@ OSU, they reload
I think Penn State is a superior team, even on the road, than 2/3 of those teams. I think the talent level of us versus Michigan is a push, and the home field advantage gives us the edge.
Just that those are all tough road games. I saw a list of the top 30 players in the BiG. 3 of the top 15 are from Iowa (Epenesa, Jackson, Stanley).
PSU has solid talent and some gaps in experience going into this season. Iowa could be dangerous. But it’s the other 3 that have our number. It’s been a long time since PSU has beaten solid OSU and UM teams. Until that happens or one is expected to have a down year, hard to expect better than a least 2 losses. And MSU, ugh.
2017 for UM and 2016 for OSU...such ancient history.
That was funny. 2016 and 2017 aren’t the same season. Sorry I wasn’t clear. Gotta look way back to a season when we beat both with solid squads like they have this season. Absent one of those special PSU teams, I’ll assume at least two losses. Either both or 1 of them, plus another.
Iowa still has Nate Stanley at quarterback without two first round tight ends to bail him out. Michigan State still has Brian Lewerke without Felton Davis to bail him out. Felton Davis literally won both of those games for Michigan State against us, but both Stanley and Lewerke are bad quarterbacks who lost their best (only) weapons.
I’ve been saying the same thing to folks about Sparty...if not for Felton Davis, I am 100% sure we win each of the last 2 games. With this said, there is no denying their defense is stout. I think PSU beats them this year, but in a defensive struggle.
Yeah, I think Michigan State and Penn State’s defenses are both very good - though I think ours is a little bit better. The difference is that our offense is significantly (by several orders of magnitude) better than Michigan State’s. We were the better team for the past two years, and I think the on-field results finally revert to the mean this year.
Those were painful and embarrassing losses for sure. But to maintain perspective, i sometimes look at some of our experiences with Wisky since the sanctions. Feeling like ya (or your team) just blew it stinks.
Psu has beaten Iowa because they have better players.Msu has been able to play their type of game against PSU and won because of that and some real luck.
Penn State doesn’t run 55-60 plays per game. More like 70-75.Few things:
1. Odds of three 1-point loses in a row to the same team in 3 straight years is like 1 million to 1. So yeah, I would definitely say "there will not be another 1-point loss to Ohio State this year" .... maybe a 3-pointer, maybe a 7-pointer ... But definitely not a 1-point loss
2. Since there is "only 1 football" I would be very surprised to see ANY staff successfully juggle 4 RBs. You only have so many offensive plays in a game. Let's say you get 50-60 plays in a typical game. Now let's say that roughly 1/2 of those plays are passing plays. That leaves you approx 25-30 rushing plays. A "four headed monster at RB" means that each guy is getting 5-6 touches per game. Most good RBs will tell you that it is a rhythm position. Meaning that the more snaps/carries they get the better they feel and they get into a rhythm. Tough to get into the old groove when you are touching it 5 carries a game. The closest I saw of a team successfully juggling more than 2 feature RBs for a length of time was Georgia 2-years ago. They had the 2 fantastic upper-classmen in Nick Chubb and (forget his name) and then they would spot in Swift as a change of pace with his speed. UGA did a good job with those 3. But if you look, the 2 upper-classmen got the majority of the carries and Swift was the spot guy with limited carries..... and that was 3, not 4.
OSU as a new coach and an unproven QB. They'll be tough but we should have beaten them the past two years; I say this is a toss up game.
Few things:
1. Odds of three 1-point loses in a row to the same team in 3 straight years is like 1 million to 1. So yeah, I would definitely say "there will not be another 1-point loss to Ohio State this year" .... maybe a 3-pointer, maybe a 7-pointer ... But definitely not a 1-point loss
2. Since there is "only 1 football" I would be very surprised to see ANY staff successfully juggle 4 RBs. You only have so many offensive plays in a game. Let's say you get 50-60 plays in a typical game. Now let's say that roughly 1/2 of those plays are passing plays. That leaves you approx 25-30 rushing plays. A "four headed monster at RB" means that each guy is getting 5-6 touches per game. Most good RBs will tell you that it is a rhythm position. Meaning that the more snaps/carries they get the better they feel and they get into a rhythm. Tough to get into the old groove when you are touching it 5 carries a game. The closest I saw of a team successfully juggling more than 2 feature RBs for a length of time was Georgia 2-years ago. They had the 2 fantastic upper-classmen in Nick Chubb and (forget his name) and then they would spot in Swift as a change of pace with his speed. UGA did a good job with those 3. But if you look, the 2 upper-classmen got the majority of the carries and Swift was the spot guy with limited carries..... and that was 3, not 4.
That was one horrible game.Talk about getting blown out the backs for msu were at least ten yards downfield before any contactMSU managed 2 RBs quite well when Sedrick Irvin and Marc Renaud each had over 200 yards and MSU ran shop over us in 1997.
For Penn State to go 6-6 or 7-5, it would require them to be 2-3 wins worse than they were last year. If everyone (myself included) believe that the defense and special teams will each be better than last year’s, how much *worse* can one expect the 2019 offense to be compared to last year’s offense to result in 2-3 fewer wins, given the better defense and special teams?
MSU managed 2 RBs quite well when Sedrick Irvin and Marc Renaud each had over 200 yards and MSU ran shop over us in 1997.
