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Football Penn State set to open 2022 season unranked in Coaches Poll

Yeah, the national people aren't closely evaluating our talent. They look at the .500 record the last 2 years, the putrid performance in the bowl game and no big name stars.
 
Not a single vote from his fellow coaches. That is one telling statistic. I'll continue to pay attention to Penn State and will root for them if my schedule allows. The days of spending thousands of dollars on flights, rv rentals, tickets, gear, etc. are over.

#WooPigSooie
 
This is a critical year for CJF. A season with more than 3 losses will be a disaster for him. I think people are willing to understand a loss to tOSU, UM and one other quality opponent (MSU, Auburn) but a crappy loss like last year's Illinois or the rest will put him on the hot seat with few defenders.
 
This is a critical year for CJF. A season with more than 3 losses will be a disaster for him. I think people are willing to understand a loss to tOSU, UM and one other quality opponent (MSU, Auburn) but a crappy loss like last year's Illinois or the rest will put him on the hot seat with few defenders.
Lol. He will have at least a dozen of you on here defending him, including you
 
Yeah, the national people aren't closely evaluating our talent. They look at the .500 record the last 2 years, the putrid performance in the bowl game and no big name stars.
That see what everyone else sees: 11-11.
 
Lol. He will have at least a dozen of you on here defending him, including you
...and you know that how?

I was very critical of him post-Illinios. That was a travesty of college football coaching. I also thought the loss to Iowa was 100% due to coaching and said so. UM and tOSU had powerful teams last year.

predict.gif
 
Yeah, the national people aren't closely evaluating our talent. They look at the .500 record the last 2 years, the putrid performance in the bowl game and no big name stars.
Those national people are not in touch with reality like all of us PSU folk are. They don't know how Franklin's HC prowess gives us a 14-point advantage, and just showing up in a PSU uniform adds another 7-10 points. They aren't intelligent enough to comprehend all of our nifty built-in advantages.

We should be ranked top-10 pre-season every year.
 
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Very disappointing that we are not ranked in a preseason poll. I know a preseason poll does not matter but darnit, we are Penn State and we should be ranked in a preseason poll. It is clear that the team has the talent on an individual basis, but the talent is not being developed, coached, and the team is not a cohesive unit on the field. I am afraid to say it but I anticipate another lackadasical season in 2022.
 
The O-Line is key.
This is a critical year for CJF. A season with more than 3 losses will be a disaster for him. I think people are willing to understand a loss to tOSU, UM and one other quality opponent (MSU, Auburn) but a crappy loss like last year's Illinois or the rest will put him on the hot seat with few defenders.
The O-Line is key to winning at least 9. However, if we go 9-3 losing to say, O$U, scUM and Sparty with a trip to some nothing middling bowl are we to be satisfied? That would mean we beat Purdue and Auburn on the road for our two biggest wins and I guess a bowl win against some other 3-4 loss team. It also means we finish 4th out 7 teams in the B10 East. Nothing really to celebrate there.

We finish with 10 wins (counting a bowl win) but are no where close to even a top 10 team much less a playoff team. Franklin of course stays on and who knows if his seat is even remotely hot.

Then we go into '23 with Allar at QB and do we have the same three loss expectations? Two losses? At some point we need to improve from 9-3 or even 10-2 regular seasons. Can Franklin do that? The $80 million question. Will this new AD do something that Sandy had no clue on what to do which is fire him for poor on field results?
 
The O-Line is key.
The O-Line is key to winning at least 9. However, if we go 9-3 losing to say, O$U, scUM and Sparty with a trip to some nothing middling bowl are we to be satisfied? That would mean we beat Purdue and Auburn on the road for our two biggest wins and I guess a bowl win against some other 3-4 loss team. It also means we finish 4th out 7 teams in the B10 East. Nothing really to celebrate there.

We finish with 10 wins (counting a bowl win) but are no where close to even a top 10 team much less a playoff team. Franklin of course stays on and who knows if his seat is even remotely hot.

Then we go into '23 with Allar at QB and do we have the same three loss expectations? Two losses? At some point we need to improve from 9-3 or even 10-2 regular seasons. Can Franklin do that? The $80 million question. Will this new AD do something that Sandy had no clue on what to do which is fire him for poor on field results?
Got $80 million you're willing to part with? If not, then it's not your call.
 
I'm not saying it is my call. The point is that whomever's call it is needs to be either satisfied with 9 win seasons plus one or minus 2-4 into perpetuity or make a change so we have a shot at a natty in the next 30 years.
 
The O-Line is key.
The O-Line is key to winning at least 9. However, if we go 9-3 losing to say, O$U, scUM and Sparty with a trip to some nothing middling bowl are we to be satisfied? That would mean we beat Purdue and Auburn on the road for our two biggest wins and I guess a bowl win against some other 3-4 loss team. It also means we finish 4th out 7 teams in the B10 East. Nothing really to celebrate there.

That is pretty rosy. Not approaching Kool-Aid drinking but pretty rosy. Right now, I have us at 7 and 5 with a ceiling of 9 and 3 if everything broke our way and that happens rarely. In year 9, I am unhappy with anything less than 10 and 2 but we look years away from that.
 
That is pretty rosy. Not approaching Kool-Aid drinking but pretty rosy. Right now, I have us at 7 and 5 with a ceiling of 9 and 3 if everything broke our way and that happens rarely. In year 9, I am unhappy with anything less than 10 and 2 but we look years away from that.
I am just saying what 9-3 could look like and if we would be satisfied, not saying it will. We absolutely could be 7-5 although I think we will be better than that. Big picture is we are barely top 25 and according to the coaches we are not.
 
Not a single vote from his fellow coaches. That is one telling statistic. I'll continue to pay attention to Penn State and will root for them if my schedule allows. The days of spending thousands of dollars on flights, rv rentals, tickets, gear, etc. are over.

#WooPigSooie
What do you mean not a single vote from his fellow coaches? PSU was basically #27 behind Iowa, which probably should be Top 25 pre-season. Somebody voted for him.

As far as shelling out money, would you change your mind if Penn State had a sudden 1970s or 80s run of success? Or is it more of a matter of not liking the coach?
 
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What do you mean not a single vote from his fellow coaches? PSU was basically #27 behind Iowa, which probably should be Top 25 pre-season. Somebody voted for him.

As far as shelling out money, would you change your mind if Penn State had a sudden 1970s or 80s run of success? Or is it more of a matter of not liking the coach?
interesting questions - - and relevant
 
Those national people are not in touch with reality like all of us PSU folk are. They don't know how Franklin's HC prowess gives us a 14-point advantage, and just showing up in a PSU uniform adds another 7-10 points. They aren't intelligent enough to comprehend all of our nifty built-in advantages.

We should be ranked top-10 pre-season every year.
When was the last time we weren’t in the preseason polls?

How many times in the last fifty?

And we are often not in the top ten.
 
...and you know that how?

I was very critical of him post-Illinios. That was a travesty of college football coaching. I also thought the loss to Iowa was 100% due to coaching and said so. UM and tOSU had powerful teams last year.

predict.gif
Why waste time answering that DA? Those that read the posts know better and also know he can't read.
 
This is a critical year for CJF. A season with more than 3 losses will be a disaster for him. I think people are willing to understand a loss to tOSU, UM and one other quality opponent (MSU, Auburn) but a crappy loss like last year's Illinois or the rest will put him on the hot seat with few defenders.
What hot seat would that be? His contract guarantees no hot seat for probably 6-7 years.
 
What do you mean not a single vote from his fellow coaches? PSU was basically #27 behind Iowa, which probably should be Top 25 pre-season. Somebody voted for him.

As far as shelling out money, would you change your mind if Penn State had a sudden 1970s or 80s run of success? Or is it more of a matter of not liking the coach?
I stand corrected on the not one single vote. I'm not sure I would change my mind if Penn State had a run of success. Little by little, they have made the Penn State experience more and more expensive and less fun. First they took away the kegs. Then they took away the BBQ pits. Then you were not allowed to drink outside the stadium during the game. Then they took away the number of overnight RV spots, which limited supply and the prices for the existing spots sky-rocketed. I've been to recent games at Texas A&M, Arkansas and UH. Even UH's new stadium blows away Beaver Stadium for comfort and the fan experience.

Penn State has been subsidizing all their 544 other varsity sports on the back of football for decades. I guess it all just came to a head these past couple of years watching Penn State lose games they should be winning. Combine it with everything I listed above and I've just lost interest.
 
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When was the last time we weren’t in the preseason polls?

How many times in the last fifty?

And we are often not in the top ten.
what is surprising to me is that we are returning a "sixth-year senior" at QB. It's not like we are reloading at this critical spot. The only place where we are really weak is at LB, assuming good health.

Really shows a lack of respect for Sean Clifford, IMHO.
 
what is surprising to me is that we are returning a "sixth-year senior" at QB. It's not like we are reloading at this critical spot. The only place where we are really weak is at LB, assuming good health.

Really shows a lack of respect for Sean Clifford, IMHO.
I’m hoping Sean is this year’s Kenny Pickett. Pickett was a “just ok” starter for 3 years before exploding as a super senior. Joe Burrow wasn’t well regarded until his Senior year either.
 
last year we started at #21 and almost immediately jumped to the top 5 for beating Wisconsin and Auburn.

the sport is as silly as it ever was
Your post caused me to look at last year's performance.

We went 5-0 with quality wins over Wisconsin and Auburn. We beat the snot out of Iowa until our QB got hurt and lost the game but we outplayed them at full strength.

We then lost to Illinois, tOSU, and Michigan. Illinois was a backbreaker because, again, we outplayed them but had no backup QB when SC got reinjured on a cheap shot. With 27 overtimes, or whatever it was, it could have gone either way but we should have been up by three TDs. Then we lost another tough game to Sparty. Finally, we lost the bowl game to a very good ARK team and several "team players" and "family members" opted to sit out.

In the end, we couldn't get a running game going against even the worst opponents (Villanova for example). Against Sparty, we had over 300 yards passing and 61 yards rushing (IIRC). And with SC being tender, the staff quit running him and teams picked up on that right away. What is the RPO when you don't have to cover the QB to run the ball? In a word, "ineffective" and it would be that way for any team.

Job 1 in 2022 is to run the ball. That is about as obvious as it gets. If we can run the ball and throw as effectively as a sixth-year QB should, we can surprise some people.
 
I’m hoping Sean is this year’s Kenny Pickett. Pickett was a “just ok” starter for 3 years before exploding as a super senior. Joe Burrow wasn’t well regarded until his Senior year either.
Agreed.

I don't think SC is a star. But he can be a Trace-type field general. Trace had #26 for most of his career. In his senior year, he had several receivers that are now in the NFL but we still underperformed. Back to SC, he was clearly injured against Iowa and never the same. CJF was simply too stubborn to replace him or we didn't even have a warm body to execute the offense available at that position.

But back to your point, a healthy SC with a complimentary running game would make us competitive in all games. The issue, to me, isn't SC but can we establish and sustain a running game?
 
what is surprising to me is that we are returning a "sixth-year senior" at QB. It's not like we are reloading at this critical spot. The only place where we are really weak is at LB, assuming good health.

Really shows a lack of respect for Sean Clifford, IMHO.
I read that Perdue's QB O'Connell is also a sixth year player. So both teams enter with very experienced QBs. It will be interesting to watch who has shown the most improvement.
 
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I read that Perdue's QB O'Connell is also a sixth year player. So both teams enter with very experienced QBs. It will be interesting to watch who has shown the most improvement.
Kid was second team all B1G last year. Will be a good test of our secondary...strength against strength. Their kid started for a year and a half. SC has started for three years.

2021
• Named All-Big Ten Second Team by league’s coaches & media, Associated Press, Pro Football Focus and Phil Steele
• Named Academic All-Big Ten
• Received National Football Foundation Drew Brees Mental Toughness Award
• Graduated with master’s degree in May
• Appeared in 12 games, making nine starts
• Took over the offense at halftime against Illinois (Sept. 25) and made first start of the season against Minnesota (Oct. 2)
• Threw for 3,712 yards and 28 touchdowns
Had a passing efficiency of 158.8
Went 315-of-439 passing for a 71.8% completion percentage,
• Single-season Purdue rankings - set the completion percentage record and passing efficiency, eighth in attempts, tied for fourth in completions, fifth in passing yards, fourth in touchdowns,
• Averaged 11.8 yards per pass and 309.3 passing yards per game
• Had a touchdown pass in 11 games, including two or more in the final six outings of the year
• Tallied six games of 300 yards passing or more
• Finished with 2,161 yards, 19 touchdowns and a 72.5% completion percentage over the final five games
• Joined Drew Brees as the only Boilermakers with multiple 500-yard passing games in the same season
• Tossed a pair of touchdowns in relief against UConn (Sept. 11)
• Went 12-of-19 for 182 yards and a touchdown to lead Purdue to a win over Illinois in the second half (Sept. 25)
Threw for 371 yards on 34-of-52 passing with a touchdown against Minnesota (Oct. 2)
• Tossed a pair of touchdowns on 30-of-40 passing for 375 yards and ran for a touchdown against Iowa (Oct. 16)
Went 40-of-54 for 536 yards and three scores against Michigan State (Nov. 6)
• Second straight 40-completion game, throwing for 390 yards and four touchdowns on 40-of-52 passing against Ohio State (Nov. 13)
• Connected on 29-of-39 passes for 423 yards and a trio of touchdowns at Wrigley Field against Northwestern (Nov. 20)
• Finished with 278 yards and four scores in a half of work against Indiana (Nov. 27)
Threw for 534 yards and five scores on 26-of-46 passing against Tennessee (Dec. 30)

2020

• Academic All-Big Ten.
• Started the first three games of the season before missing the rest of the season due to injury.
• Completed 88 of 136 passing attempts for 916 yards and seven touchdowns.
• Averaged 305.3 yards passing per game.
• Went 31 of 50 for 282 yards and two touchdowns vs. Iowa on Oct. 24.
• Completed 29 of 35 passes for 371 yards and a pair of touchdowns at Illinois on Oct. 31.
• Finished 28 of 51 for 263 yards and two touchdowns vs. Northwestern on Nov. 14.
 
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Declining fan approval is the first step in that direction.
Declining fan approval is happening now, but the strategy needs to be proactive. If you wanted to play nasty I think this could be accomplished within a relatively short period of time. Consider everything that isn't explicitly called for in his contract.
 
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Declining fan approval is happening now, but the strategy needs to be proactive. If you wanted to play nasty I think this could be accomplished within a relatively short period of time. Consider everything that isn't explicitly called for in his contract.
Once he realizes that the momentum of disapproval is going to make his life in SC a living hell, he will start making his moves to get out. The way things are trending it is going to take a lot less than 10 years. Could happen in as little as 2. Strategy will take care of itself.
 
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Once he realizes that the momentum of disapproval is going to make his life in SC a living hell, he will start making his moves to get out. The way things are trending it is going to take a lot less than 10 years. Could happen in as little as 2. Strategy will take care of itself.

Strategy? Trending? The first snap of the season under the new contract hasn't even occurred and their is a strategy to make JF miserable?

Some of yall should just start cheering for a different team. Your sense of how great this program ever was is vastly skewed. Buy a Buckeye jersey or go worship Saban.
 
Let
Once he realizes that the momentum of disapproval is going to make his life in SC a living hell, he will start making his moves to get out. The way things are trending it is going to take a lot less than 10 years. Could happen in as little as 2. Strategy will take care of itself
That would be quite a negotiation for a contract that pays $80m no matter what. How much of a living hell is worth giving up how many $M’s?

I just don’t see a scenario where he leaves on his own without a contract from someone else…..in which case his contract value will get higher. The leverage granted by Sandy is impressive.
 
Let

That would be quite a negotiation for a contract that pays $80m no matter what. How much of a living hell is worth giving up how many $M’s?

I just don’t see a scenario where he leaves on his own without a contract from someone else…..in which case his contract value will get higher. The leverage granted by Sandy is impressive.
When his obvious mistakes are met with 100000 fans booing he will be highly motivated to make a change. Do his kids go to school or have friends that are fans? Does his wife socialize with PSU people? How long would he subject them to a hostile environment? LOTS of things can cause his quality of life to decline that are not written into any contract.

There becomes a point where the money just isn't worth it anymore.
 
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First they took away the kegs. Then they took away the BBQ pits. Then you were not allowed to drink outside the stadium during the game. Then they took away the number of overnight RV spots, which limited supply and the prices for the existing spots sky-rocketed. I've been to recent games at Texas A&M, Arkansas and UH. Even UH's new stadium blows away Beaver Stadium for comfort and the fan experience.

Penn State has been subsidizing all their 544 other varsity sports on the back of football for decades. I guess it all just came to a head these past couple of years watching Penn State lose games they should be winning. Combine it with everything I listed above and I've just lost interest.

I was at this one. Talk about fun!

303006PSUHelicopter.jpg
 
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