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Football Blue team defeats White team 10-0. Postgame thoughts?

Richie O

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Mar 21, 2016
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www.pennstate.rivals.com
BLUE TEAM BOX SCORE....
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WHITE TEAM BOX SCORE....
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BLUE TEAM BOX SCORE....
Ftx54u1XsAAzg3i



WHITE TEAM BOX SCORE....
Ftx54uTX0AAqzWW
can't tell a heck of a lot from these "games" Clearly the defense of both the blue and the white were in control....allar and pribula constantly under pressure. It's going to be a learning process for both QBs this year.
 
Rojas is going to play. A lot.
Heard his name called alot during the radio broadcast. Sounded like the defense was bringing pressures about every other play. This was giving the OL & QBs problems. Jack Ham said it was good for the QBs and OL to see so many different pressures for the learning experience. Lots of film for them to watch, evaluate and learn. Chop Robinson, DDS, and the rest of DEs should have a deep rotation and present problems for opposing teams. Heard them really talk up Zane Durant, the secondary and linebackers.
Overall, it was probably another helpful learning experience to build on. As usual, offense is behind the defense @ this point.
 
BLUE TEAM BOX SCORE....
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WHITE TEAM BOX SCORE....
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Because the quarterbacks were one hand touch limited their effectiveness and impact. There were a number of qb keepers the Pribula ran than would have gone for real yardage but did not due to one hand touch. Same for the play we’re dds creamed Allen and Allar had the keeper. That would have gone for yardage as well.

Rojas is the real deal and I will say again body type and play style looks like “hero” strong safety of yore.

Abdul Carter does not look as big as listed really carried the weight well
 
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My initial thought: This is going to be the best Penn State defense we have seen in a long, long, long time. Frankly they looked a bit like 2001 Georgia out there except for the interior D line....IF they can work around that, I don't see anyone going over 14 points on them all year...including Ohio State and Michigan.
 
My initial thought: This is going to be the best Penn State defense we have seen in a long, long, long time. Frankly they looked a bit like 2001 Georgia out there except for the interior D line....IF they can work around that, I don't see anyone going over 14 points on them all year...including Ohio State and Michigan.
Holding teams under 14 isnt easy nowadays, even with great D.
 
Lots of our best offensive guys didn’t play. We blitzed like crazy. CJF must have been sending a message to the second team OL.

I thought Allar continues to show a lot of talent but it’s hard to tell why the offense didn’t play better.

Kicking, both punting and kicking, looks kind of scary.


Overall, perhaps the most athletic PSU team I’ve ever seen.
 
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My initial thought: This is going to be the best Penn State defense we have seen in a long, long, long time. Frankly they looked a bit like 2001 Georgia out there except for the interior D line....IF they can work around that, I don't see anyone going over 14 points on them all year...including Ohio State and Michigan.
In all liklihood, the defense will take a step back from last year simply because the schedule is much harder. I don't expect the Michigan game to look much different, maybe worse. If we can keep Michigan under 14 a quarter, I will be less unhappy at the end of the day.
 
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In all liklihood, the defense will take a step back from last year simply because the schedule is much harder. I don't expect the Michigan game to look much different, maybe worse. If we can keep Michigan under 14 a quarter, I will be less unhappy at the end of the day.
No chance
 
Maybe "under 14" means 13/Qtr?

So 52??? Why even show up?

We just picked that as our RV game.

Go State!
His statement is nuts. This defense is real. Frankly I think it has a legit chance at being the best in the nation if we can sure up the DT spots. Even as is there are no weaknesses. 33 is flat out unblockable. 20 and 44 are great. 28 in the middle is a strength and should be around 290 come fall. 11, 23 and 41 are going to be incredible and Rojas on the field might even be better. Winston...did you watch today? All American quality. Then Ellis and the other 2 safety dudes. This isn't even including 4, who is a first round pick. Add in Dixon and Duck AND Hardy....

If you don't think this defense will be our best since 05 and MAYBE on the level of 1986, then you are not paying attention. Manny is building a beast and that beast is rising...
 
His statement is nuts. This defense is real. Frankly I think it has a legit chance at being the best in the nation if we can sure up the DT spots. Even as is there are no weaknesses. 33 is flat out unblockable. 20 and 44 are great. 28 in the middle is a strength and should be around 290 come fall. 11, 23 and 41 are going to be incredible and Rojas on the field might even be better. Winston...did you watch today? All American quality. Then Ellis and the other 2 safety dudes. This isn't even including 4, who is a first round pick. Add in Dixon and Duck AND Hardy....

If you don't think this defense will be our best since 05 and MAYBE on the level of 1986, then you are not paying attention. Manny is building a beast and that beast is rising...
My amateur assessment:
DT: C-
DE: A
LB: A
DB: B
 
What? No way DB is a B.
DT is the only B here. Every other spot here is A+
King was 3rd team all BiG last year. Nobody returning was 1st or 2nd Team. I don't know how you give DBs an A.

Our starting DTs are probably Beamon & Izzard. They are small, particularly Beamon. Do you remember how UM ran the ball down our throats last year? And that was with 2nd team all BiG Mustipher. B seems pretty generous.
 
I dont think that I've ever seen so much blitzing in a blue white game. It made it very difficult for the OL which was rotating different guys all game long. Just wasn't any cohesiveness.
Perhaps the offensive coaches still deem it a weakness for the OL and wanted alot of film for teaching?
 
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King was 3rd team all BiG last year. Nobody returning was 1st or 2nd Team. I don't know how you give DBs an A.

Our starting DTs are probably Beamon & Izzard. They are small, particularly Beamon. Do you remember how UM ran the ball down our throats last year? And that was with 2nd team all BiG Mustipher. B seems pretty generous.
Beamon isn't starting. Izzard and Ellies are the starting DTs at the moment.
 
Your "10 thoughts" encapsulated all my main takeaways, Richard. Kudos.

To extrapolate things into next season...I'd say that Allar looks a bit clumsy and his footwork has a long way to go. It's especially noticeable when Beau is so smooth as a runner. I think the offense is going to be hot and cold. I doubt they'll have much consistency. Could the defense carry us through to a big win vs. UM or OSU? I think so. If the key pieces can stay healthy, the defense should be elite. But a shaky offense with a hot-cold young QB will mean that we lose one we shouldn't. Imagine a pick-6 or two against Iowa or Illinois....and a defense that zeroes in on the run game...and we drop one to a lesser team.

It's a long way for Allar and the offense to get to OSU and UM...which is good!

It's a short way to West Virginia and at Illinois and Iowa though...
 
King was 3rd team all BiG last year. Nobody returning was 1st or 2nd Team. I don't know how you give DBs an A.

Our starting DTs are probably Beamon & Izzard. They are small, particularly Beamon. Do you remember how UM ran the ball down our throats last year? And that was with 2nd team all BiG Mustipher. B seems pretty generous.
UM ran the ball down our throats with mustipher. How was size the issue?
 
UM ran the ball down our throats with mustipher. How was size the issue?

Size wasn't the issue. Franklin said it post game and many here latched on to it. Diaz spoke on it a week later:

1. Alignment.
2. Poor gap discipline

Throw in that Carter wasn't the starter at Will yet and we had yet to find our groove defensively. PJ in '22 never reach 40% of his '21 self and Izzard didn't start playing again until after this (he was out yesterday too).
 
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His statement is nuts. This defense is real. Frankly I think it has a legit chance at being the best in the nation if we can sure up the DT spots. Even as is there are no weaknesses. 33 is flat out unblockable. 20 and 44 are great. 28 in the middle is a strength and should be around 290 come fall. 11, 23 and 41 are going to be incredible and Rojas on the field might even be better. Winston...did you watch today? All American quality. Then Ellis and the other 2 safety dudes. This isn't even including 4, who is a first round pick. Add in Dixon and Duck AND Hardy....

If you don't think this defense will be our best since 05 and MAYBE on the level of 1986, then you are not paying attention. Manny is building a beast and that beast is rising...
I am not sure which team you are watching. No weaknesses? We have the worst pair of tackles we have had during the Big Ten era and we completely lack a 5 technique end on the roster. The line will be fine against the pass and when we have a lead but will very likely get destroyed by Illinois and Michigan and not hold up well against Iowa and Ohio State. Michigan State could cause all kinds of problems as well. I think the defense will be pretty good but don't kid yourself, this one looks like the unbalanced unit we had in 08 after Justin King left, Sean Lee got hurt and Joe kicked Phillip Taylor and Chris Baker off the team. We could match that level of play but will be a far cry from 14, 15 much less 05.
 
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UM ran the ball down our throats with mustipher. How was size the issue?
PJ is but one player. There are two problems with the Michigan game. One, the blocking scheme they use is a schematic mismatch for Diaz's defense. His philosophy has known weaknesses that can't be solved and it is a two part problem. It is very difficult for D-linemen to play with good leverage against the type of blocking scheme they use. It is even harder when they are small and are linemen are small. The second part is the dynamic gaps that result from the blocking scheme which has consistently killed Diaz's defenses over the years regardless of how good linebackers are or how experienced they are in the defense. This is a known issue and one that can't be solved, only minimized. Quality tackles and ends that could hold up would go along way but we don't have them.
 
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King was 3rd team all BiG last year. Nobody returning was 1st or 2nd Team. I don't know how you give DBs an A.

Our starting DTs are probably Beamon & Izzard. They are small, particularly Beamon. Do you remember how UM ran the ball down our throats last year? And that was with 2nd team all BiG Mustipher. B seems pretty generous.
Mustipher wasn't our best DT this past year. He gave it what he had but never was completely back from the injury.
 
Size wasn't the issue. Franklin said it post game and many here latched on to it. Diaz spoke on it a week later:

1. Alignment.
2. Poor gap discipline

Throw in that Carter wasn't the starter at Will yet and we had yet to find our groove defensively. PJ in '22 never reach 40% of his '21 self and Izzard didn't start playing again until after this (he was out yesterday too).
I'm sure that all of that was a factor but in the end Michigan was simply much better. Alignment and gap integrity is one thing but their players consistently got a push against our guys. 418 yds rushing and zero punts. Their guys dominated our guys.

Mustipher may not have been as good as 2021 but the staff obviously thought he was the best we had and he was still voted 2nd team all BiG.
 
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I'm sure that all of that was a factor but in the end Michigan was simply much better. Alignment and gap integrity is one thing but their players consistently got a push against our guys. 418 yds rushing and zero punts. Their guys dominated our guys.

Mustipher may not have been as good as 2021 but the staff obviously thought he was the best we had and he was still voted 2nd team all BiG.

No doubt about it, Michigan owned us that day. The game started off good: Porter tackled a WR on a quick pass instantly.

Then a flag was thrown. He German Suplex'd the guy and cost us 2nd and long. We went into a shell (we didn't break on a pass that fast again all game).

PJ got that accolade in '22 more as a lifetime achievement than his actual on field production. He had near identical stats in '19 and '20 as he had in '22 and wasn't voted in either season.
 
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You gotta learn how to beat the blitz.

Exactly. Sounds like the whole thing was designed to give the young QBs the maximum taste of what they're going to see in the fall. Every defense is going to come after them until they prove they can release the ball fast and not throw INTs.

It's also good for the OL which is settling in. PSU's DL is pretty close to the toughest that they're going to see this fall, so if they can deal with PSU's blitzes, they'll be mostly ready for whatever they'll see from other teams.
 
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I'm sure that all of that was a factor but in the end Michigan was simply much better. Alignment and gap integrity is one thing but their players consistently got a push against our guys. 418 yds rushing and zero punts. Their guys dominated our guys.

Mustipher may not have been as good as 2021 but the staff obviously thought he was the best we had and he was still voted 2nd team all BiG.
That was a very special Michigan OL. Remember they dominated Ohio State as well, and if they hadn't been screwed by the officiating in the semifinal game would have given Georgia a very competitive game IMHO.

PSU had no chance against Michigan because the DL just doesn't have the horses in the middle. The aggressive D can only cover for that for so long.
 
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PSU also played scared on the outside. The one chance that PSU had to slow down Michigan was to force the throws against our good secondary. Mich did not have truly great WRs and so could our strength have played man to man and let the front seven and a safety shut down the runs? Playing a soft shell and giving up 5,6,7 yards a run is a recipe for disaster.

Carter playing so well in second half of 22 an King getting better through 22 should help this year. Game in PSU should help this year. A large DT taking up a G and C on every play would help the LBs be able to fill the holes.
 
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What became a very good Penn State team lost 49-10 to Michigan in 2016.

The following year it was Penn State 42 -- Michigan 13.

No reason to think we're doomed vs Michigan in 2023.
The problem with Michigan is their current situation is very different than 2016 when they were built for one year before having to reload. Michigan is very likely going to be better this year and the schematic misfit between their offense and our defense is not going away so long as we use the defense we use. We have a rookie QB, no #1 receiver and a defense that is even smaller up front than last year. We'll be a two score dog come game time unless their injuries.
 
That was a very special Michigan OL. Remember they dominated Ohio State as well, and if they hadn't been screwed by the officiating in the semifinal game would have given Georgia a very competitive game IMHO.

PSU had no chance against Michigan because the DL just doesn't have the horses in the middle. The aggressive D can only cover for that for so long.

Ummmm...... the special team that lost to Illinois but for the corrupt b1g Referines allowing them to run a blatantly illegal pick-play on 4th-&-3 at midfield with only 50 seconds left???
 
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