I'm not a casual, I've been going to PSU for over 30 years, have been to over 100 PSU games and over 10 bowl games. USC is soft. They have the Southern Cal mentality, care more about NIL than the team winning.
I could say the same for many of our players who recently have bailed on bowl games. Regardless, JF usually fields a mentally soft team, especially in big brand, blue blood matchups. It's why I think we should be underdogs until proven otherwise. His record in games similar to this is terrible. His whole 'we appreciate winning around here after knocking off the Northwesterns of the world is embarrassing. Your statement has to go both ways. Should we lose on Saturday to a supposed soft team, I guess that means we are soft as well, which I would agree with. Now, no doubt the last few yrs, USC has been totally soft and embarrassing on defense, needing to score 50+ pts to beat anyone. But, so far, under Lynn, their defense has been substantially better, and in many cases has saved the offense.
"His record in games similar". His record vs Similar team, unranked opponents as USC will be, is very good actually. So not sure what you’re talking about.
Sorry.. I should have said versus similar blue blood opponents. So had the Trojans won last night and crept into the top 10, would that have really made a difference with this point? Do you think we are a powerhouse when every year people are talking about us as the best team that can't get over the hump? To me that sounds like an annual pretender but maybe your definition of a powerhouse Juggernaut is different than mine. For the amount of first round talent and numerous draft picks that James has had in his 11 years for his record to be what it is against the programs that are pivotal in accomplishing our goals, to me is pretty embarrassing and soft regardless however you want to spin it. Again circling back to the point of this initial thread, I think it would be the biggest win in the regular season that James would have had to date since the 2017 season if he can pull this off. But based on evidence since that time I'm skeptical for good reason.
Yes, USC losing tonight drastically changes things
"His record in games similar". His record vs Similar team, unranked opponents as USC will be, isvery good actually. So not sure what you’re talking about.
Yeah I mean USC just lost to Minnesota who lost to UNC, Michigan and got pounded by Iowa. And they deserved to lose. And they lost to Michigan who got handled by Washington.
I understand what you are saying but how about last year's Ohio State team with a very mediocre quarterback and an offense that was arguably the worst Ryan Day has had since he's been there. That was a very pedestrian Ohio State team by their standards and with our first round left tackle and numerous other draft picks, we vomited all over ourselves. I agree with you that ranking certainly means something when evaluating teams like USC but at the end of the day we know they have a ton of speed offensively and arguably more playmakers on that side of the ball. Regardless what the ranking says, the pressure is 100% on James and Penn State to avoid being the annual fraud. That to me is why this is a monumental game. It's all about perception and results at this point for James and the program, which is why this is a gargantuan opportunity against a big brand that is down and why if we don't capitalize I'm not sure we ever will under this guy
Pedestrian by Ohio State standards isn't pedestrian though. They were definitely better than us.
Comparing last year's Ohio State vs. USC this year is laughable, sorry.
Okay, so what would be your reasoning and your response on here should we lose on saturday? Based on your logic, then, we should be ultrasoft if we can't beat a bad soft, big ten team, correct?
Not who you asked--but if we lose on Saturday then it's a coaching failure--on a level we haven't seen from Franklin since 2021. It's not about Michigan or Ohio State
If we lose then we lost to an average Big Ten team on the road. It could happen. They have very talented wrs so hopefully we can cover them well enough. We will miss Winston in this game for sure. Hopefully we have Singleton back bc that would be a big loss if he's out.
And, we could also win and should. I agree with you. Sorry for the 'casual' comment...appreciate the convo. I just find it very challenging to be ultra confident with JF, Drew and the guys in really a must win game and a should win game, that can really move the needle for the program. I guess we will see. Hopefully u are right. If we don't have Nick back, I think we lose.
I'm uber-confident in Drew....just worry about the supporting cast but that will come into play against Ohio State not USC IMO
Yeah I agree it's still a big game vs a blue blood. And Franklin has gotten a little tight in these games over the years but that's normally when the other teams are better than us. And we're the better team in this game. Franklin hasn't lost many games when he has the better team.
True....when he is tight, u can also see it in the players. That is an area where I think he has to defer more to the coordinators...his risk aversion philosophy gets you close to the finish line, but hasn't proved to be the winning formula in those particular games. I'll be there in the Coliseum rooting us on.
Also, something to recognize is that OL's on past Franklin's teams have struggled to run the ball to close out games. This is his best OL to date, imo. Also he doesn't have Brent "Prevent D" Pry as D coordinator anymore to choke games away on defense.
Well, that is true. This group of OL guys, from the 1s and 2s certainly appear to be the most talented and higher ceiling group he's had. Especially run blocking. They might struggle a bit more in pass pro...but the run blocking is critical.
Uggh...yeah that was brutal. Or in 2017 vs OSU and MSU.....or 2018 OSU....despite the epic defensive collapses....the inability to win it on your own offensive terms spelled doom.
PSU needs a breakout game against USC like the game @ Auburn two years ago. That was total domination.
So exactly what is your point? Franklin has a bad record vs top, ranked opponents but an excellent record versus everyone else. It doesn't matter if they are 'blue blood' or not. So I think it's pretty obvious that whether or not USC won last night matters a great deal.
Incorrect. If we win, I think it's massive for him and the program, even if USC is down. We do have better players as a whole and more experience in key spots, but u won't catch me on here saying they weren't that good. It's a major brand coached by a guy who has coached 3 Heisman winners and been to the playoffs. Would be a big win. And, yes, if we lose, how can u not argue that JF can't win big regular season games.
I'd rather stay clean and go 10-2 with Franklin than go through the Urban Meyer experience. He gets sick, forgetful, etc. Sometimes he accidentally deletes all the texts on his phone.
The line is 3.5 in our favor so certainly no gimmie and it should shock no one if USC wins.
Yes, but the problem is this USC team is so much better than that Auburn team. Where is Bryan Harsin by the way?
We haven't really played a team on the road of USC's caliber the last two years and won with the possible exception of Purdue in '22 and we barely won.
I don't know but I know Illinois beat us at home in '21.
