Where is this team headed?

[bdgan]

Preseason predictions were for 9.5 wins and that still sounds realistic. Michigan State is the only team as weak as Indiana. We should beat Maryland and Rutgers but that won't happen if the offense plays like it did the last two weeks. IMO this team could go 4-0 but could just as easily go 2-2.

The running game is a mystery. The statistics are a head scratcher. PSU is 3rd in the BiG averaging 175 yds per game rushing but it certainly doesn't feel that way. Numbers for Singleton & Allen are down. How much were our rushing averages propped up by playing Delaware & UMass? Early opponents gave our WRs a cushion but not so with OSU & Indiana. They played a lot of cover 0 and cover 1 and dared PSU to beat them 10+ yds downfield. That strategy seems effective until we can become more effective in the passing game.

Allar's confidence isn't good. It would help a lot of he had WRs/TEs who could make plays for him but we haven't seen much of that. Now Harrison Wallace looks to be questionable. They only thing I can think of is to put Singleton in the slot but that doesn't seem to be part of the plan. The other thing is to play fast. On PSU's last drive Allar started with a quick pass to Allen. It was quick and didn't give Indiana defenders a lot of time to react. On the slower developing plays Allar seems to wait an extra half second to make sure the receivers have created some separation. It makes me think about Clifford in the Rose Bowl. I seriously don't know where that performance came from. Quick decisions with throws into tight windows where a second hesitation could have meant an INT. It took Clifford all of 6 years to gain that confidence so maybe we're expecting too much from 19 year old Allar.

Maryland could be a challenge.

• It's on the road
• MD is 3rd in BiG scoring, 2nd in BiG passing.
• I'm guessing Chop will be out again which means less pressure on Tua
• OSU/Ind have shown how to defend PSU
• Harrison Wallace might be out again.

It will be interesting.

 

[LandoComando]

Maryland has lost to Illinois and Northwestern. It better not be interesting.
The goal is 11-1 and anything less than 10-2 is a disaster following last year especially given our schedule and the level of our defense.
Maryland has to be a win. If Franklin can't be Locksley....yikes

 

[mcpat]

We’re beating Michigan. 11-1 and 6th because one good win isn’t enough. Schedule was too weak for anything other than a Big Ten Championship to get in.

 

[bdgan]

Maryland has lost to Illinois and Northwestern. It better not be interesting.
The goal is 11-1 and anything less than 10-2 is a disaster following last year especially given our schedule and the level of our defense.
Maryland has to be a win. If Franklin can't be Locksley....yikes

Maryland probably thinks PSU has to be a win after losing 3 games.

PSU won @ ILL because of turnovers. The stats were pretty much even.
PSU was tied at half @ NW
PSU lost @ OSU who was playing without 2 key players.

There's no doubt that PSU has better athletes and should win this game. But road games are difficult, the last two opponents have exploited our weakness, and it sounds like we'll be playing w/o our #1 DE and #2 WR. I expect PSU to win but I don't expect it to be easy.

 

[LandoComando]

Maryland probably thinks PSU has to be a win after losing 3 games.

PSU won @ ILL because of turnovers. The stats were pretty much even.
PSU was tied at half @ NW
PSU lost @ OSU who was playing without 2 key players.

There's no doubt that PSU has better athletes and should win this game. But road games are difficult, the last two opponents have exploited our weakness, and it sounds like we'll be playing w/o our #1 DE and #2 WR. I expect PSU to win but I don't expect it to be easy.

I highly doubt anyone on that Maryland team expects to win. If they do they shouldn't.

 

[Obliviax]

Preseason predictions were for 9.5 wins and that still sounds realistic. Michigan State is the only team as weak as Indiana. We should beat Maryland and Rutgers but that won't happen if the offense plays like it did the last two weeks. IMO this team could go 4-0 but could just as easily go 2-2.

The running game is a mystery. The statistics are a head scratcher. PSU is 3rd in the BiG averaging 175 yds per game rushing but it certainly doesn't feel that way. Numbers for Singleton & Allen are down. How much were our rushing averages propped up by playing Delaware & UMass? Early opponents gave our WRs a cushion but not so with OSU & Indiana. They played a lot of cover 0 and cover 1 and dared PSU to beat them 10+ yds downfield. That strategy seems effective until we can become more effective in the passing game.

Allar's confidence isn't good. It would help a lot of he had WRs/TEs who could make plays for him but we haven't seen much of that. Now Harrison Wallace looks to be questionable. They only thing I can think of is to put Singleton in the slot but that doesn't seem to be part of the plan. The other thing is to play fast. On PSU's last drive Allar started with a quick pass to Allen. It was quick and didn't give Indiana defenders a lot of time to react. On the slower developing plays Allar seems to wait an extra half second to make sure the receivers have created some separation. It makes me think about Clifford in the Rose Bowl. I seriously don't know where that performance came from. Quick decisions with throws into tight windows where a second hesitation could have meant an INT. It took Clifford all of 6 years to gain that confidence so maybe we're expecting too much from 19 year old Allar.

Maryland could be a challenge.

• It's on the road
• MD is 3rd in BiG scoring, 2nd in BiG passing.
• I'm guessing Chop will be out again which means less pressure on Tua
• OSU/Ind have shown how to defend PSU
• Harrison Wallace might be out again.

It will be interesting.

NW beat Maryland yesterday

 

[mcpat]

9th in this week’s coach’s rankings.

 

[psu00]

This season could go either way. They had a poor game against Ohio State….again …. and then followed that up with a shaky, less than impressive game against lowly Indiana (2-6). The next 2 weeks are Maryland and Michigan.

This past weekend didn’t give any confidence that the team has righted the ship at all.

 

[bdgan]

NW beat Maryland yesterday

Yes, and Indy was tied with PSU with under 2 minutes to play. The same Indy team that was soundly beaten by Rutgers 31-14 at home. Rutgers had no problem rushing for over 270 yds in that game.

Neither PSU or MD brings much momentum into this week's game. Missing Chop & Wallace won't help.

 

[bcspsu]

This season could go either way. They had a poor game against Ohio State….again …. and then followed that up with a shaky, less than impressive game against lowly Indiana (2-6). The next 2 weeks are Maryland and Michigan.

This past weekend didn’t give any confidence that the team has righted the ship at all.

As poorly as most of us believe that the offense is designed and executed, they scored 31 points, which should be good enough to win every remaining game except Michigan with our defense. On Friday, I posted that I thought that we’d struggle to score in the 30s against IU, and actually thought to myself that we’d end up winning by something like 30-13.

With the above said, unless this offense has an Epiphany, they’re probably going to lose at least two more games, which would make this season a failure considering that the Big 10 overall is as down as it’s been in a long time.

 

[jbenedict]

Preseason predictions were for 9.5 wins and that still sounds realistic. Michigan State is the only team as weak as Indiana. We should beat Maryland and Rutgers but that won't happen if the offense plays like it did the last two weeks. IMO this team could go 4-0 but could just as easily go 2-2.

The running game is a mystery. The statistics are a head scratcher. PSU is 3rd in the BiG averaging 175 yds per game rushing but it certainly doesn't feel that way. Numbers for Singleton & Allen are down. How much were our rushing averages propped up by playing Delaware & UMass? Early opponents gave our WRs a cushion but not so with OSU & Indiana. They played a lot of cover 0 and cover 1 and dared PSU to beat them 10+ yds downfield. That strategy seems effective until we can become more effective in the passing game.

Allar's confidence isn't good. It would help a lot of he had WRs/TEs who could make plays for him but we haven't seen much of that. Now Harrison Wallace looks to be questionable. They only thing I can think of is to put Singleton in the slot but that doesn't seem to be part of the plan. The other thing is to play fast. On PSU's last drive Allar started with a quick pass to Allen. It was quick and didn't give Indiana defenders a lot of time to react. On the slower developing plays Allar seems to wait an extra half second to make sure the receivers have created some separation. It makes me think about Clifford in the Rose Bowl. I seriously don't know where that performance came from. Quick decisions with throws into tight windows where a second hesitation could have meant an INT. It took Clifford all of 6 years to gain that confidence so maybe we're expecting too much from 19 year old Allar.

Maryland could be a challenge.

• It's on the road
• MD is 3rd in BiG scoring, 2nd in BiG passing.
• I'm guessing Chop will be out again which means less pressure on Tua
• OSU/Ind have shown how to defend PSU
• Harrison Wallace might be out again.

It will be interesting.

Bdgan I have been hollering from the roof tops about running up tempo offense and I don't understand why they very seldom do. They do have success when they employ this quick pace offense and the other team doesn't have the ability to adjust. Is there a coach out there that can explain why this doesn't happen? I also believe that many teams know what we are doing offensively. You always have those guys on the sideline holding up cards etc... How do we no that other coaches haven't broke this system down and know what where doing. Get rid of the bull crap. How about huddling the team, call the play, run to the LOS don't look over to the sideline and run the damn play. It seems like the QB doesn't have to do any thinking for himself and is being controlled by a joystick on the side line. I don't know but it's very frustrating.

 

[KnightWhoSaysNit]

How about huddling the team, call the play, run to the LOS don't look over to the sideline and run the damn play. It seems like the QB doesn't have to do any thinking for himself and is being controlled by a joystick on the side line. I don't know but it's very frustrating.

I would contend that the QB is doing too much thinking by the way we are managing the call before the snap. It's a distraction when coming to the LOS when he should be sizing up the defense.

They should be simplifying the offense for Allar instead of playing this hide-n-go-seek game to disguise what we intend to do. It's enough to have our own players not knowing what they need to do.

 

[PSUWrestlingFanSince2011]

4-0? Not with this offense. Need to make some major adjustments.

 

[KCLion]

I will say it again, watching a true freshman QB for Arizona beat #11 OSU last night was somewhat disheartening. Yeah, they’ve lost a couple of games, but not because the offense struggles. They lost to MS State in OT at beginning of the season, Washington by 7 and USC by 2 in triple OT.

 

[Psubiomed]

8-4.

 

[fairfaxlion2]

With the above said, unless this offense has an Epiphany, they’re probably going to lose at least two more games, which would make this season a failure considering that the Big 10 overall is as down as it’s been in a long time.

besides Michigan what other loss are you seeing?

this PSU team no longer seems like a playoff contender, but also look at the schedule. 3 of the remaining 4 are not that good.

Are you thinking Rutgers can beat PSU? B/c i am not seeing any chance this team loses to Maryland or MSU

 

[PSUWrestlingFanSince2011]

besides Michigan what other loss are you seeing?

this PSU team no longer seems like a playoff contender, but also look at the schedule. 3 of the remaining 4 are not that good.

Are you thinking Rutgers can beat PSU? B/c i am not seeing any chance this team loses to Maryland or MSU

We almost lost to Indiana....

 

[LandoComando]

We almost lost to Indiana....

Almost--we still aren't losing to Maryland or Rutgers--might be closer than we like but our defense is too good to lose those games

 

[bcspsu]

besides Michigan what other loss are you seeing?

this PSU team no longer seems like a playoff contender, but also look at the schedule. 3 of the remaining 4 are not that good.

Are you thinking Rutgers can beat PSU? B/c i am not seeing any chance this team loses to Maryland or MSU

I easily can see this team losing to Maryland or Rutgers. If I didn’t think that MSU already will have checked out by the time that we play them, I could see that as a loss too. By me saying that, I don’t mean to say that we’ll lose any of those games; just that if the offense doesn’t improve, Maryland and Rutgers are capable of winning.

 

[PAgeologist]

I would contend that the QB is doing too much thinking by the way we are managing the call before the snap. It's a distraction when coming to the LOS when he should be sizing up the defense.

They should be simplifying the offense for Allar instead of playing this hide-n-go-seek game to disguise what we intend to do. It's enough to have our own players not knowing what they need to do.

You mean rearranging all the skill players from initial formation to snap and then running a delayed handoff for 2 yards isn't a prolific high power offense???

Color me shocked.

 

[bdgan]

besides Michigan what other loss are you seeing?

this PSU team no longer seems like a playoff contender, but also look at the schedule. 3 of the remaining 4 are not that good.

Are you thinking Rutgers can beat PSU? B/c i am not seeing any chance this team loses to Maryland or MSU

I think PSU beats both Rutgers and MD but my degree of confidence isn't as high as it once was. PSU will probably be playing without 2 key starters.

Rutgers beat Indiana 31-14 on the road while running for 276 yds. Maryland pounded Indiana 44-17. I know you can't go by that but PSU is entering the home stretch without much momentum. My opinion is there is a 65% chance of winning both games.

 

[LandoComando]

I think PSU beats both Rutgers and MD but my degree of confidence isn't as high as it once was. PSU will probably be playing without 2 key starters.

Rutgers beat Indiana 31-14 on the road while running for 276 yds. Maryland pounded Indiana 44-17. I know you can't go by that but PSU is entering the home stretch without much momentum. My opinion is there is a 65% chance of winning both games.

You're way too low

 

[RickinDayton]

I think PSU beats both Rutgers and MD but my degree of confidence isn't as high as it once was. PSU will probably be playing without 2 key starters.

Rutgers beat Indiana 31-14 on the road while running for 276 yds. Maryland pounded Indiana 44-17. I know you can't go by that but PSU is entering the home stretch without much momentum. My opinion is there is a 65% chance of winning both games.

Maryland is not inept offensively and Rutgers seems to be improving and run the ball better than PSU. PSU just does not seem to be improving offensively. The offensive play calling is stale and execution is lacking.

 

[MacNit2.0]

I think PSU beats both Rutgers and MD but my degree of confidence isn't as high as it once was. PSU will probably be playing without 2 key starters.

Rutgers beat Indiana 31-14 on the road while running for 276 yds. Maryland pounded Indiana 44-17. I know you can't go by that but PSU is entering the home stretch without much momentum. My opinion is there is a 65% chance of winning both games.

How would you feel if Rutgers had Franklin and PSU had The Gorilla?

 

[Bondist]

I think PSU beats both Rutgers and MD but my degree of confidence isn't as high as it once was. PSU will probably be playing without 2 key starters.

Rutgers beat Indiana 31-14 on the road while running for 276 yds. Maryland pounded Indiana 44-17. I know you can't go by that but PSU is entering the home stretch without much momentum. My opinion is there is a 65% chance of winning both games.

Nice post, thanks for comparative scores. My question: how many starters on Maryland/Rutgers would start at PSU? Then ask how many starters on PSU would start at Michigan? Finally would you trade straight up for the head coach from any of those opponents ?
I am no film analyst, expert in anyway but certainly may be shocked by the answers!

 

[royboy]

We almost lost to Indiana....

Yawn. Coulda, shoulda, woulda.

If a PSU defender recovered the late fumble, the score would have been 38-24.
33-24 seems okay.

 

[bdgan]

besides Michigan what other loss are you seeing?

this PSU team no longer seems like a playoff contender, but also look at the schedule. 3 of the remaining 4 are not that good.

Are you thinking Rutgers can beat PSU? B/c i am not seeing any chance this team loses to Maryland or MSU

I think PSU beats both Rutgers and MD but my degree of confidence isn't as high as it once was. PSU will probably be playing without 2 key starters.

Rutgers beat Indiana 31-14 on the road while running for 276 yds. Maryland pounded Indiana 44-17. I know you can't go by that but PSU is entering the home stretch without much momentum. My opinion is there is a 65% chance of winning both games

You're way too low

I hope so. Math says an 80% chance of winning each game = 64% chance of winning both.

 

[LandoComando]

I think PSU beats both Rutgers and MD but my degree of confidence isn't as high as it once was. PSU will probably be playing without 2 key starters.

Rutgers beat Indiana 31-14 on the road while running for 276 yds. Maryland pounded Indiana 44-17. I know you can't go by that but PSU is entering the home stretch without much momentum. My opinion is there is a 65% chance of winning both games

I hope so. Math says an 80% chance of winning each game = 64% chance of winning both.

80% is way too low for both of them. I'll have to see what FPI has but both should be close to 90--definitely above 80. And, no, that math isn't then 64%. You don't multiple them lol

 

[fairfaxlion2]

interesting scenario: what if Franklin picks up wins but looks unimpressive (similar to Indiana game) vs. Maryland, Rutgers, and MSU, AND somehow pulls off a miracle and has the team run through a wall to beat Michigan. Then he is 11-1. are we back in the playoff mix in that scenario, or do the rankings keep us at a ceiling of 5/6?

 

[KCLion]

interesting scenario: what if Franklin picks up wins but looks unimpressive (similar to Indiana game) vs. Maryland, Rutgers, and MSU, AND somehow pulls off a miracle and has the team run through a wall to beat Michigan. Then he is 11-1. are we back in the playoff mix in that scenario, or do the rankings keep us at a ceiling of 5/6?

Who wins Between OSU and Michigan plus a bunch of other games. Likely need at least two upsets.

 

[bdgan]

interesting scenario: what if Franklin picks up wins but looks unimpressive (similar to Indiana game) vs. Maryland, Rutgers, and MSU, AND somehow pulls off a miracle and has the team run through a wall to beat Michigan. Then he is 11-1. are we back in the playoff mix in that scenario, or do the rankings keep us at a ceiling of 5/6?

I'll be elated if that happens.

 

[ryoder1]

Yes, and Indy was tied with PSU with under 2 minutes to play. The same Indy team that was soundly beaten by Rutgers 31-14 at home. Rutgers had no problem rushing for over 270 yds in that game.

Neither PSU or MD brings much momentum into this week's game. Missing Chop & Wallace won't help.

How bad are we going to miss Wallace? He is a #2 on a team that has no real #1. I think Cephus, etc should minimize whatever impact he was going to have.

Defense needs to play better and we beat MD. Same low intensity, lethargic bunch vs Indiana and we lose.

My prediction is we lose only to Michigan in an annoyingly closer than anyone thought game but once again we can't make clutch plays. I wouldn't be surprised if it is somewhat like the 21-17 loss to them at home in '21. Defense will be inspired, hopefully Chop is back and Michigan is finally challenged on the offensive side of the ball. Unfortunately we cannot hold them down for the whole game and our anemic offense just cannot sustain anything. Could be a 17-10 or 20-10 loss.

 

[bvillebaron]

Preseason predictions were for 9.5 wins and that still sounds realistic. Michigan State is the only team as weak as Indiana. We should beat Maryland and Rutgers but that won't happen if the offense plays like it did the last two weeks. IMO this team could go 4-0 but could just as easily go 2-2.

The running game is a mystery. The statistics are a head scratcher. PSU is 3rd in the BiG averaging 175 yds per game rushing but it certainly doesn't feel that way. Numbers for Singleton & Allen are down. How much were our rushing averages propped up by playing Delaware & UMass? Early opponents gave our WRs a cushion but not so with OSU & Indiana. They played a lot of cover 0 and cover 1 and dared PSU to beat them 10+ yds downfield. That strategy seems effective until we can become more effective in the passing game.

Allar's confidence isn't good. It would help a lot of he had WRs/TEs who could make plays for him but we haven't seen much of that. Now Harrison Wallace looks to be questionable. They only thing I can think of is to put Singleton in the slot but that doesn't seem to be part of the plan. The other thing is to play fast. On PSU's last drive Allar started with a quick pass to Allen. It was quick and didn't give Indiana defenders a lot of time to react. On the slower developing plays Allar seems to wait an extra half second to make sure the receivers have created some separation. It makes me think about Clifford in the Rose Bowl. I seriously don't know where that performance came from. Quick decisions with throws into tight windows where a second hesitation could have meant an INT. It took Clifford all of 6 years to gain that confidence so maybe we're expecting too much from 19 year old Allar.

Maryland could be a challenge.

• It's on the road
• MD is 3rd in BiG scoring, 2nd in BiG passing.
• I'm guessing Chop will be out again which means less pressure on Tua
• OSU/Ind have shown how to defend PSU
• Harrison Wallace might be out again.

It will be interesting.

Would that be the same Maryland team that lost to Northwestern on Saturday?

 

[bvillebaron]

How would you feel if Rutgers had Franklin and PSU had The Gorilla?

I would probably vomit. You can’t be serious

 

[bvillebaron]

Preseason predictions were for 9.5 wins and that still sounds realistic. Michigan State is the only team as weak as Indiana. We should beat Maryland and Rutgers but that won't happen if the offense plays like it did the last two weeks. IMO this team could go 4-0 but could just as easily go 2-2.

The running game is a mystery. The statistics are a head scratcher. PSU is 3rd in the BiG averaging 175 yds per game rushing but it certainly doesn't feel that way. Numbers for Singleton & Allen are down. How much were our rushing averages propped up by playing Delaware & UMass? Early opponents gave our WRs a cushion but not so with OSU & Indiana. They played a lot of cover 0 and cover 1 and dared PSU to beat them 10+ yds downfield. That strategy seems effective until we can become more effective in the passing game.

Allar's confidence isn't good. It would help a lot of he had WRs/TEs who could make plays for him but we haven't seen much of that. Now Harrison Wallace looks to be questionable. They only thing I can think of is to put Singleton in the slot but that doesn't seem to be part of the plan. The other thing is to play fast. On PSU's last drive Allar started with a quick pass to Allen. It was quick and didn't give Indiana defenders a lot of time to react. On the slower developing plays Allar seems to wait an extra half second to make sure the receivers have created some separation. It makes me think about Clifford in the Rose Bowl. I seriously don't know where that performance came from. Quick decisions with throws into tight windows where a second hesitation could have meant an INT. It took Clifford all of 6 years to gain that confidence so maybe we're expecting too much from 19 year old Allar.

Maryland could be a challenge.

• It's on the road
• MD is 3rd in BiG scoring, 2nd in BiG passing.
• I'm guessing Chop will be out again which means less pressure on Tua
• OSU/Ind have shown how to defend PSU
• Harrison Wallace might be out again.

It will be interesting.

The schedule says they play at Maryland on Saturday.

 

[KCLion]

The schedule says they play at Maryland on Saturday.

And that’s what he said.

 

[KnightWhoSaysNit]

I would probably vomit. You can’t be serious

What is wrong with "the Gorilla?" Ryan Day had this to say of Schiano:

"What Greg Schiano has done for me in the last month is something I'll never forget. He is the classiest person I've ever been around in the coaching profession. The way he's handled himself, helping me along the way, counseling me on day-to-day stuff."

I consider Coach Schiano to be one of the innocent victims of the Sandusky Scandal. Did he see Sandusky with a kid? Possibly. Was it anything like what McQueary claims to have seen? Doubtful.

 

[LandoComando]

What is wrong with "the Gorilla?" Ryan Day had this to say of Schiano:

"What Greg Schiano has done for me in the last month is something I'll never forget. He is the classiest person I've ever been around in the coaching profession. The way he's handled himself, helping me along the way, counseling me on day-to-day stuff."

I consider Coach Schiano to be one of the innocent victims of the Sandusky Scandal. Did he see Sandusky with a kid? Possibly. Was it anything like what McQueary claims to have seen? Doubtful.

Why's it doubtful?

 

[bvillebaron]

What is wrong with "the Gorilla?" Ryan Day had this to say of Schiano:

"What Greg Schiano has done for me in the last month is something I'll never forget. He is the classiest person I've ever been around in the coaching profession. The way he's handled himself, helping me along the way, counseling me on day-to-day stuff."

I consider Coach Schiano to be one of the innocent victims of the Sandusky Scandal. Did he see Sandusky with a kid? Possibly. Was it anything like what McQueary claims to have seen? Doubtful.

Ain’t that nice. Didn’t say a damn thing about his coaching ability.

 

[MacNit2.0]

I would probably vomit. You can’t be serious

I am serious. Gorilla does more with less.