I can say one thing for sure: You are what your record says you are (I made that up myself). But in reality PSU is 4 - 1 and viewed in the context of the sanctions that were meant to DESTROY the PSU football program, that ain't so bad. If they had won all four games by a total of 4 points they'd STILL be 4 - 1. And for the people getting tired of hearing "the sanctions as an excuse" I can tell you that the sanctions are NOT an "excuse"...they are a REASON why PSU struggles right now. There's a big difference.
Speaking of the sanctions, I counted up the number of Sophs, RS Freshmen, and true Freshmen on PSU's 2-deep depth chart and here are the numbers: Offense - 12 of the 22 listed are Sophs, RS Fr, or Fr. Defense - 10 of 22 fit that category. That's HALF of the two-deep depth chart on O and D who are Sophs, Fr, or RS Fr. That's mind boggling. There are exactly TWO RS Srs. to be found and only one plays (Mangiro). Does anyone remember the days when MOST of the OLine were RS Srs? Could that have anything to do with the success back then and the struggles now? According to graduating classes, the Offense will lose only Mangiro while the defense loses 4 starters.
This team is INCREDIBLY young and inexperienced, and yet is 4 - 1. What's so bad about that? EVERY week will be a struggle, so you might as well resign yourself to that fact. The schedule gets a LOT tougher from here on in, but that's not to say PSU is facing 7 guaranteed losses. I see improvement in some areas and steps backward in others, but that's the nature of such a young team. Other schools might start a true Fr and people say "Well so-and-so has Fr starters and they play well", but what is being ignored is the fact that NEXT TO that true Fr. is a 5th year Sr...or other returning starters who can help him along. Who helps along the 12 out of 22 inexperienced starters on PSU's Offense? The two Jrs who were moved from the DLine last season? The new JC transfer who is VERY inexperienced at the D-1 level himself? Maybe Geno Lewis (RS Jr.) at WR can help the 5 other WRs in the rotation who are all Fr/RS Fr/Sophs?
The way I look at things is with patience and understanding WHY a guy like Franklin won't buy into the media's attempt to look at things so negatively. The members of the media in general are SO STUPID (EXCLUDING the BWI guys, and I mean that sincerely) and they simply regurgitate all the cliches about "You were favored why didn't you win bigger?", or "The OLine continues to struggle can you explain why?" WTF??? HOW friggin STUPID do you need to be to NOT UNDERSTAND why the OLine struggles, or WHY there wasn't much of a running game yesterday with your top two guys injured, or why the passing game struggled in a torrential downpour? FWIW anyone who saw the Clemson-ND game last night also saw HOW MANY passes were either drastically off-target or simply dropped by WRs. I saw LOTS of them.
My way of looking at PSU this season is to relax and focus on the positives and "lower my expectations" week to week. And I ENJOY being 4 - 1 at this point because once again it's a way of sticking PSU football's fingers in the NCAA/BOT's eyes and saying "F-YOU!! You CAN'T destroy our program you spineless SOB's!!!"
Speaking of the sanctions, I counted up the number of Sophs, RS Freshmen, and true Freshmen on PSU's 2-deep depth chart and here are the numbers: Offense - 12 of the 22 listed are Sophs, RS Fr, or Fr. Defense - 10 of 22 fit that category. That's HALF of the two-deep depth chart on O and D who are Sophs, Fr, or RS Fr. That's mind boggling. There are exactly TWO RS Srs. to be found and only one plays (Mangiro). Does anyone remember the days when MOST of the OLine were RS Srs? Could that have anything to do with the success back then and the struggles now? According to graduating classes, the Offense will lose only Mangiro while the defense loses 4 starters.
This team is INCREDIBLY young and inexperienced, and yet is 4 - 1. What's so bad about that? EVERY week will be a struggle, so you might as well resign yourself to that fact. The schedule gets a LOT tougher from here on in, but that's not to say PSU is facing 7 guaranteed losses. I see improvement in some areas and steps backward in others, but that's the nature of such a young team. Other schools might start a true Fr and people say "Well so-and-so has Fr starters and they play well", but what is being ignored is the fact that NEXT TO that true Fr. is a 5th year Sr...or other returning starters who can help him along. Who helps along the 12 out of 22 inexperienced starters on PSU's Offense? The two Jrs who were moved from the DLine last season? The new JC transfer who is VERY inexperienced at the D-1 level himself? Maybe Geno Lewis (RS Jr.) at WR can help the 5 other WRs in the rotation who are all Fr/RS Fr/Sophs?
The way I look at things is with patience and understanding WHY a guy like Franklin won't buy into the media's attempt to look at things so negatively. The members of the media in general are SO STUPID (EXCLUDING the BWI guys, and I mean that sincerely) and they simply regurgitate all the cliches about "You were favored why didn't you win bigger?", or "The OLine continues to struggle can you explain why?" WTF??? HOW friggin STUPID do you need to be to NOT UNDERSTAND why the OLine struggles, or WHY there wasn't much of a running game yesterday with your top two guys injured, or why the passing game struggled in a torrential downpour? FWIW anyone who saw the Clemson-ND game last night also saw HOW MANY passes were either drastically off-target or simply dropped by WRs. I saw LOTS of them.
My way of looking at PSU this season is to relax and focus on the positives and "lower my expectations" week to week. And I ENJOY being 4 - 1 at this point because once again it's a way of sticking PSU football's fingers in the NCAA/BOT's eyes and saying "F-YOU!! You CAN'T destroy our program you spineless SOB's!!!"
