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Official PSU - Michigan Game Thread

This game was fubared right from the start.

I’m just an old fan who is running out of time so I’ll vent a little and leave it to the coaches here to correct my impressions.

I don’t think Penn St is a physical team. That’s not to say they’re soft but the coaching philosophy does not ask this OL to get low and drive the opposing DL back. This is why they can’t protect those late leads in close games.
The team never looked right this year. This is week 9 and they still look like it’s Sept 1st. I understand JF’s loyalty to several players, they worked hard and we appreciate their efforts but we’re not getting better. Might be time to look to the younger guys.
I’m starting to believe that the rpo is the oline issue. I remember when Moorhead was first hired Franklin said it was a good way to deal with oline deficiencies. I don’t think it teaches aggressive oline technique
 
Actually, I thought the D played a decent game as long as they possibly could. At the half they had played almost 20 minutes...even into the 3rd quarter they were doing their best against UM. When the offense continues to do nothing, at some point the D is going to fold. It was inevitable.
We keep hearing how PSU offense in general and Trace in particular are the strengths of this team. When the offense doesn't produce...what does one expect, the D to score touchdowns?
To backup your point, 14 of the UM points resulted directly from turnovers, one a pick 6 and one a turnover immediately putting UM in the red zone
 
This game was fubared right from the start.

I’m just an old fan who is running out of time so I’ll vent a little and leave it to the coaches here to correct my impressions.

I don’t think Penn St is a physical team. That’s not to say they’re soft but the coaching philosophy does not ask this OL to get low and drive the opposing DL back. This is why they can’t protect those late leads in close games.
The team never looked right this year. This is week 9 and they still look like it’s Sept 1st. I understand JF’s loyalty to several players, they worked hard and we appreciate their efforts but we’re not getting better. Might be time to look to the younger guys.
Great post. This is not a physical team by philosophy. I feel like this program is a lot of sizzle and no steak. It’s all about recruiting and marketing. At some point it’s got to be about being football players and being fundamentally sound.
 
I don’t understand folks here saying the future is bright or better. What’s with the optimism? I thought the mantra was to give up.

The mantra is 'win out, get to a good bowl game, clean up in recruiting, and get ready for next year.' Sort of like the end of 2016, when people were happy to play USC in the RB instead of fighting for a PO spot because 'next year' would be the year. And what did we do? Win NY6 bowl game the following year, and immediately set sights on this year as 'the year'.

And, it's not.

So, win out, get to good bowl game, clean up in recruiting, get ready for next year. Got it?
 
Are you referring to Gattis?
I hope you don't think a coach can stop an OC from leaving for a HC job.
Exactly. If you are a good coach with a coaching tree and hiring good coaches, those good coaches will leave for better/higher jobs. This is normal in CFB these days. And it's what we are seeing at PSU. The days of yore are gone, where assistants stayed for long times.
 
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I don't think I have ever seen a team make the other team kick off again when they would've had the ball on the 35. In effect, I believe we lost 14 yards because of that decision
 
I don't think I have ever seen a team make the other team kick off again when they would've had the ball on the 35. In effect, I believe we lost 14 yards because of that decision
When you have a Hamler, I can kinda understand it. His returns changed a couple of games for us already--including ones when most folks said "why the &%$& is he bringing it out .... go go GO!"
 
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He is nothing like Mills.. McSorley as much crap as he gets will leave as PSU all time winningest QB. That says a lot about him.
You mistake me. I think he's been a great player for PSU. But he looks pretty beat up right now. Mills was also great for PSU, but never quite got over that shoulder injury.
 
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Promoting Rahne instead of Gattis may have been the worst move Franklin made since arriving at PSU.

He needs to do something about the WR coaching very quickly.
 
Ditto your thoughts. I think.


Woulda REALLY liked (and, quite frankly, expected) CJF to look outside. I was even going over some of the guys I thought might be good options (like the guy at ASU - who I think may have gotten a nice promo w some other squad).

Rahne has nightmare written all over it

The much much bigger issue has been the quarterback.....

Now if you want to say Rhane is impacting Trace as a QB coach, I’d say that has more merit than rahne being vastly worse than Moorhead as an OC

But I’d wager not having Barkley is the bigget issue
 
The much much bigger issue has been the quarterback.....

Now if you want to say Rhane is impacting Trace as a QB coach, I’d say that has more merit than rahne being vastly worse than Moorhead as an OC

But I’d wager not having Barkley is the bigget issue

Not having Barkley is a huge issue, but coaches get paid beaucoup bucks to win anyway.
 
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If Moorhead was still here, #9 would have 1,000 more passing yards than what he has right now - and PSU would have at least 8 wins right now....

Obviously :) - IMO..... since there is now way to turn back time and test the hypothesis.

Nonsense....Fact is he’s been terrible

But I do appreciate your film reviews. And agree with most of them, except the QB analysis;)
 
Not having Barkley is a huge issue, but coaches get paid beaucoup bucks to win anyway.

But my point is Barkley made mcsorley look much better than he is. And it’s showing this year. But people are blaming this on Rahne’s play calling when IMO the fact is the QB isn’t very good

This would be a better team with Stevens playing, but I realize how it’s nearly impossible to make that move .... given the success the team has had with Trace playing. It’s a brutally tough spot to be in for a coach

So it’s tough to “win anyway “ when you can’t replace a player who isn’t getting it down
 
But my point is Barkley made mcsorley look much better than he is. And it’s showing this year. But people are blaming this on Rahne’s play calling when IMO the fact is the QB isn’t very good.

This would be a better team with Stevens playing, but I realize how it’s nearly impossible to make that move .... given the success the team has had with Trace playing. It’s a brutally tough spot to be in for a coach

Whatever. A program doesn't have a Barkley every year and it's still expected to win. If Barkley made McSorley look better than he is, then the coaches have to find another way to do the same, or close to it, by other means. And if they don't have the horses, I don't want to hear any of this "great" shit coming out of their mouths (an utterance with which I have another problem, but we'll leave that).
 
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You mistake me. I think he's been a great player for PSU. But he looks pretty beat up right now. Mills was also great for PSU, but never quite got over that shoulder injury.
I usually let Nate speak his opinion without regard or remark. I like Nate. This time , Nate is out of his realm regarding QBs. Zack was a fantastic QB. Zack was hurt thru his last days of playing.

Nate, are you one of those trolls this board speaks of? I hope not.
 
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Rahne is “vastly worse” as an OC than I - as a guy who never coached a football game at any level - would be (let alone Moorhead :) ).

I say that as a joke - kind of.
Truth is, on a Saturday afternoon, if I had $1,000,000 wagered on the game, I would rather sit in that booth myownself, than to let that bet ride on Rahne. I think :)

If I were sitting in the booth, I'd have a shitload more than a million on the game.:)
 
Totally agree.

With Franklin it seems like it's all X's and O's. Scheme. Once in a while you need to simply beat the guy in front of you. Just beat him. I mean look at run blocking. Are any of the OL 4 yards downfield with their blocks?


The problem is our X’s and O’s suck BIGTIME.

Our scheme sucks BIGTIME.

Simply watch the creativity in ANY OTHER CFB game. And then watch the TOTAL lack of creativity by our O.

We are playing checkers instead of playing chess. The more predictable an O is, the tougher it is to beat the D. And we are so so so very predictable.
 
The problem is our X’s and O’s suck BIGTIME.

Our scheme sucks BIGTIME.

Simply watch the creativity in ANY OTHER CFB game. And then watch the TOTAL lack of creativity by our O.

We are playing checkers instead of playing chess. The more predictable an O is, the tougher it is to beat the D. And we are so so so very predictable.
I didn’t see more creativity from Michigan today or watching Alabama tonight. I see superior athletes executing the play
 
Right now, he reminds me of Mills in his latter years. Just really beat up.

Pitfalls of this offense:
  • QB gets exposed by carrying the ball. In time, he'll get beat up.
  • By getting beat up he's going to be less mobile, a weak passer, or both.
  • By focusing on the run-read he's not looking downfield to get a read on the pass defense.
In general, by making running part of your game, you're taking something away from your passing game.

Expose your QB, and your backup must be ready (with regular and meaningful game experience). Or you pay the price. Maybe a key interception.

The same is true for the OL. By making the RPO part of your game, you've made straight run-blocking less of your game.
 
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RPOs don't work unless the R is working or minimally used to keep teams honest. Additionally, I don't see many plays where we threatened to run, but pulled back and threw a pass. We have become a zone read offense. Our passing game design did not have enough short routes to combat the pass rush we faced.
 
The problem is our X’s and O’s suck BIGTIME.

Our scheme sucks BIGTIME.

Simply watch the creativity in ANY OTHER CFB game. And then watch the TOTAL lack of creativity by our O.

We are playing checkers instead of playing chess. The more predictable an O is, the tougher it is to beat the D. And we are so so so very predictable.

It's like Jo Mo's offense is gone and Donovan's is back........ Never thought I would see such a miserable offense again. They knew UM would bring it, so have #9 drop back and wait for receivers to try to get open..............

Well, it was good while it lasted. Eight steps forward, 7 steps back.....
 
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Pitfalls of this offense:

The same is true for the OL. By making the RPO part of your game, you've made straight run-blocking less of your game.

That much is easily observed. Don't know if Alabama runs a RPO, but their OL are 4 yards downfield with the RB.
 
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Not for nothing, but that block below the waist on Taylor's blocked FG return was garbage.

 
I believe the Alum A$$ is sponsoring a trip to Cuba. There was a $100 limit on cigars brought to the US, but I believe the limit has been lifted.
Wow. This is really getting expensive for me. Will you settle for a bottle of Ripple and a cigarillo?
 
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