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Snyder pins Iowa loss on staff

I am surprised at the drop from QB1 to QB2. I don't blame the staff for the departure of Levis (boy, wouldn't it have been great to have him take the field after Clifford went down!) and I guess there is only so much that one can do. Sounds like Texas A&M had similar struggles at QB and it took them 2-3 games to get their QB2/3 up-to-speed. If Clifford is out indefinitely (no idea/haven't heard anything), thank goodness we have the bye and then Illinois up next - will give Roberson time to get up to speed. Probably don't win in Columbus (would have been tough with Clifford healthy), but certainly have a chance in the rest. Go State!

As a sidebar, I think that a serviceable run game would have won PSU the game after Clifford went down. Didn't need to score... just keep Iowa on their side of the field. It is what it is.
Hes really qb 3
 
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I think the staff did a poor job of a possible game plan if Cliff went down. Seems to me they got cocky with their coaching and just tried to plug Roberson right in to Cliffords spot. It is obvious that Roberson is not clifford so why try to play that way. We actually didn’t look horrible with the little runs by Roberson. Had a nice little drive that got us 3 points.
 
Perhaps to avoid what happened yesterday. Just a guess.
Right, a guess at best.

A cast off that could win a starting job on another team brought in to compete to be the #2 QB behind Clifford would have about as much chance as the third year player Roberson that played yesterday.

But the fact that Roberson was pretty terrible does make 20-20 hindsight click bait....
 
Clifford did throw 2 interceptions yesterday and Iowa has pretty good cover guys. I would not have guaranteed a win if Clifford wasn't hurt.
They win easily, it changes everything from field position, time of possession and ultimately points. If they had a measly 100 yards more in the next 37 minutes of play they win going away and they had 155 yards in the first 15 minutes with him. Iowa only by 3 with Roberson and PSU had 50 yards in 46 plays with Roberson, I mean a touchdown in the second half seals the game.
 
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They win easily, it changes everything from field position, time of possession and ultimately points. If they had a measly 100 yards more in the next 37 minutes of play they win going away and they had 155 yards in the first 15 minutes with him. Iowa only by 3 with Roberson and PSU had 50 yards in 46 plays with Roberson, I mean a touchdown in the second half seals the game.
8 10 more minutes time of possession probably wins the game.
 
Clifford did throw 2 interceptions yesterday and Iowa has pretty good cover guys. I would not have guaranteed a win if Clifford wasn't hurt.
One was from the end zone as he was tripped up and falling down for what would have been a safety. The other was a long ball in the end zone where he overthrew Dotson slightly, and our defense got it right back. Even after he made a mistake he was coming back and making plays on the next series. Clifford was playing with confidence and Yurcich was calling a great game. It's very unlikely we lose if Clifford plays the whole game.
 
No way Allar switches to OSU now after probably witnessing the backup QB debacle yesterday. He has to see his chance for immediate playing time at PSU.

Here's a question: will PSU go after one of those backup OSU QBs - McCord or Jack Miller - when one (or maybe both) enters the portal. Both have looked solid in the times they've played this year in a backup role to Stroud
These guys, McCord et.al., had no love for Penn State when they were recruited in HS. Why even contemplate going after these guys and then almost certainly lose either Allan or Pribula or both?
 
Even a one or two more first downs on two or three series in the second half would have made a huge difference in the second half. Taylor was their MVP yesterday. If we could have gotten better field position Stout might have been able to flip the script.
 
the difference in the offense was night and day without Clifford.
If things were the other way around, we would be saying we made adjustments. They have fast defensive backs with good hands. Their team reminds me a little of our middle 80s teams with John Shaffer. Sound defense with just enough offense.
 
Roberson was high on almost all of his throws. When he calms down i think he'll be fine. They definitely didn't want him throwing across the middle. everything went wide. His receivers didn't help him either. TEs dropped 2 passes. Dotsan struggled playing the ball on 2 deep passes. Probably the wind caused it.
 
If things were the other way around, we would be saying we made adjustments. They have fast defensive backs with good hands. Their team reminds me a little of our middle 80s teams with John Shaffer. Sound defense with just enough offense.

Listen Mr. Contrarian, you're not going to convince a single Penn State fan that that game ends any way but with a comfortable Penn State win if Clifford doesn't get hurt. I suggest you head over to the Iowa board. I think you'll find more kindred spirits over there. 🙄
 
Also.....why with the lead and Roberson in the game were we still going tempo and snapping the ball so darn quick?

I guess this is the most frustrating thing to me....they treated Roberson like he was Clifford. They seemed to make no adjustments at all with TR instead of Cliff.
 
We would have scored 30
I’d guess a little more than this, but certainly, this was their floor. Plus a D that wasn’t gassed from being on the field the entire 2nd half likely gives up fewer points. I’d say it would’ve finished something like 34-16.
 
Also.....why with the lead and Roberson in the game were we still going tempo and snapping the ball so darn quick?

I guess this is the most frustrating thing to me....they treated Roberson like he was Clifford. They seemed to make no adjustments at all with TR instead of Cliff.
Absolutely spot on. In addition to his inexperience, Roberson has a different skill set (considering he came in as a dual threat guy). He should have his own package and they DEFINITELY should’ve slowed the offense down to sloth pace (like Iowa).
 
Snyder is right. PSU lost the game because of piss poor QB recruiting the last 3 years and as a result did not have a viable backup when Clifford got hurt. No doubt the lack of running game is a huge problem. No doubt a few dropped passes also hurt alot, maybe if they are caught PSU hangs on. Bottom line, PSU had to put a QB into the game that was absolutely helpless.
 
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Also.....why with the lead and Roberson in the game were we still going tempo and snapping the ball so darn quick?

I guess this is the most frustrating thing to me....they treated Roberson like he was Clifford. They seemed to make no adjustments at all with TR instead of Cliff.
My guess is knowing we really only had to score one more time, they were playing to put the game away, not just hold on for dear life.
 
From her Athletic article:

Roberson’s inability to lead the offense Saturday brings into question Penn State’s long-term issues with the No. 2 quarterback position. This was the void coaches wanted to fill in the offseason via the transfer portal, to bring in someone who could push Clifford and who, at the very least, could add experience to a room where there are just three scholarship quarterbacks (one is true freshman Christian Veilleux). Franklin said they had options via the portal but kept searching for the right fit. The staff failed to add anyone. This loss falls on them.

The only problem with this argument is that Yurcich wasn't even hired until Jan. 8, and Levis didn't announce he was transferring until February. And they had an offense that was a total mess with a QB whose confidence was shaken. Yurcich's focus had to be on getting SC ready. Even if they had been able to find a high quality QB willing to come to PSU to be a backup (and apparently they tried), the chance that Yurcich could have gotten TWO QBs ready to run the offense while retooling the entire offense -- it's a big ask.

And fwiw it's not like they didn't prepare Robinson. But there's no easy way to prepare for throwing out of the end zone at Kinnick,

Yeah in a normal year you'd have plan A, plan B, plan C and D for the QB position but this was not a normal year. This year there was only Plan B.

There's really no one to blame here. Yurcich did a great job. SC did a great job. Levis wanted to play, didn't want to be a backup again, and he had every right to pursue his dream. And I'm sure Robinson worked as hard as he could but his passing skill set is clearly limited.

Injuries are part of football and the QB position is critical and if you lose your starting QB you usually pay the consequences -- in college and in the NFL.
 
From her Athletic article:

Roberson’s inability to lead the offense Saturday brings into question Penn State’s long-term issues with the No. 2 quarterback position. This was the void coaches wanted to fill in the offseason via the transfer portal, to bring in someone who could push Clifford and who, at the very least, could add experience to a room where there are just three scholarship quarterbacks (one is true freshman Christian Veilleux). Franklin said they had options via the portal but kept searching for the right fit. The staff failed to add anyone. This loss falls on them.
I love her but think this is a foolish take. players want to play. We had two very good QBs in SC and WL...that caused a vacuum behind them. When WL left, who wanted to come play second team to SC? Nobody good. The only fault that I can see is not playing TR more earlier in the year. But we've had tough opponents, for the most part, and times when TR played were very late against awful teams at home.

So, to her, I would say "yeah, and I want a unicorn that shits rainbows". PSU developed TWO good QBs in SC and WL. One stayed the other left to lead a different good program. Now we need to develop another one. We have two weeks AND a game where he can play and win (ILL).
 
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Snyder is right. PSU lost the game because of piss poor QB recruiting the last 3 years and as a result did not have a viable backup when Clifford got hurt. No doubt the lack of running game is a huge problem. No doubt a few dropped passes also hurt alot, maybe if they are caught PSU hangs on. Bottom line, PSU had to put a QB into the game that was absolutely helpless.
It's more complicated than that. The QB recruiting reflected piss poor offensive coordinators and turnover on the offensive staff. Justin Fields committed to PSU to play for Joe Moorhead, not Ricky Rahne. PSU paid the price severely for promoting Rahne instead of hiring a top-tier offensive coordinator. James Franklin has made a lot of good personnel decisions as head coach, but that was a gigantic wrong decision.
 
One was absolutely atrocious.

Assuming you are talking about the first one. I give Iowa credit for that one more than I blame Sean. The Iowa defender tripped him up from behind as he was releasing the ball....watch the replay, he definitely didn't get everything on that throw like he would have if he wasn't hit. Maybe it still would have been intercepted, but maybe not. Sometimes you have to give the other guy credit for hustling and making a play.
 
My guess is knowing we really only had to score one more time, they were playing to put the game away, not just hold on for dear life.
after the first series it was OBVIOUS that TR was way out of his league. At that point the O Coaches should have gotten together and talked about a change in strategy AND milking as much clock as possible.
 
Clifford did throw 2 interceptions yesterday and Iowa has pretty good cover guys. I would not have guaranteed a win if Clifford wasn't hurt.
Clifford’s 1st interception had nothing to do with Iowa’s cover guys and everything to do with throwing a ball that should have been thrown away rather than forcing a throw where it should not have
 
after the first series it was OBVIOUS that TR was way out of his league. At that point the O Coaches should have gotten together and talked about a change in strategy AND milking as much clock as possible.
You mean obvious like the second series where he drove them down for a FG?
 
That was indeed a bad decision, but with the Moorhead and Yurcich hires, I think he has demonstrated that he knows what he's doing.
And who knows, it may have been the people above Franklin who didn't want to pay the kind of money it requires to hire a proven OC. They've all learned that lesson now presumably. A coordinator job at a top 10 program is not the place for on-the-job training.
 
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You mean obvious like the second series where he drove them down for a FG?
yes, obvious.....name a play in that series that was planned. It golf terms he got up and down a ton that series.

Look, try to be devil advocate all you want. But if you think TR was prepared OR that MY altered the game plan for him, you are crazy.

Not too mention a QB that has the tools doesn't also look lost against Ball State and Villanove in limited action. And dont give me the TD pass vs Villanova, my dog could have completed that pass.

Any PSU Fan watching that game knew when Cliff went down we were in Big, BIG trouble.
 
Clifford’s 1st interception had nothing to do with Iowa’s cover guys and everything to do with throwing a ball that should have been thrown away rather than forcing a throw where it should not have
I personally think he was trying to throw it away and when he got tripped the ball kind of just floated to where it did.
 
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yes, obvious.....name a play in that series that was planned. It golf terms he got up and down a ton that series.

Look, try to be devil advocate all you want. But if you think TR was prepared OR that MY altered the game plan for him, you are crazy.

Not too mention a QB that has the tools doesn't also look lost against Ball State and Villanove in limited action. And dont give me the TD pass vs Villanova, my dog could have completed that pass.

Any PSU Fan watching that game knew when Cliff went down we were in Big, BIG trouble.
I knew we were in big trouble as would almost any fan of any team in the country. There’s a reason a second string QB is second string and in this case, had Levis not left, he would have been third string.
 
Bunch of cluster moments when TR came in, but OL certainly did him no favors with three false starts in a row. That would potential rattle a QB1 some, much less a QB2 thrown into that situation
 
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