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Best performance by a Penn State QB in a bowl game?

I remember Rashard Casey looked damn good in the 1999 Alamo Bowl. So much that I thought our team would be alright the next year, which was my freshman year attending PSU. Oops!

Is there any truth to the rumor that the reason Kevin Thompson did not play in that game because he and Jay Paterno had actually come to blows.
Casey 8 of 16, 146 yards, 1 TD, 1 int.

Good to see ya Russian Eagle.
 
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I thought McSorley's second half against UW in Fiesta was about best performance by PSU QB in a major bowl.

32/41 for 342 yards and two scores while also rushing for 60 yards on 12 carries. He was 12/12 on third downs. He had two picks, yes but every time UW got close, Trace made a huge play.
 
Michael Robinson got the crap kicked out of him in the 2007 Orange Bowl by Florida State‘s play to the whistle and a bit more defense. yet he gutted it out and led PS to a 3 overtime win. I doubt he could walk the next morning.
 
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Chuck Burkhart at the end of the Orange Bowl against Kansas tops everyone. It is legendary and made me a lifelong fan—I was 10 and it was the first time I was allowed to stay up that late. It provided the foundation for all that has followed.

Blackledge to Garrity equals national championship. Warner did the dirty work allowing Blackledge to cash in.

Ok, my analysis differs but winning is bottom line. I remember Flutie threw for like 2,000 yards against us in one game but we won in a blowout. When you are losing, you throw more. That skews the numbers sometimes.

I hate to bash Hack, but his freshman year featured Allen Robinson and an o-line with NFL players. Robinson was amazing. Hack was screwed when Franklin was hired, but there aren’t many schools running pro style offenses anymore. Many pro teams aren’t running pro style anymore. He may have had trouble finding a school to match his strengths.
 
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Chuck Burkhart at the end of the Orange Bowl against Kansas tops everyone. It is legendary and made me a lifelong fan—I was 10 and it was the first time I was allowed to stay up that late. It provided the foundation for all that has followed.

Blackledge to Garrity equals national championship. Warner did the dirty work allowing Blackledge to cash in.

Ok, my analysis differs but winning is bottom line. I remember Flutie threw for like 2,000 yards against us in one game but we won in a blowout. When you are losing, you throw more. That skews the numbers sometimes.

I hate to bash Hack, but his freshman year featured Allen Robinson and an o-line with NFL players. Robinson was amazing. Hack was screwed when Franklin was hired, but there aren’t many schools running pro style offenses anymore. Many pro teams aren’t running pro style anymore. He may have had trouble finding a school to match his strengths.
What were hacks strengths? If he transferred there is a good chance he does not start or get drafted.
 
Fusina in '77 Fiesta vs ASU. Blackledge was just clutch in the '81 Fiesta vs O$U, '82 Fiesta vs U$C and the '83 Sugar vs GA to win the NC. A starting QB who delivers 3 straight bowl wins against those teams is on our Mt Rushmore.

Collins in the '94 Citrus vs Tenn and the '95 Rose vs Oregon is right there with Blackledge.
I’m glad somebody can recall QBs prior to 2010 Lolol.
 
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What were hacks strengths? If he transferred there is a good chance he does not start or get drafted.
Pocket presence, precision, reading a defense, standing tall in the pocket, could take a hit, essentially everything you want a pro-style QB to be. This was obviously before his shoulder got wrecked in 2015 and Ricky Rahne ruined his mechanics trying to turn him into a college spread passer. Had he transferred either after 2013 (which he should have and it would have been easy due to the NCAA's vile and 100% specious sanctions), 2014 (he really should have but the before mentioned persecution by the NCAA had expired) or 2015 (very easy as a grad transfer), he would have had no shortage of suitors. A very vocal subset of ill-informed Penn State fans love to bash him but had he transferred he would have been highly sought after by every pro-style team in the country including Stanford, Michigan, Michigan State, Alabama, Georgia, USC, Wisconsin and Iowa, all of whom went through some type of QB transition during the timeframe.
 
Pocket presence, precision, reading a defense, standing tall in the pocket, could take a hit, essentially everything you want a pro-style QB to be. This was obviously before his shoulder got wrecked in 2015 and Ricky Rahne ruined his mechanics trying to turn him into a college spread passer. Had he transferred either after 2013 (which he should have and it would have been easy due to the NCAA's vile and 100% specious sanctions), 2014 (he really should have but the before mentioned persecution by the NCAA had expired) or 2015 (very easy as a grad transfer), he would have had no shortage of suitors. A very vocal subset of ill-informed Penn State fans love to bash him but had he transferred he would have been highly sought after by every pro-style team in the country including Stanford, Michigan, Michigan State, Alabama, Georgia, USC, Wisconsin and Iowa, all of whom went through some type of QB transition during the timeframe.
It funny now he has this never heard of wrecked shoulder that only you know of? Do you seriously think if him shoulder was "wrecked" as you claim why did the Jet's draft him in the second round? I am sure they would have saw his "wrecked" shoulder in the combine physical exams or in his pro day work outs. If his shoulder was wrecked why did he try to play professional baseball in 2020 as a pitcher? There a reason why he coaching high school football and not playing QB and is has nothing to do with Penn State or their coaches. You would think three years of professional coaching could undue the two years at Penn State lol Sounds like you are just making things up to fit your agenda.
 
It funny now he has this never heard of wrecked shoulder that only you know of? Do you seriously think if him shoulder was "wrecked" as you claim why did the Jet's draft him in the second round? I am sure they would have saw his "wrecked" shoulder in the combine physical exams or in his pro day work outs. If his shoulder was wrecked why did he try to play professional baseball in 2020 as a pitcher? There a reason why he coaching high school football and not playing QB and is has nothing to do with Penn State or their coaches. You would think three years of professional coaching could undue the two years at Penn State lol Sounds like you are just making things up to fit your agenda.
Your desperation is showing. It is common knowledge that his throwing shoulder was wrecked by midseason 2015.
 
I wasn't aware that injuries weren't part of football and player development. Thanks for clearing that up.
There are plenty of old pre-draft scouting reports online for Hack. I commend them to anyone interested in validating the accuracy of the comments on the state of his shoulder going into the draft.
 
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I thought McSorley's second half against UW in Fiesta was about best performance by PSU QB in a major bowl.

32/41 for 342 yards and two scores while also rushing for 60 yards on 12 carries. He was 12/12 on third downs. He had two picks, yes but every time UW got close, Trace made a huge play.
But according to Wallace Breen he is terrible. Hack in the 2014 Pinstripe bowl was magnificent. Any play he did not make was all Franklin's fault.
 
But according to Wallace Breen he is terrible. Hack in the 2014 Pinstripe bowl was magnificent. Any play he did not make was all Franklin's fault.
Hack was magnificent in the Pinstripe Bowl. I never said Trace was terrible. Not once. I said his was a very low ceiling QB and that has been proven to be true. JoeMo built an offense around his limitations and it worked when we had three generational players around him in Barkley, Gesicki and Godwin, once they left and were replaced by Sanders, Hamler and Frieirmuth, those limitations weren't so easy to hide and we struggled to an 8 and 4 record playing a pretty soft schedule. Physically, Trace is a below average run first dual threat QB. Mentally, he is an above average dual threat. Conversely, in 2019, when Clifford took over the same offense but with even lower talent and a much more challenging schedule (most difficult schedule Franklin has ever coached against), he played very well for the entirely of the season. In the spread era, the Xs and Os are as important and often more important than the Jimmy and the Joes.
 
JoeMo built an offense around his limitations and it worked when we had three generational players around him in Barkley, Gesicki and Godwin, once they left and were replaced by Sanders, Hamler and Frieirmuth, those limitations weren't so easy to hide and we struggled to an 8 and 4 record playing a pretty soft schedule. Conversely, in 2019, when Clifford took over the same offense but with even lower talent and a much more challenging schedule (most difficult schedule Franklin has ever coached against), he played very well for the entirely of the season. In the spread era, the Xs and Os are as important and often more important than the Jimmy and the Joes.

You literally contradict yourself when you say generational players like Barkley and Godwin were the reason Trace was successful then later say X&O's are more important than Jimmies & Joes. So which is it dude?

I really like Hackenberg and his commitment meant a lot to Penn State football at the time of peril for the program.
However, it was pretty obvious that Hackenberg was closer to Morelli than Collins early in his career. Anyone who couldn't see this, didn't want to see it. Having a little bit of arm talent and prototypical size really has nothing to do with being a good quarterback.
Hack never really had a good season statistically and he was being tutored by a QB offensive guru, which in hindsight probably made him overperform very average stats in the first place (to your point about the X's & O's). Lets not pretend Hackenberg didn't have talent around him. He had 3 tight ends that played in the NFL in Kyle Carter, Gesicki & Jesse James not to mention Breneman, had Chris Godwin, Allen Robinson and DeSean Hamilton at WR, Donovan Smith and Mahon on the line who both are/were on NFL rosters...and while Belton & Zwinack weren't Barkley & Sanders, they formed a solid duo that was certainly "good enough."
 
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'My Cousin Anthony' - slapstick dramady about a guy they said was too dopey to be a big time down south lawyah

penn-state-quarterback-anthony-morelli-14-throws-against-the-university-of-tennessee-in-the-third-quarter-of-the-outback-bowl-in-tampa-florida-january-1-2007-reuterscharles-w-luzier-united-states-2E6YHM1.jpg
 
Hack was magnificent in the Pinstripe Bowl. I never said Trace was terrible. Not once. I said his was a very low ceiling QB and that has been proven to be true. JoeMo built an offense around his limitations and it worked when we had three generational players around him in Barkley, Gesicki and Godwin, once they left and were replaced by Sanders, Hamler and Frieirmuth, those limitations weren't so easy to hide and we struggled to an 8 and 4 record playing a pretty soft schedule. Physically, Trace is a below average run first dual threat QB. Mentally, he is an above average dual threat. Conversely, in 2019, when Clifford took over the same offense but with even lower talent and a much more challenging schedule (most difficult schedule Franklin has ever coached against), he played very well for the entirely of the season. In the spread era, the Xs and Os are as important and often more important than the Jimmy and the Joes.
The NFL is well known for keeping “low-ceiling”, “below average dual threat run first” QBs around for 4 years and counting.
 
HE WAS A TRUE FRESHMEN PLAYING IN AN LEGITIMATE NFL OFFENSE. AN OFFENSE MORE COMPLICATED THAN WHAT SOME CURRENT NFL TEAMS (ARIZONA, BALTIMORE) RUN.

That takes a special player. He started rough but finished 2013 as the best pro-style QB in the country playing perhaps the best game any QB played the entire decade at Wisconsin. I can count the number of QBs with the talent to do that on one hand and they were all #1 overall picks. That is how bad our offensive coaching was in 14 and 15. The worst coaching in college football history.

THE WORST TAKE EVER.

Takes a special poster to write such.

Come cry about Utah losing with your predictability.
 
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John Shaffer won a national championship and only lost 1 game as a starting qb.
 
You literally contradict yourself when you say generational players like Barkley and Godwin were the reason Trace was successful then later say X&O's are more important than Jimmies & Joes. So which is it dude?

I really like Hackenberg and his commitment meant a lot to Penn State football at the time of peril for the program.
However, it was pretty obvious that Hackenberg was closer to Morelli than Collins early in his career. Anyone who couldn't see this, didn't want to see it. Having a little bit of arm talent and prototypical size really has nothing to do with being a good quarterback.
Hack never really had a good season statistically and he was being tutored by a QB offensive guru, which in hindsight probably made him overperform very average stats in the first place (to your point about the X's & O's). Lets not pretend Hackenberg didn't have talent around him. He had 3 tight ends that played in the NFL in Kyle Carter, Gesicki & Jesse James not to mention Breneman, had Chris Godwin, Allen Robinson and DeSean Hamilton at WR, Donovan Smith and Mahon on the line who both are/were on NFL rosters...and while Belton & Zwinack weren't Barkley & Sanders, they formed a solid duo that was certainly "good enough."
its the metrics LOL
 
The 2 best PSU QB performances are as follows:

1. Todd Blackledge in the 1983 Sugar Bowl

2. John Schaffer in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl

Stats, Schmatz - both led Penn State to National Championships. End of discussion!


Blackledge actually put up big numbers passing for 1982 when almost all team still ran for more than they threw for. Schaffer had a downright bad game turned the ball over constantly but yes was the champ.
 
The 2 best PSU QB performances are as follows:

1. Todd Blackledge in the 1983 Sugar Bowl

2. John Schaffer in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl

Stats, Schmatz - both led Penn State to National Championships. End of discussion!

So Collins in the 1995 Rose Bowl wouldn't be considered because some voters arbitrarily voted for Nebraska higher than PSU?
 
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Actually, it was. 100% on Donovan. Hack lacks the feet to be able to shift, set and throw gimmicky spread plays. Rahne and Donovan ruined his mechanics to the degree that he was less of a QB when he left than when he arrived. That takes a special kind of stupid. And Franklin didn't think it was a problem so what does that say about him?
There’s a special kind of stupid here but it ain’t Donovan or the PSU coaches.
 
Hahahaha. That's funny stuff.

Look at these elite eye popping stats.....
2013Penn StateBig TenFRQB1223139258.929557.57.42010134.0
*2014Penn StateBig TenSOQB1327048455.829776.25.31215109.4
*2015Penn StateBig TenJRQB1319235953.525257.07.2166123.9
CareerPenn State693123556.184576.86.54831121.4

If only a player was what some paid internet recruiting service says they are. Hedging your opinion on hunch, opinion is always the wise thing over performance itself. Performance be damned! Christian Hackenberg was so bad he's one of the only top 3 round draft picks at QB in NFL history to never be given a start in an NFL game. That's something. He never could even the earn the trust of his coaches and teammates to get the starting nod once in his career.
So I guess Hack’s coaches in the NFL were a special kind of stupid too. Anyone besides me noticing a trend here?
 
Hack was consistently inconsistent. The OL recruiting from 2010 - 2012 was not good, and the end result was Hack playing behind a makeshift line of guys who weren't that good (some were converted DL) and young guys being pressed into service before they were ready. The OL couldn't protect him, and he couldn't move - the results were predictable and, given the talent of the players involved, including Hack, generally unfixable. It would have been nice if the OL could have given him time, and it would have also been nice if he could move and consistently deliver on short passes. Sadly, none of that was true. IMHO, Hack was comparable to Morelli. Morrelli had size and arm strength, but he, too, played behind poor lines (not Hack era poor, but poor none the less) and was generally immobile.
Yep. Hack came along at a terrible time in PSU history for numerous obvious reasons. Terrible o line under BOB. Sanctions limiting scholarships.

He probably should have transferred instead of struggling through a mobile QB system once Franklin came along. But that wasn't as easy as it is now.

As far as the best QB ever at PSU goes, it's Collins hands down. The 94 offense is ranked as one of the best ever in college football and he was at the helm. Granted he had a ton of talent to work with, but every great QB usually does.
 
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