with 3:50 left.

Barkley run for 1
Barkley run for 10
Barkley run for NG
Barkley run for 6
Barkley run for loss of 7
Punt

USC drives 80 yards for TD to tie. After Trace pick, kicks winning FG with 0:00 remaining

---------
2017 Ohio State

Penn State gets the ball up 38-33 with 4:20 left.

Barkley run for loss of 7
Barkley run for loss of 2
Barkley run for 5
Punt

Ohio State drives 58 yards for winning TD

---------
2018 Michigan State

Penn State gets the ball up 17-14 with 1:41 left.

Trace run for 3
Sanders run for loss of 1
Trace run for 3
Punt

Michigan State drives 76 yards for winning TD

 

[ram2020]

Sickening...can someone send to Franklin?

 

[fkkkjm]

Saw this on TOS (which I guess got it from here somewhere?) - play-calling at the end of games where we had a lead:

2014 Illinois

Penn State gets the ball up 14-13 with 3:14 left.

Akeel Lynch run for 3
Akeel Lynch run for 2
Hack run for 4
Punt

Illinois drives 54 yards - kicks winning FG with 0:08 left.

---------
2014 Maryland

Penn State gets the ball up 19-17 with 3:00 left.

Lynch run for 4
Lynch run for 0
Lynch run for 3
Punt

Maryland drives 17 yards - kicks winning FG with 0:28 left

---------
2015 NW

Penn State gets the ball up 21-20 with 3:10 left.

Barkley run for 6
Barkley run for 3
Barkley run for loss of 1
Punt

NW drives 36 yards - kicks winning FG with 0:08 left

---------
2016 ('17) Rose Bowl

Penn State gets the ball up 49-42 with 3:50 left.

Barkley run for 1
Barkley run for 10
Barkley run for NG
Barkley run for 6
Barkley run for loss of 7
Punt

USC drives 80 yards for TD to tie. After Trace pick, kicks winning FG with 0:00 remaining

---------
2017 Ohio State

Penn State gets the ball up 38-33 with 4:20 left.

Barkley run for loss of 7
Barkley run for loss of 2
Barkley run for 5
Punt

Ohio State drives 58 yards for winning TD

---------
2018 Michigan State

Penn State gets the ball up 17-14 with 1:41 left.

Trace run for 3
Sanders run for loss of 1
Trace run for 3
Punt

Michigan State drives 76 yards for winning TD

What a great post. Staple this to franklins forehead.

 

[fastlax16]

Saw this on TOS (which I guess got it from here somewhere?) - play-calling at the end of games where we had a lead:

2014 Illinois

Penn State gets the ball up 14-13 with 3:14 left.

Akeel Lynch run for 3
Akeel Lynch run for 2
Hack run for 4
Punt

Illinois drives 54 yards - kicks winning FG with 0:08 left.

---------
2014 Maryland

Penn State gets the ball up 19-17 with 3:00 left.

Lynch run for 4
Lynch run for 0
Lynch run for 3
Punt

Maryland drives 17 yards - kicks winning FG with 0:28 left

---------
2015 NW

Penn State gets the ball up 21-20 with 3:10 left.

Barkley run for 6
Barkley run for 3
Barkley run for loss of 1
Punt

NW drives 36 yards - kicks winning FG with 0:08 left

---------
2016 ('17) Rose Bowl

Penn State gets the ball up 49-42 with 3:50 left.

Barkley run for 1
Barkley run for 10
Barkley run for NG
Barkley run for 6
Barkley run for loss of 7
Punt

USC drives 80 yards for TD to tie. After Trace pick, kicks winning FG with 0:00 remaining

---------
2017 Ohio State

Penn State gets the ball up 38-33 with 4:20 left.

Barkley run for loss of 7
Barkley run for loss of 2
Barkley run for 5
Punt

Ohio State drives 58 yards for winning TD

---------
2018 Michigan State

Penn State gets the ball up 17-14 with 1:41 left.

Trace run for 3
Sanders run for loss of 1
Trace run for 3
Punt

Michigan State drives 76 yards for winning TD

Post of the day.

 

[Shadow99]

Our players seem to always slip before a first down in this territory too, think Miles twice against OSU.

Speaking of which, just curious: is there an issue with choosing appropriate footwear? Weather was fine during this particular game, correct?
Not sure if it is true, but it seems as if Penn State slips much more frequently than any given opponent. Perhaps it is just because I don't notice when it happens to the other team because the outcome of the play is more favorable?