So today I turned the 32 years of age today, and after a few beers here I am ranting like a 70 year old. My apologies for the length of this post. I feel it's all relevant info to get to the bottom of why we're winning a natty title this year.
Because hindsight is always 20/20, and I like history so here's a lesson I taught myself as I researched all this crap while writing this post. **Cracks another beer
Do you ever go back and look through old schedules, not just of State but of all of college football. I think it's fascinating to evaluate what happened when you've got hindsight by your side looking at the stats and obscure details around why a team was able to do what they did. It's plain as day sometimes why Michigan could thump PSU in 2016, then in that same season Penn State gets some confidence, gets healthy and goes on to win the Big Ten.
It's also interesting to look and see how teams did after tough losses or epic wins.
All that said, I came across a list of active win streaks today, and was pretty surprised to see Northwestern at the top of the list in comparison to other power 5 schools. How about the following list:
Anyways.. who did we beat this year.. right.
Looking at State's schedule. People are going to pinpoint Washington as the team we beat who was the best.. Sure, I get it... the Huskies were in the final four last year, and they finished 10-2 this year, yada yada yada yada..... But look closely at their schedule and you see they beat up on people who stunk, or they stunk up the places they visited on the road. So not to get too deep into this, lets pick it apart.
Who did Washington beat in 2017?
Date Time School Opponent Conf Pts Opp
Sep 1 2017 8:00 PM (8)Washington @ Rutgers Big Ten W 30 14
Sep 9 2017 8:00 PM (7)Washington Montana Non-Major W 63 7
Sep 16 2017 9:30 PM (6)Washington Fresno State MWC W 48 16
Sep 23 2017 10:00 PM (7)Washington @ Colorado Pac-12 W 37 10
Sep 30 2017 8:00 PM (6)Washington @ Oregon State Pac-12 W 42 7
Oct 7 2017 10:45 PM (6)Washington California Pac-12 W 38 7
Oct 14 2017 10:45 PM (5)Washington @ Arizona State Pac-12 L 7 13
Oct 28 2017 3:30 PM (12)Washington UCLA Pac-12 W 44 23
Nov 4 2017 10:00 PM (12)Washington Oregon Pac-12 W 38 3
Nov 10 2017 10:30 PM (9)Washington @ Stanford Pac-12 L 22 30
Nov 18 2017 10:30 PM (9)Washington Utah Pac-12 W 33 30
Nov 25 2017 8:00 PM (15)Washington (14)Washington State Pac-12 W 41 14
Dec 30 2017 4:00 PM (12)Washington N (9)Penn State Big Ten L 28 35
Back to Washington's record...
G Date Time Day School Opponent Conf Pts Opp W L Streak TV Notes
1 Sep 2 2017 10:30 PM Sat (24)Washington State Montana State Non-Major W 31 0 1 0 W 1
2 Sep 9 2017 10:30 PM Sat (20)Washington State Boise State MWC W 47 44 2 0 W 2
3 Sep 16 2017 5:30 PM Sat (21)Washington State Oregon State Pac-12 W 52 23 3 0 W 3
4 Sep 23 2017 6:00 PM Sat (18)Washington State Nevada MWC W 45 7 4 0 W 4
5 Sep 29 2017 10:30 PM Fri (16)Washington State (5)USC Pac-12 W 30 27 5 0 W 5
6 Oct 7 2017 8:00 PM Sat (11)Washington State @ Oregon Pac-12 W 33 10 6 0 W 6
7 Oct 13 2017 10:30 PM Fri (8)Washington State @ California Pac-12 L 3 37 6 1 L 1
8 Oct 21 2017 10:45 PM Sat (15)Washington State Colorado Pac-12 W 28 0 7 1 W 1
9 Oct 28 2017 9:30 PM Sat (15)Washington State @ Arizona Pac-12 L 37 58 7 2 L 1
10 Nov 4 2017 3:30 PM Sat (25)Washington State (18)Stanford Pac-12 W 24 21 8 2 W 1
11 Nov 11 2017 5:30 PM Sat (19)Washington State @ Utah Pac-12 W 33 25 9 2 W 2
12 Nov 25 2017 8:00 PM Sat (14)Washington State @ (15)Washington Pac-12 L 14 41 9 3 L 1
13 Dec 28 2017 9:00 PM Thu (21)Washington State N (18)Michigan State Big Ten L 17 42 9 4 L 2 Holiday Bowl
Anyways, long story short, the PAC 10 was just as lousy as everyone had said during the season, and when you break it down and see how they all beat on each other, it makes you wonder what the hell happened to Oregon.
It's not like the Pac 10 got good all of sudden. Oregon completely fell off the map in the matter of 2 years. Makes you wonder if they were really all that good to begin with, or if they were just the champion of the pillow fight (as cowherd likes to put it) of a conference year in and year out.
Finally, State's victory of Washington was a solid win for the program. It's great to be undefeated in the Fiesta Bowl, victory over a top 15 team, yada yada yada... But after comparing schedules and seeing who beat who, I'd rank it 3rd or 4th best of 2017.
The Iowa win has to be up there, just because of the environment, and the clutch game winning drive, on literally the last second of the game. Winning on the road is tough... The Pac 10 can't seem to accomplish this feat, even though they only play in front of 30-40k on average.
With regards to Iowa, what they did to Ohio State was the upset of the year in my book... HOWEVER... looking closer at that game, I'd be willing to bet the only reason that happened was because it took everything bit of what Ohio State had to beat The Nits the week before and Iowa caught them just at the perfect time. When the buckeyes were riding high after beating Penn State, and maybe looking ahead to Sparty the following weekend.
Back to the topic at hand... Our most impressive victory of 2017 has to be the thumping we gave the Wildcats in Evanston. Had it been at home, not so much, but given the kickoff time of 11AM CST, and the fact that it was sandwiched between Generations of Greatness & the Whiteout... (whatever you know what I mean...) this road game in snoozefest Evanston 101 "trap" game written all over it.
McSorley on the other hand had other ideas. Without even mentioning that he broke Collin's record of 14 straight passes hitting 15 straight during the game, how about every receiver who caught a pass caught at least two, and there were 9 of them. For a while I was worried we might let NW back into the game, however Barkley then had his moment, and ripped off 53 of his 73 yards right when we needed it the most nearing the end of the 3rd when one play could have made things interesting.
Luckily the one play was on our end, and it ended pretty much all hopes for NW. After rewatching that game, It sucked for Barkley how his performance was portrayed. The media makes it out like he struggled, yet his role was very clear and the schemes were working to perfection as McSorley lit up the passing game.
It's why I'm not too concerned with the absence of Barkley this year.... it's never been about 1 player it's always been about the unit as a whole. Yes I'm dating this back through the Success with Honor years... (only difference is they played better defense than we do now, and our offense so far has been more prolific)
It's unpredictability is what makes this offense so hard to stop and what's going to make it so hard to stop down the road. The best part about Franklin's schemes (we think) is that he doesn't get flustered when an injury happens, or when something we want to be our bread and butter doesn't jive. Our offense has shown the ability to spread the ball all over the field, and when you do that, a Heisman trophy winner is tough to come by. Barkley isn't going to be the hero because unlike Joepa's old game plans, it appears this new offense will make adjustments and go with what works given the situation. Not stick to your guns come hell or high water.
Again, with hindsight, after rewatching the NW game, you would have thought we were almost upset, due Barkley's lackluster performance, as ESPN wanted a highlight reel from him to boost the noon ratings. Fortunately for us, we got the job done regardless of how Barkley's numbers looked, against a team that had beaten us twice in a row prior to this matchup.
It's still crazy for me that we as fans can say that with a straight face, now almost 6 years exactly after the "atomic bomb, program devastating" sanctions were unfairly levied, that post Paterno Penn State is better off than we've been in 30 years. Remind me again that we never even suffered a losing season given all the program dealt with? I couldn't be more excited to join the club of season tickets holders this year, I'll be on board for many years to come.
WE ARE
Because hindsight is always 20/20, and I like history so here's a lesson I taught myself as I researched all this crap while writing this post. **Cracks another beer
Do you ever go back and look through old schedules, not just of State but of all of college football. I think it's fascinating to evaluate what happened when you've got hindsight by your side looking at the stats and obscure details around why a team was able to do what they did. It's plain as day sometimes why Michigan could thump PSU in 2016, then in that same season Penn State gets some confidence, gets healthy and goes on to win the Big Ten.
It's also interesting to look and see how teams did after tough losses or epic wins.
All that said, I came across a list of active win streaks today, and was pretty surprised to see Northwestern at the top of the list in comparison to other power 5 schools. How about the following list:
- UCF at 13 games (Self Proclaimed Natty Title Holders)
- FIU at 10 (No, F. I. YOU says Lane Kiffin)
- Northwestern at 8 (Pat Fitzgerald, just keeps on keepin on doesn't he?)
- Troy at 7 (The condom or Helen?)
- Ohio State 5 (yea whatever)
- Penn State 4 (yours truly)
- Florida State 4 .... (These Fu&kfaces......)
Anyways.. who did we beat this year.. right.
Looking at State's schedule. People are going to pinpoint Washington as the team we beat who was the best.. Sure, I get it... the Huskies were in the final four last year, and they finished 10-2 this year, yada yada yada yada..... But look closely at their schedule and you see they beat up on people who stunk, or they stunk up the places they visited on the road. So not to get too deep into this, lets pick it apart.
Who did Washington beat in 2017?
Date Time School Opponent Conf Pts Opp
Sep 1 2017 8:00 PM (8)Washington @ Rutgers Big Ten W 30 14
Sep 9 2017 8:00 PM (7)Washington Montana Non-Major W 63 7
Sep 16 2017 9:30 PM (6)Washington Fresno State MWC W 48 16
Sep 23 2017 10:00 PM (7)Washington @ Colorado Pac-12 W 37 10
Sep 30 2017 8:00 PM (6)Washington @ Oregon State Pac-12 W 42 7
Oct 7 2017 10:45 PM (6)Washington California Pac-12 W 38 7
Oct 14 2017 10:45 PM (5)Washington @ Arizona State Pac-12 L 7 13
Oct 28 2017 3:30 PM (12)Washington UCLA Pac-12 W 44 23
Nov 4 2017 10:00 PM (12)Washington Oregon Pac-12 W 38 3
Nov 10 2017 10:30 PM (9)Washington @ Stanford Pac-12 L 22 30
Nov 18 2017 10:30 PM (9)Washington Utah Pac-12 W 33 30
Nov 25 2017 8:00 PM (15)Washington (14)Washington State Pac-12 W 41 14
Dec 30 2017 4:00 PM (12)Washington N (9)Penn State Big Ten L 28 35
- The win at Colorado gave them a little clout early on and it shouldn't have. The Buffs finished last in the PAC 10 South at 5-7. Bye Bye 2016, the real buff is back. Erase those memories of what was a solid 2016, even Kordell Stewart would have to agree 2016 was a blip on a dismal couple of decades for the 420 loving, high as a mile, buffaloes I thought we hunted to near extinction years ago. There's no Miracle in Michigan or Boulder this year dudes.
Back to Washington's record...
- The loss at Arizona State was to a 6-7 team, and was ugly.
- The Stanford flub gave the cardinals the tie breaker in the north which they won with 4 losses.
- The only ranked team the Huskies faced, they beat.. However a closer look at Washington State and you find that besides their upset of USC (Who also didn't beat anybody in 2017) the cougars were fairly mediocre as well.
G Date Time Day School Opponent Conf Pts Opp W L Streak TV Notes
1 Sep 2 2017 10:30 PM Sat (24)Washington State Montana State Non-Major W 31 0 1 0 W 1
2 Sep 9 2017 10:30 PM Sat (20)Washington State Boise State MWC W 47 44 2 0 W 2
3 Sep 16 2017 5:30 PM Sat (21)Washington State Oregon State Pac-12 W 52 23 3 0 W 3
4 Sep 23 2017 6:00 PM Sat (18)Washington State Nevada MWC W 45 7 4 0 W 4
5 Sep 29 2017 10:30 PM Fri (16)Washington State (5)USC Pac-12 W 30 27 5 0 W 5
6 Oct 7 2017 8:00 PM Sat (11)Washington State @ Oregon Pac-12 W 33 10 6 0 W 6
7 Oct 13 2017 10:30 PM Fri (8)Washington State @ California Pac-12 L 3 37 6 1 L 1
8 Oct 21 2017 10:45 PM Sat (15)Washington State Colorado Pac-12 W 28 0 7 1 W 1
9 Oct 28 2017 9:30 PM Sat (15)Washington State @ Arizona Pac-12 L 37 58 7 2 L 1
10 Nov 4 2017 3:30 PM Sat (25)Washington State (18)Stanford Pac-12 W 24 21 8 2 W 1
11 Nov 11 2017 5:30 PM Sat (19)Washington State @ Utah Pac-12 W 33 25 9 2 W 2
12 Nov 25 2017 8:00 PM Sat (14)Washington State @ (15)Washington Pac-12 L 14 41 9 3 L 1
13 Dec 28 2017 9:00 PM Thu (21)Washington State N (18)Michigan State Big Ten L 17 42 9 4 L 2 Holiday Bowl
- Washington State was blown out by Sparty in the bowl, 42-17
- @ Washington, 41-14
- @ Cal 37-3 (in front of 27k fans, good job on that stadium recon Sandy)
- @ Arizona 58-37
Anyways, long story short, the PAC 10 was just as lousy as everyone had said during the season, and when you break it down and see how they all beat on each other, it makes you wonder what the hell happened to Oregon.
It's not like the Pac 10 got good all of sudden. Oregon completely fell off the map in the matter of 2 years. Makes you wonder if they were really all that good to begin with, or if they were just the champion of the pillow fight (as cowherd likes to put it) of a conference year in and year out.
Finally, State's victory of Washington was a solid win for the program. It's great to be undefeated in the Fiesta Bowl, victory over a top 15 team, yada yada yada... But after comparing schedules and seeing who beat who, I'd rank it 3rd or 4th best of 2017.
The Iowa win has to be up there, just because of the environment, and the clutch game winning drive, on literally the last second of the game. Winning on the road is tough... The Pac 10 can't seem to accomplish this feat, even though they only play in front of 30-40k on average.
With regards to Iowa, what they did to Ohio State was the upset of the year in my book... HOWEVER... looking closer at that game, I'd be willing to bet the only reason that happened was because it took everything bit of what Ohio State had to beat The Nits the week before and Iowa caught them just at the perfect time. When the buckeyes were riding high after beating Penn State, and maybe looking ahead to Sparty the following weekend.
Back to the topic at hand... Our most impressive victory of 2017 has to be the thumping we gave the Wildcats in Evanston. Had it been at home, not so much, but given the kickoff time of 11AM CST, and the fact that it was sandwiched between Generations of Greatness & the Whiteout... (whatever you know what I mean...) this road game in snoozefest Evanston 101 "trap" game written all over it.
McSorley on the other hand had other ideas. Without even mentioning that he broke Collin's record of 14 straight passes hitting 15 straight during the game, how about every receiver who caught a pass caught at least two, and there were 9 of them. For a while I was worried we might let NW back into the game, however Barkley then had his moment, and ripped off 53 of his 73 yards right when we needed it the most nearing the end of the 3rd when one play could have made things interesting.
Luckily the one play was on our end, and it ended pretty much all hopes for NW. After rewatching that game, It sucked for Barkley how his performance was portrayed. The media makes it out like he struggled, yet his role was very clear and the schemes were working to perfection as McSorley lit up the passing game.
It's why I'm not too concerned with the absence of Barkley this year.... it's never been about 1 player it's always been about the unit as a whole. Yes I'm dating this back through the Success with Honor years... (only difference is they played better defense than we do now, and our offense so far has been more prolific)
It's unpredictability is what makes this offense so hard to stop and what's going to make it so hard to stop down the road. The best part about Franklin's schemes (we think) is that he doesn't get flustered when an injury happens, or when something we want to be our bread and butter doesn't jive. Our offense has shown the ability to spread the ball all over the field, and when you do that, a Heisman trophy winner is tough to come by. Barkley isn't going to be the hero because unlike Joepa's old game plans, it appears this new offense will make adjustments and go with what works given the situation. Not stick to your guns come hell or high water.
Again, with hindsight, after rewatching the NW game, you would have thought we were almost upset, due Barkley's lackluster performance, as ESPN wanted a highlight reel from him to boost the noon ratings. Fortunately for us, we got the job done regardless of how Barkley's numbers looked, against a team that had beaten us twice in a row prior to this matchup.
It's still crazy for me that we as fans can say that with a straight face, now almost 6 years exactly after the "atomic bomb, program devastating" sanctions were unfairly levied, that post Paterno Penn State is better off than we've been in 30 years. Remind me again that we never even suffered a losing season given all the program dealt with? I couldn't be more excited to join the club of season tickets holders this year, I'll be on board for many years to come.
WE ARE
Last edited:
