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Obli's Observations - The Sun Came Up Today

I never said the D didn’t show up nor did I say they didn’t play great. They made a ton of critical great stops. I won’t get caught up in semantics. If the term “break” bothers you then I’ll say “worn down”. Just referencing the many many times we heard the “bend but don’t break” defensive style. They played great but got worn down. It is possible for both things to be true. That will happen with any D no matter how great they are playing when you factor in injuries, playing with half a field, and never getting a breather due to 3 and outs.
Ok we can agree on worn down . . . A little ✌️
 
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Just rewatched (much to my disgust) the end of the game on Big 10 Network. Roberson had guys wide open but always chose his first and only read. On the failed 4th down pass to Lee, he had 84 and 6 wide open in the middle for the first down and Dotson blew by his man and was probably open for a TD. A shame we did not have a more poised backup.
 
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Just rewatched (much to my disgust) the end of the game on Big 10 Network. Roberson had guys wide open but always chose his first and only read. On the failed 4th down pass to Lee, he had 84 and 6 wide open in the middle for the first down and Dotson blew by his man and was probably open for a TD. A shame we did not have a more poised backup.
I believe he was told to just hit the first read. If he wasn’t open, Run the ball. You can see he never even looks to a second read and runs without having any rush or pressure on him from the DL.
 
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It was inevitable they were going to score. They were starting the drives in such positive field position that I think if they didn't get the TD they would have beaten us with two more FGs. We were so pathetic on offense that they were destined to get the ball back after the drive which resulted in the TD probably two more times. Remember their FG kicker was money and I think he drills anything from 50 and in and possibly from 55 and in.

Additionally, they always burn us with one big play everytime we play out there. You could sense it was coming and sure enough it did.
Yep…and it’s always a trick play or misdirection.
 
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What is the Iowa/PSU won/loss breakdown over the past 10 games? They deserve credit for taking advantage of Clifford’s injury. Prior to him getting hurt, it was 17-3 PSU despite an INT at the PSU 8 on the first possession and PSU had 208 yards of offense to Iowa’s 49.
It was 17-10 when Robeson trotted onto the field for the first time. Iowa had responded with a 75 yard TD drive after SC injury and PSU FG.

Both teams had 75 yard TD drives. Otherwise, PSU had a 39 yard TD drive off an INT in 4 plays and Iowa had a 44 yard TD "drive" in 1 play after having pinned PSU back to the goal line on a punt resulting in a 3 and out

That's football.
 
It was 17-10 when Robeson trotted onto the field for the first time. Iowa had responded with a 75 yard TD drive after SC injury and PSU FG.

Both teams had 75 yard TD drives. Otherwise, PSU had a 39 yard TD drive off an INT in 4 plays and Iowa had a 44 yard TD "drive" in 1 play after having pinned PSU back to the goal line on a punt resulting in a 3 and out

That's football.
Correct. it was 17-3 when Clifford went out.
 
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he's wrong when he says "clifford doesn't play defense". That is just a dumb thing to say. PSU couldn't sustain drives and had several three and outs. The point being, keeping the ball on offense is THE BEST DEFENSE there is.
Agreed this analysis is garbage. Even if Clifford doesn't go out, we can at least move the ball enough to flip the field, keep our defense off the field a little and force Iowa to actually move the ball the length of the field, something they aren't capable of doing on a regular basis.
 
There isn't a lot to be said that hasn't already been said. But here are my observations:

  • If you had told me that Clifford would get hurt and not play in the second half, I'd have thought PSU would lose in ten out of ten bets. I am willing to say not a single person on this board would have thought PSU would win on the road against a #3 team in the nation. So enough with the gloom and doom.
  • We also all knew the biggest weakness on the team was at QB. SC has exceeded all expectations (except for that weak-ass shit INT to start the game). Anyone who thought TR was prepared to lead this team on the road against a top 5 defense in the nation was smoking crack. TR is just a different kind of QB than SC. You can't game plan for QB a and then play QB b when his skill set is 180 degrees different and expect performance.
  • In the meantime, WL's team beat LSU and is 5-0. He was 14 of 17 for 3 TDs and zero INTs. He also had 75 yards rushing with a 6.8 YPC average. This isn't to state he is better than SC, I don't think he is. But he was a very good back up and we'd have won this game had he stayed. He made the right move....especially if SC decides to stay one more year.
  • Football is a game of momentum. SC getting injured shook up our team, especially the OL. It invigorated a crazy Iowa crowd that was largely neutralized up until that point. It is pretty clear, if SC doesn't get hurt, we win going away. I think I am a fairly realistic observer and don't drink the PSU coolaid. But PSU was dominating the game to that point, and the second half would have been the same IMHO.
  • A team is only as strong as its weakest link my football coach always used to say. Why? the other team will find your weakest link and game plan to exploit it. Iowa is well-coached. When they saw our starting QB, they changed their plan. They stacked the LOS and dared PSU to prove they could throw. That and the field position allowed Iowa to shut down the entire short game. Good luck throwing deep from your own endzone against a six-man blitz on the road with a lead and a second-team QB.
  • I don't have a problem with the fans booing. This happens all the time...all the time. Fans will be fans. The coach is a different story. Bush-league and I suspect that flash ferentz will have a word with him. I was surprised CJF called him out.
  • I've got several Iowa friends who are apologizing for their win. They know they stole one and were upset that the coach acted like that. Hey, a win is a win. Depth is part of the game. PSU got caught flat-footed without a suitable second-team QB. Perhaps it is lack of talent or lack of preparation but TR was clearly not prepared to play in that environment.
  • Having said all of that, PSU has everything in front of them. If we win out, a very tough assignment, we play for the B1G championship. I know that it is now a razor's edge but it is always that way for PSU: We have to beat both UM and tOSU to make it to the championship game. So nothing has changed.
  • Finally, this is the most difficult schedule I can recall in several decades. We play Iowa (#2), tOSU (#6), UM (#8) and Spary (#10). We have already played Wisconsin and Auburn when both were ranked in the top 25 at the time.
Agree with everything but your assessment on booing. Iowa fans are flat out the worst in the Big Ten hands down.
 
National media narrative is Penn State likely boat races Iowa if Clifford stays in the game. It’s not just the double digit lead - it’s over 200 yards of offense in a little over a quarter and making first downs to sustain drives. @The Spin Meister has an excellent thread breaking down the numbers which show PSU sustaining and scoring more points per drove than Iowa allowed all year. Reality is Clifford got injured, we lost, that’s that.

Another take away is the solid improvement and reliability of CSB and KLS. They’re improving while Strange took a step backwards. Run game is still a mess. Jacobs is getting better each week and Brooks is the surprise of the year.

 
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I believe he was told to just hit the first read. If he wasn’t open, Run the ball. You can see he never even looks to a second read and runs without having any rush or pressure on him from the DL.
I believe you are 100% correct and that my friends is on the coaching staff. If you are going to rely on a guy to go to a certain wr (something my freshman sons team does) then you might as well run a super tight formation and run the option the entire time.

So piss poor the way the coaches reacted to the injury.
 
Agreed this analysis is garbage. Even if Clifford doesn't go out, we can at least move the ball enough to flip the field, keep our defense off the field a little and force Iowa to actually move the ball the length of the field, something they aren't capable of doing on a regular basis.
I think that to a high degree, PSU wore itself out on defense as much as Iowa wore them out. They came out playing at a very active and frenetic pace; if they were the offense, people would call it "tempo".

You can only get away with that for so long. It was a physical and intense game in an incredibly hostile environment. There is only so much the players can give you. At some point they have got to back off because it's simply not sustainable.

And the one time they backed off, late in Q4, Iowa popped 'em for the deciding score.

You saw signs of defensive fatigue throughout the game beginning in late 2Q - with PSU players slow in getting up off the ground to just staying on the ground. They were gassed, and when you get physically gassed the very next thing to break down is your mental awareness.

I thought the defensive scheme was excellent, but that it wasn't managed well at all in terms of pace. I would put that failure squarely on the coaching staff - the PSU defensive team played their hearts out and deserved to win.

Perhaps if Clifford had stayed in they would have stretched the lead and put Iowa into an uncomfortable position of having to make a comeback through the air when the other team knows it and is pinning back with four or five on a rush. This would have "rested" the defense.

But, unfortunately, injuries happens and gameplans need to change. It's all fluid.

I was at the game and saw it unfold in front of my very eyes.

Nothing is inevitable, but ya damn well gotta read the tea leaves and respond accordingly when you get into a rock fight.
 
To the credit of PSU's defense against the #2-rated team in the country:

11 tackles for a loss -- total of 38 yards lost on those

Iowa punted 9 times.
Iowa punted 9 times and downed it inside the 5, 9 times (or at least it seemed like it).
 
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Really good team if everyone stayed healthy. Good enough to win the B1G and make the playoffs? Probably not. Certainly not there yet in terms of depth at QB, and the loss of Clifford. Hopefully they can coach up Roberson for a win against Illinois and Clifford gets healthy. All of a sudden DLine depth and RB depth are also issues. Not sure how TOSU was able to keep 5 5star QBs on their roster, but I bet they don't have 5 come spring.
 
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Glass half empty version: Clifford is out for the year, we finish 7-5, Franklin bolts for USC, recruiting class falls apart. *insert sad Price is Right trombone sound*
I don't get Franklin going to USC, i don't really think their glass is half full at this point. But, never say never.
 
he's wrong when he says "clifford doesn't play defense". That is just a dumb thing to say. PSU couldn't sustain drives and had several three and outs. The point being, keeping the ball on offense is THE BEST DEFENSE there is.
And.... most likely we score more than 20 if Clifford does not get hurt.
 
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I believe he was told to just hit the first read. If he wasn’t open, Run the ball. You can see he never even looks to a second read and runs without having any rush or pressure on him from the DL.
Not sure why they would tell him that considering that they have probably been coaching him to go through his progressions all spring , camp and fall practice. If true, coaches are partially to blame IMO.
 
Not sure why they would tell him that considering that they have probably been coaching him to go through his progressions all spring , camp and fall practice. If true, coaches are partially to blame IMO.
Pretty sure he just did this due to nerves. You can’t coach a guys reaction to big time pressure. Definitely he was told to run if he felt pressure and that’s how he took it.
 
Not sure why they would tell him that considering that they have probably been coaching him to go through his progressions all spring , camp and fall practice. If true, coaches are partially to blame IMO.
If you watch his performance in the second half, and this is just my observation, it is "first read and go". Not on every passing play but almost every passing play.
 
If you watch his performance in the second half, and this is just my observation, it is "first read and go". Not on every passing play but almost every passing play.
In any event it's time for Yurcich to earn his money. He has two weeks to get Roberson ready for an opponent we should beat. let the kid play the game you coach him to play and let's see what we got.
 
Roberson should have been better prepared - I am sure that Levis transferred prior to season start so it was well known in advance that a new backup was the plan. The halftime break was plenty of time to determine what could be done to best utilize him. That is on the coach.

The receivers did very little to help, he was accurate on several throws to open targets, they wiffled on several catchable balls.

From that lethal combination, the writing was on the wall. He was ineffective, but the rest of the offense shut down as well. If they performed like that with SC still in the game chances are the results would be same or similar.
 
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The receivers did very little to help, he was accurate on several throws to open targets, they wiffled on several catchable balls.
I'd put 84 ahead of 86 when looking for a Tight End reception (and maybe 44 ahead of 86, too; very disappointing drops or failure to make the play when we needed him most).
 
In any event it's time for Yurcich to earn his money. He has two weeks to get Roberson ready for an opponent we should beat. let the kid play the game you coach him to play and let's see what we got.
I actually didn't think that kid was that bad. He's a good athlete that was put in a very tough position. He'll make a lot of improvement. How much will be interesting to see.
 
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Roberson should have been better prepared - I am sure that Levis transferred prior to season start so it was well known in advance that a new backup was the plan. The halftime break was plenty of time to determine what could be done to best utilize him. That is on the coach.

The receivers did very little to help, he was accurate on several throws to open targets, they wiffled on several catchable balls.

From that lethal combination, the writing was on the wall. He was ineffective, but the rest of the offense shut down as well. If they performed like that with SC still in the game chances are the results would be same or similar.
Several catchable balls? I remember one to Strange and another to him that was behind but probably catchable. He had several receivers open that he missed or didn’t see
 
Sorry, folks, but I've got to pump the brakes a bit.

There is a post above that states that PSU scored on a 75 yd drive and a 39 yd drive after an interception while Iowa also scored on a 75 yd drive and the fatal 44 yd TD pass late in the 4th quarter. To me, those appear equal so the final point differential was Iowa with 3 field goals to the good guys 2.

I agree that PSU's 2nd half offensive frustrations provided adequate momentum to Iowa's offense and the crowning blow of the 44 yd TD pass was nearly inevitable.

The Iowa posters have pointed out that Norm Parker (is he the reincarnation of "Don Brown") would have made adjustments and this should not be discounted. Think back a few years when Trace threw the walk-off TD pass and the significant yardage differential between PSU and Iowa, yet PSU needed that final play to secure the victory. Iowa, especially defensively, cannot be sold short.

Do I believe that the Nits would have won had Clifford not been injured? Absolutely positively affirmative. But I don't think the differential would have qualified as "boatrace" final score.
 
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