2008 Iowa Game

[NewEra 2014]

I must be a glutton for punishment, but I watched the 2008 Iowa game replay on BTN. It is unbelievable how much we dominated that game in the first half. I give Iowa credit, as their defense should have been exhausted by the 4th quarter, but they played strong all game. There was some good NFL talent on both sides of the field in that game.

But we could only score field goals when in the red zone in that first half. What stood out to me was that the PSU O-line could not pass block to save its life. It was very similar to this past year--whenever Clark went back to pass, it was a complete jailbreak. Clark immediately rolled out to avoid pressure, but he was constantly making throws with someone in his face or diving at his legs.

Conversely, run blocking wasn't too bad, and Evan Royster was a really, really good runner for us. I would characterize his running style as "slippery", as Iowa never seemed to get a good initial shot on him, and Royster made many yards after initial contact.

I really want to see improvement in the PSU O-line this year more than anything. At least give Hack a chance to see the field for a couple of seconds and this offense can be very good.

 

[michnittlion]

Yeah, that game should have never been in doubt:

(1) We really set Iowa up for their first touchdown.

(2) Then, our inability to get touchdowns as opposed to field goals.

(3) We went into the Red Zone in EACH of our 2nd through 5th drives of the game --- but only got 16 points.

Is what it is. Iowa was a pretty good team themselves in 2008, but that game was horribly disappointing. We were better than them but we let them hang around and hang around. And then they pulled it out at the end.

 

[PennStateNate]

Absolutely hated the bye week after the Ohio State game that year.

 

[dawgduice]

Was that the Devlin/heater game ?

 

[NewEra 2014]

Was that the Devlin/heater game ?

It was, and I always viewed it as the Devlin/heater game in the past. But after watching the game with the benefit of some time going by, I have changed my mind. Our offensive line could not pass block at all. Although Clark could have played better, I really don't think Devlin would have made a difference. We were running all over Iowa until we got into the red zone. Then, Iowa stacked the box and dared us to throw. As soon as Clark dropped back, the Iowa rush was coming through like they weren't even being blocked.

We tried to use Derrick Williams in the wildcat quite a bit that day in order to counter Iowa's rush. Williams was pretty effective and even threw once or twice out of the wildcat, but we just could not score TDs that day.