Funny how exceeding expectations just raises expectations!🤷🏿‍♂️

[The Spin Meister]

Preseason talk all summer here was ‘We might finally make the playoffs!’ because of the expansion.

Mid season the talk was still about making the playoffs…..would a two loss get us in? Is even a three loss playoff team possible ?

Expect two losses: suckeyes and USC or Washington.

Then we shock everyone and get into the CCG with only one loss and playing against the #1 team in the country. True underdogs.

But play well with a good shot of winning. Raised hopes and expectations again.

Get in playoffs with a sweet bracket. Then we raise expectations to where we have to win not just one playoff game but two to break the Big Game James myth. We do that with relative ease.

So now the expectations were we have to win and get in title game. Anything short means the season was a disappointment and FIRE EVERYBODY!!! Is the mantra.

It is what it is🤷🏿‍♂️

 

[RickinDayton]

Preseason talk all summer here was ‘We might finally make the playoffs!’ because of the expansion.

Mid season the talk was still about making the playoffs…..would a two loss get us in? Is even a three loss playoff team possible ?

Expect two losses: suckeyes and USC or Washington.

Then we shock everyone and get into the CCG with only one loss and playing against the #1 team in the country. True underdogs.

But play well with a good shot of winning. Raised hopes and expectations again.

Get in playoffs with a sweet bracket. Then we raise expectations to where we have to win not just one playoff game but two to break the Big Game James myth. We do that with relative ease.

So now the expectations were we have to win and get in title game. Anything short means the season was a disappointment and FIRE EVERYBODY!!! Is the mantra.

It is what it is🤷🏿‍♂️

The only staff change (firing) I think should occur is Hagans (WRs coach). Also a bit concerned about Danny O'Brien, QB coach.

 

[The Spin Meister]

The only staff change (firing) I think should occur is Hagans (WRs coach). Also a bit concerned about Danny O'Brien, QB coach.

The point remains: we greatly exceeded expectations.

Only one regular season loss.

Make the CCG and play the #1 ranked team in the country all it can handle.

Win not one but two playoff games.

Play in semifinal game and lose on a boneheaded interception.

If I or anyone predicted that outcome back in August…..or even October…..I would have been laughed at and ridiculed. (Even more than regular🥴).

 

[MacNit2.0]

Preseason talk all summer here was ‘We might finally make the playoffs!’ because of the expansion.

Mid season the talk was still about making the playoffs…..would a two loss get us in? Is even a three loss playoff team possible ?

Expect two losses: suckeyes and USC or Washington.

Then we shock everyone and get into the CCG with only one loss and playing against the #1 team in the country. True underdogs.

But play well with a good shot of winning. Raised hopes and expectations again.

Get in playoffs with a sweet bracket. Then we raise expectations to where we have to win not just one playoff game but two to break the Big Game James myth. We do that with relative ease.

So now the expectations were we have to win and get in title game. Anything short means the season was a disappointment and FIRE EVERYBODY!!! Is the mantra.

It is what it is🤷🏿‍♂️

Did not win a single game we were not favored to win. PSU did about exactly as expected.

What most did not expect was how the seedings would end up so screwed up. You would think that will be addressed.

Once that is worked out, and best teams are in and seeded properly (what person things O$U should have been seeded as low as they were?), that loophole will not exist.

Outside of us, no one is taking about PSU. And the ones that are simply repeating “can’t win a big game.” Cemented in now. With no signs that it will change.

 

[PSU4U]

The only staff change (firing) I think should occur is Hagans (WRs coach). Also a bit concerned about Danny O'Brien, QB coach.

I agree that Hagans must be under the microscope but I'm not so sure about O'Brien just yet. I think most of Allar's problems are Allar and the fact that he just doesn't have the collection of receivers needed.

IMO Allars throwing deficiencies are in his head as it relates to footwork and throwing. His release often is too short or two long causing his passes to be low and behind the receiver or high and long. All of that is in direct correlation with his feet. If a guy is consistently doing the wrong things, it's not the coach all of which is just my opinion coming from observation.

 

[LionFan87b]

Did not win a single game we were not favored to win. PSU did about exactly as expected.

Even when you're favored to win 13 individual games, you are not expected to win all of them or even 11 or 12 of them, necessarily.

 

[91Joe95]

I don't think expectations have been lowered. I think lowered playoff requirements, along with the ridiculously easy draw in the playoffs, draws additional scrutiny. While I saw the team improve, I also saw a lot of the exact same problems continue to occur throughout the 3 loss season.

 

[Ian]

Squads ready for it. They know next yr could be special. Remember 1981 and 85? How about 1993? It’s the Penn State way. Allar is Collins like. Remember his yr before the big yr?

 

[91Joe95]

Squads ready for it. They know next yr could be special. Remember 1981 and 85? How about 1993? It’s the Penn State way. Allar is Collins like. Remember his yr before the big yr?

That's the hope.

 

[Ian]

It’s coming. Hop on the train!

 

[PSU4U]

Squads ready for it. They know next yr could be special. Remember 1981 and 85? How about 1993? It’s the Penn State way. Allar is Collins like. Remember his yr before the big yr?

In respect to Collins, he did break that finger requiring him to relearn how to throw the football once it healed. When he was able to get all that down, he was much better the following year. Drews problems are not the same, imo.

 

[PSU4U]

That's the hope.

While that is true there should be enough improved talent on hand to make another serious run, assuming they can get the eligible ingredients to come back.

 

[demlion]

Preseason talk all summer here was ‘We might finally make the playoffs!’ because of the expansion.

Mid season the talk was still about making the playoffs…..would a two loss get us in? Is even a three loss playoff team possible ?

Expect two losses: suckeyes and USC or Washington.

Then we shock everyone and get into the CCG with only one loss and playing against the #1 team in the country. True underdogs.

But play well with a good shot of winning. Raised hopes and expectations again.

Get in playoffs with a sweet bracket. Then we raise expectations to where we have to win not just one playoff game but two to break the Big Game James myth. We do that with relative ease.

So now the expectations were we have to win and get in title game. Anything short means the season was a disappointment and FIRE EVERYBODY!!! Is the mantra.

It is what it is🤷🏿‍♂️

We lost to Oregon, #1 when we played them. We lost to Ohio State, which will be favored to finish #1. AND we lost to ND, which will be #1 if OSU is not.

Please. Why the hell would a person call himself a PSU fan if his view is we need to fire the coach?

 

[LionDeNittany]

The point remains: we greatly exceeded expectations.

Only one regular season loss.

Make the CCG and play the #1 ranked team in the country all it can handle.

Win not one but two playoff games.

Play in semifinal game and lose on a boneheaded interception.

If I or anyone predicted that outcome back in August…..or even October…..I would have been laughed at and ridiculed. (Even more than regular🥴).

You could make the argument that we exceeded expectations, but as you rolled through the season and realized how weak the competition was, we didn't.

There is a bit of hindsight, but who did we play that was a very good team? OSU, Oregon and ND. And we lost to them all.

Everyone on here is trashing IU for their schedule. Ours was similar.

LdN

 

[The Spin Meister]

Did not win a single game we were not favored to win. PSU did about exactly as expected.

What most did not expect was how the seedings would end up so screwed up. You would think that will be addressed.

Once that is worked out, and best teams are in and seeded properly (what person things O$U should have been seeded as low as they were?), that loophole will not exist.

Outside of us, no one is taking about PSU. And the ones that are simply repeating “can’t win a big game.” Cemented in now. With no signs that it will change.

Next time I post anything even slightly positive I will include a trigger warning for you! ‼️ ⚠️ ⛔️

 

[blair10]

Preseason talk all summer here was ‘We might finally make the playoffs!’ because of the expansion.

Mid season the talk was still about making the playoffs…..would a two loss get us in? Is even a three loss playoff team possible ?

Expect two losses: suckeyes and USC or Washington.

Then we shock everyone and get into the CCG with only one loss and playing against the #1 team in the country. True underdogs.

But play well with a good shot of winning. Raised hopes and expectations again.

Get in playoffs with a sweet bracket. Then we raise expectations to where we have to win not just one playoff game but two to break the Big Game James myth. We do that with relative ease.

So now the expectations were we have to win and get in title game. Anything short means the season was a disappointment and FIRE EVERYBODY!!! Is the mantra.

It is what it is🤷🏿‍♂️

I think your perspective is a little exaggerated. Let’s start with Franklin and the team’s expectations.

Franklin was very vocal in stating the need for Penn State’s offense to become explosive. Lack of an explosive offense is what got Yurcich fired. Clearly, the 2024 offense was never described as explosive by any objective viewer. Kotelnicki had to resort to tricks and gimmicks to mitigate the shortcoming of the offense. The explosive offense failed to materialize. Instead, Penn State had to rely on a power run game, all-America TE, and a bruising offensive line. While this was fun to watch at times, a legitimate deep threat passing game was missing and doomed the team in clashes against big time competition (Ohio State, Oregon, ND). Nothing wrong for fans to call out the WR and deep passing game shortcoming.

Given the very soft schedule and favorable playoff path, the expectations were raised and rightfully so. Penn State has more talent and is a better team than Notre Dame. Fans and players have a reasonable case for being disappointed with the ending of the season.

Lastly, Franklin actually had one of his best coaching games against ND and there has been very little criticism of him by PSU fans for the ND game. Franklin deserves a lot of credit for getting Penn State in the National Championship narrative. I think most fans appreciate that achievement.

 

[MacNit2.0]

Even when you're favored to win 13 individual games, you are not expected to win all of them or even 11 or 12 of them, necessarily.

Even when you're favored to win 13 individual games, you are not expected to win all of them or even 11 or 12 of them, necessarily.

Are you expected to win any where you are underdog? Ever? , necessarily

 

[MacNit2.0]

We lost 2 Oregon, #1 when we played them. We lost to Ohio State, which will be favored to finish #1. AND we lost to ND, which will be #1 if OSU is not.

Please. Why the hell would a person call himself a PSU fan if his view is we need to fire the coach?

The chance to be better and actually win a tough game? More than once a decade. That’s why.

 

[PAgeologist]

We lost 2 Oregon, #1 when we played them. We lost to Ohio State, which will be favored to finish #1. AND we lost to ND, which will be #1 if OSU is not.

Please. Why the hell would a person call himself a PSU fan if his view is we need to fire the coach?

It's more the fact that they pissed away another game against a quality team. It's a scene that's been played out how many times now? Losing late leads, unable to burn clock, unable to score inside the 20, stupid coaching decisions, bad execution by players, etc...

This team was gifted a trip to the final 4. And lost to a beat up ND team. Poor execution aided by some questionable play calling led to the loss. On both sides of the ball.

As far as expectations go, is it unreasonable to expect to close out a few of these? The losses aren't all Franklin's fault directly, but he is the head coach. And is responsible for player development and determining playing time.

This year alone, all 3 losses were at least within grasp of winning. It's an epidemic at this point.

 

[manilion]

Even when you're favored to win 13 individual games, you are not expected to win all of them or even 11 or 12 of them, necessarily.

Not true. Even so the same could be said about the games you should lose.

 

[LionFan87b]

Not true. Even so the same could be said about the games you should lose.

Of course it's true. That's statistics 101 and not open to debate. But your second point is correct: if you play enough games as an underdog, the probability is that you will win some.

 

[bourbon n blues]

Preseason talk all summer here was ‘We might finally make the playoffs!’ because of the expansion.

Mid season the talk was still about making the playoffs…..would a two loss get us in? Is even a three loss playoff team possible ?

Expect two losses: suckeyes and USC or Washington.

Then we shock everyone and get into the CCG with only one loss and playing against the #1 team in the country. True underdogs.

But play well with a good shot of winning. Raised hopes and expectations again.

Get in playoffs with a sweet bracket. Then we raise expectations to where we have to win not just one playoff game but two to break the Big Game James myth. We do that with relative ease.

So now the expectations were we have to win and get in title game. Anything short means the season was a disappointment and FIRE EVERYBODY!!! Is the mantra.

It is what it is🤷🏿‍♂️

I can't stand most fan bases, including mine. People are idiots.

 

[bourbon n blues]

It's more the fact that they pissed away another game against a quality team. It's a scene that's been played out how many times now? Losing late leads, unable to burn clock, unable to score inside the 20, stupid coaching decisions, bad execution by players, etc...

This team was gifted a trip to the final 4. And lost to a beat up ND team. Poor execution aided by some questionable play calling led to the loss. On both sides of the ball.

As far as expectations go, is it unreasonable to expect to close out a few of these? The losses aren't all Franklin's fault directly, but he is the head coach. And is responsible for player development and determining playing time.

This year alone, all 3 losses were at least within grasp of winning. It's an epidemic at this point.

Yeah, sometimes other teams play better .

 

[LionFan87b]

Are you expected to win any where you are underdog? Ever? , necessarily

Of course! And they probably should have won one of those this year. My point is simply that the expectation for a season is not that each game results in the favorite winning the game. And that goes both ways. We probably should have one at least one upset and should have lost a game or two to an underdog.

 

[demlion]

I can't stand most fan bases, including mine. People are idiots.

The parallels between this fan base and WVU's are 1) Striking; and 2) Disappointing.

 

[ryoder1]

I think the exceeding expectations part of the season was the semi miracle comeback vs USC.

 

[Kasparaitis]

Next time I post anything even slightly positive I will include a trigger warning for you! ‼️ ⚠️ ⛔️

Even when you lay it out for them in stark black and white they dig in and refuse to give an inch. It really is quite remarkable.

 

[Kasparaitis]

It's more the fact that they pissed away another game against a quality team. It's a scene that's been played out how many times now? Losing late leads, unable to burn clock, unable to score inside the 20, stupid coaching decisions, bad execution by players, etc...

This team was gifted a trip to the final 4. And lost to a beat up ND team. Poor execution aided by some questionable play calling led to the loss. On both sides of the ball.

As far as expectations go, is it unreasonable to expect to close out a few of these? The losses aren't all Franklin's fault directly, but he is the head coach. And is responsible for player development and determining playing time.

This year alone, all 3 losses were at least within grasp of winning. It's an epidemic at this point.

Fire everyone! It’s an epidemic!

 

[Kasparaitis]

You could make the argument that we exceeded expectations, but as you rolled through the season and realized how weak the competition was, we didn't.

There is a bit of hindsight, but who did we play that was a very good team? OSU, Oregon and ND. And we lost to them all.

Everyone on here is trashing IU for their schedule. Ours was similar.

LdN

I wonder how weak you’d think the competition was if you were trying to tackle Jeanty or cover the USC receivers.

 

[Nostraduzzi]

Did not win a single game we were not favored to win. PSU did about exactly as expected.

What most did not expect was how the seedings would end up so screwed up. You would think that will be addressed.

Once that is worked out, and best teams are in and seeded properly (what person things O$U should have been seeded as low as they were?), that loophole will not exist.

Outside of us, no one is taking about PSU. And the ones that are simply repeating “can’t win a big game.” Cemented in now. With no signs that it will change.

So, PSU was a failure this season as expected by you. Got it. Thanks.

 

[Kasparaitis]

I think your perspective is a little exaggerated. Let’s start with Franklin and the team’s expectations.

Franklin was very vocal in stating the need for Penn State’s offense to become explosive. Lack of an explosive offense is what got Yurcich fired. Clearly, the 2024 offense was never described as explosive by any objective viewer. Kotelnicki had to resort to tricks and gimmicks to mitigate the shortcoming of the offense. The explosive offense failed to materialize. Instead, Penn State had to rely on a power run game, all-America TE, and a bruising offensive line. While this was fun to watch at times, a legitimate deep threat passing game was missing and doomed the team in clashes against big time competition (Ohio State, Oregon, ND). Nothing wrong for fans to call out the WR and deep passing game shortcoming.

Given the very soft schedule and favorable playoff path, the expectations were raised and rightfully so. Penn State has more talent and is a better team than Notre Dame. Fans and players have a reasonable case for being disappointed with the ending of the season.

Lastly, Franklin actually had one of his best coaching games against ND and there has been very little criticism of him by PSU fans for the ND game. Franklin deserves a lot of credit for getting Penn State in the National Championship narrative. I think most fans appreciate that achievement.

The 1960 Yankees had more talent and a better team than the Pirates. The Russians had more talent and a better team than USA in Lake Placid. The Colts had more talent and a better team than the Jets in Super Bowl III. The best team is not always guaranteed to win. You should know that by now.

 

[heckmans]

Preseason talk all summer here was ‘We might finally make the playoffs!’ because of the expansion.

Mid season the talk was still about making the playoffs…..would a two loss get us in? Is even a three loss playoff team possible ?

Expect two losses: suckeyes and USC or Washington.

Then we shock everyone and get into the CCG with only one loss and playing against the #1 team in the country. True underdogs.

But play well with a good shot of winning. Raised hopes and expectations again.

Get in playoffs with a sweet bracket. Then we raise expectations to where we have to win not just one playoff game but two to break the Big Game James myth. We do that with relative ease.

So now the expectations were we have to win and get in title game. Anything short means the season was a disappointment and FIRE EVERYBODY!!! Is the mantra.

It is what it is🤷🏿‍♂️

Respectfully, I don't think this is a fair assessment. In the regular season, PSU beat every team they should have and scored zero Offensive TDs against OSU at home. USC and UW turned out to be not very good.
PSU being ranked #4 was as much about other teams losing 2+ games as anything.
We get into the playoffs and get 2 of the 3 lowest rated teams, who nobody is really sure how good they are, but certainly have probably the lowest level of talent. We get the G5 school and a school that was G5 last year and played none of the best teams in a sh*t ACC.
We get to ND in the semis, and PSU snatches defeat from the jaws of victory, extending the narrative of JF.
Yes, expectations change when reality is different than what was expected.

 

[Obliviax]

Preseason talk all summer here was ‘We might finally make the playoffs!’ because of the expansion.

Mid season the talk was still about making the playoffs…..would a two loss get us in? Is even a three loss playoff team possible ?

Expect two losses: suckeyes and USC or Washington.

Then we shock everyone and get into the CCG with only one loss and playing against the #1 team in the country. True underdogs.

But play well with a good shot of winning. Raised hopes and expectations again.

Get in playoffs with a sweet bracket. Then we raise expectations to where we have to win not just one playoff game but two to break the Big Game James myth. We do that with relative ease.

So now the expectations were we have to win and get in title game. Anything short means the season was a disappointment and FIRE EVERYBODY!!! Is the mantra.

It is what it is🤷🏿‍♂️

A great coach once said, "You are either getting better or worse." I can't seem to recall his name.

 

[Kasparaitis]

A great coach once said, "You are either getting better or worse." I can't seem to recall his name.

He also said you’re never as bad as you feel when you lose. Some of these guys will never learn.

 

[KnightWhoSaysNit]

Lastly, Franklin actually had one of his best coaching games against ND and there has been very little criticism of him by PSU fans for the ND game. Franklin deserves a lot of credit for getting Penn State in the National Championship narrative. I think most fans appreciate that achievement.

If the standard for one of the "best coaching games" is a lack of the obvious bone-headed mistake, then yea, maybe we could call it that. But ...

We witnessed the team come out totally flat in the 3rd quarter. It was shocking. How does that happen? What did they do or not do at halftime and how is the coach not responsible when the whole defense looks like it just ate too much and needs a nap? It really, really looked bizarre -- like a different team. Something procedural was wrong or missing and we probably will never know.

Second, how is Allar not coached to avoid the turnover on that last series? Why oh why are we throwing a distance that puts a pass play at risk? Where was the screen to our running backs? They were tearing it up. We needed safe plays with the potential for a big gain if someone breaks it. But no.

Sorry, this did not look like great coaching to me. It looked like yet another game that we lost that we should have easily won. I would even say we were unprepared somewhat in that there were not enough short passing plays to receivers, running backs, and tight ends not named Warren. How do you physically dominate and then look like the teams had switched uniforms at half time?

Finally, I still have to question some of the behavioral stuff that did not disappear even though that sort of thing was costly in the previous game. We either don't have the coaching or we have players that are not capable of being coached.

 

[LionDeNittany]

I wonder how weak you’d think the competition was if you were trying to tackle Jeanty or cover the USC receivers.

OMG internet tough guy talk.

Yes. Before I have opinions I must tackle our opponents going forward.

LdN

 

[PAgeologist]

Fire everyone! It’s an epidemic!

You're right. If winning nothing meaningful is the goal of this program, Franklin has them right on track. Beating the juggernauts of Illinois, SMU and Boise is the pinnacle of this season. And who can ever forget beating powerhouses Bowling Green and Kent State. I'm sure Kraft is having the banners made right now.

But let's all ignore the 3 losses this year to the only teams on the schedule with a pulse, all of which were winnable games. Especially the ND game.

Next thing you know they'll be making keychains for those signature wins.

 

[AvgUser]

Squads ready for it. They know next yr could be special. Remember 1981 and 85? How about 1993? It’s the Penn State way. Allar is Collins like. Remember his yr before the big yr?

If me memory is correct, 1993 ended at MSu and Collin’s had a great game. I believe we were down in the first half and Collin brought them back for an exciting win. 1993 ended on a very positive note. 2024? No so much. Regardless, im hoping next year can exceed this year.

 

[ryoder1]

If the standard for one of the "best coaching games" is a lack of the obvious bone-headed mistake, then yea, maybe we could call it that. But ...

We witnessed the team come out totally flat in the 3rd quarter. It was shocking. How does that happen? What did they do or not do at halftime and how is the coach not responsible when the whole defense looks like it just ate too much and needs a nap? It really, really looked bizarre -- like a different team. Something procedural was wrong or missing and we probably will never know.

Second, how is Allar not coached to avoid the turnover on that last series? Why oh why are we throwing a distance that puts a pass play at risk? Where was the screen to our running backs? They were tearing it up. We needed safe plays with the potential for a big gain if someone breaks it. But no.

Sorry, this did not look like great coaching to me. It looked like yet another game that we lost that we should have easily won. I would even say we were unprepared somewhat in that there were not enough short passing plays to receivers, running backs, and tight ends not named Warren. How do you physically dominate and then look like the teams had switched uniforms at half time?

Finally, I still have to question some of the behavioral stuff that did not disappear even though that sort of thing was costly in the previous game. We either don't have the coaching or we have players that are not capable of being coached.

This is a good post!

One of Franklin's best coaching jobs?? Oh my.

You nailed it on being in a stupor to open the 2nd half and let them tie it. How about at the end of the first half? They are totally reeling, Leonard knocked out of the game. Okay our time to put our foot on their throat and maybe go up 3 scores before half. Wait, I forgot this is PSU and big game James. So instead how about we let the ice cold second string QB pull a Joe Montana on us from one of his 80's Super Bowl wins and shred us so they can get a momentum turning FG in the closing seconds.

I'm totally with you on the quick short passes. That would have come in handy on the 3rd down when it was 24 all but.... nope.
Allar needs to drop deep then take too much time as he cedes ground and pray ND is stupid enough to leave the only guy who can catch open. What do you know...he is doubled so we have nothing but Allar scrambling short of the sticks. Then let's throw late, off balance and over the middle for a pick on the next series. Thank you sir may I have another. Who throws the ball away in the middle of the field??

Are these all Franklin's fault? No but as the head coach he needs to take accountability. Before the last drive he needed to get into Drew's face. Give him a big vote of confidence and then clearly lay out the strategy. We will try to get into field goal position but do NOT force anything. You don't need to he a hero. OT is okay. If nothing is open throw it out of bounds. If you cannot do that then tuck it and just get what you can. Then call a TO if tackled in bounds, we have 2.

 

[ryoder1]

If me memory is correct, 1993 ended at MSu and Collin’s had a great game. I believe we were down in the first half and Collin brought them back for an exciting win. 1993 ended on a very positive note. 2024? No so much. Regardless, im hoping next year can exceed this year.

1993 ended with a comeback win vs Sparty on the road then a comeback beat down win versus Tennesseee in the Citrus Bowl. Another classic JoePa bowl win. 2024 Orange Bowl not so much.