Inflection Point

[David1956]

We are there.

I expected a win, but it did not happen. So where are we? James said it, not well, but he said it. We are great right now, but we can be elite.

So do we choose to get there? Or do we settle?

Again, James is right. He comes off as maniacle, but the best of the best are maniacle. Their names are legend. Ford, Jordan, Jobs, Musk, Saban, Bezos. You know the list.

We have been a handful of points away from elite. James knows that. We fans must acknowledge that.

We have the best player in college football. We have a tremendous fan base. We have the recruiting engine in place.

What we lack is quality and depth in the front seven. We lack depth and quality at wideout. Our kicking game has to be better. Our coaches have to be better decision makers.

Every team, well maybe not Alabama, has weaknesses. Ohio State has them and we nearly exploited them. It's how you deal with your issues that sets you apart.

So, do we buy into what James laid out last night? Or, do we settle?

We are at that inflection point.

 

[rmem]

Why did so many here expect a win in a game like this? That explains the meltdown though. The defense alone was reason enough not to expect a win. Any reasonable person would expect it to be a close game, and it was.

 

[David1956]

Why did so many here expect a win in a game like this? That explains the meltdown.

In case you were not paying attention this team lost by one point. They had the ball at midfield with more than a minute left to get a shot at a winning field goal. Those of us who thought we would win were reasonable, and not overestimating our chances.

We were a bad second down call and an awful fourth down call away. That's on our staff. The players gave their all. The effort, gameplan, and talent was there.

 

[fastlax16]

Why did so many here expect a win in a game like this? That explains the meltdown though. The defense alone was reason enough not to expect a win. Any reasonable person would expect it to be a close game, and it was.

They were up by 12 with 8 minutes left. Is it fair to expect a win at that point?

 

[Nitt1300]

If you want to whine (and Lord knows you do), look at the first half, where an aggressive call to make a first down instead of kicking a FG came up short, and where a fumble deep in our end gave tOSU an easy TD. The game is won and lost at such moments, not just the play at the end that everyone has in mind. CJF knew it at halftime when he told the sideline reporter that it should have be a very different game going in at the half. I think THAT is what he was so pissed at after the game

Shit happens, and sometimes not the shit you'd like t.o happen.

 

[michnittlion]

Typically, inflection points only become apparent in retrospect. It's hard to see them in real-time.

But this may be the exception.

This is true (and the stats bear it out): James Franklin's PSU teams do NOT have a good history of rebounding off of losses in the 2014-2017 era.

Last year, for instance. The OSU loss wasn't just 1 loss. It became 2 losses when we came out uninspired and then lost to the Spartans.

I hope I'm wrong - but I'm not "buying what Coach Franklin is selling." Who knows what the team is thinking. But I can easily see us losing to MSU and this season spiraling down to 8-4.

 

[Karl Farbman]

They were up by 12 with 8 minutes left. Is it fair to expect a win at that point?

Yes, but it’s disingenuous to criticize the coaches and players for conceding the lead without acknowledging all of the good work done up to that point.

People are acting like losing a lead is a new phenomenon, unique to Franklin. PSU has done it before (OSU 1995, Michigan 1999) and will do it again.

The strides that have been made since the 63-14 game in 2013 are incredible and are due in large part to Franklin.

 

[fastlax16]

If you want to whine (and Lord knows you do), look at the first half, where an aggressive call to make a first down instead of kicking a FG came up short, and where a fumble deep in our end gave tOSU an easy TD. The game is won and lost at such moments, not just the play at the end that everyone has in mind. CJF knew it at halftime when he told the sideline reporter that it should have be a very different game going in at the half. I think THAT is what he was so pissed at after the game

Shit happens, and sometimes not the shit you'd like t.o happen.

There were multiple points during the game that if any one of them goes different we probably win. It should have never gotten to the play at the end. Settling for field goals and not touchdowns in the first half. Negative yardage plays turning field goals attempts into punts, traces illegal forward pass where if he runs it we at least get a shot at 3 to extend the lead.

 

[Karl Farbman]

Typically, inflection points only become apparent in retrospect. It's hard to see them in real-time.

But this may be the exception.

This is true (and the stats bear it out): James Franklin's PSU teams do NOT have a good history of rebounding off of losses in the 2014-2017 era.

Last year, for instance. The OSU loss wasn't just 1 loss. It became 2 losses when we came out uninspired and then lost to the Spartans.

I hope I'm wrong - but I'm not "buying what Coach Franklin is selling." Who knows what the team is thinking. But I can easily see us losing to MSU and this season spiraling down to 8-4.

Don’t you think it is telling that we’ve reached the point that 8-4 is looked at as a disappointment? For a long time 8-4 or 9-3 was the norm and expected by most.

 

[fastlax16]

Yes, but it’s disingenuous to criticize the coaches and players for conceding the lead without acknowledging all of the good work done up to that point.

People are acting like losing a lead is a new phenomenon, unique to Franklin. PSU has done it before (OSU 1995, Michigan 1999) and will do it again.

The strides that have been made since the 63-14 game in 2013 are incredible and are due in large part to Franklin.

Can we criticize for the plays that led to the lead only being 12 and not more? Because It should have been. OSU has something like 93 yards in the first half, you have almost 300 and you’re leading by 6... it was a game of missed opportunities in all 4 quarters. Frustrating to watch.

 

[Nitt1300]

Don’t you think it is telling that we’ve reached the point that 8-4 is looked at as a disappointment? For a long time 8-4 or 9-3 was the norm and expected by most.

yes, I do- good point

 

[lein]

Why did so many here expect a win in a game like this? That explains the meltdown though. The defense alone was reason enough not to expect a win. Any reasonable person would expect it to be a close game, and it was.

Going forward, we shouldn’t expect to win such games. Our defensive coaches have shown no ability to make in game adjustments. Sometimes they can make a halftime adjustment that works (like Pitt) but when Meyers brought out the screens, it was game over.

Perhaps our defense was in over its head last night, there does seem to be something missing given how this season has progressed so far.

 

[PearlSUJam]

Our kicking game has to be better.

As does our punting. Our special teams were a strong point this season up until this game(minus the on sides debacles). Last night, they were a weakness. Our punts were making me have flashbacks to the 2014 game.

 

[michnittlion]

Don’t you think it is telling that we’ve reached the point that 8-4 is looked at as a disappointment? For a long time 8-4 or 9-3 was the norm and expected by most.

We averaged 7-5 (max 8-4, min 6-6) during the 2012-2015 era, the heart of the sanctions.

From that POV, yes, I view 8-4 (a mere 1 win over the baseline record of the sanctions era) as a disappointment. 8-4? Big deal. Given all of PSU's structural advantages vs. most college football teams, that is where we should be at a minimum.

Franklin is trying to sell us that HE is the one who will take us to the "promised land" of the elite. Fine, but I'm not buying. Here are the reasons I am not buying what he is selling:

(1) He's overly emotional, something you don't see from the true elite coaches (Saban, Meyer).

(2) he can't handle the photographers and relatively gentle comments from our fans in the immediate post-game,

(3) he's giving borderline-unhinged rants during the press conference. He literally referred to himself as a psychopath!

(4) his teams don't have a good track record of bouncing back from losses or adversity,

(5) his teams simply cannot close out good teams at crunch times.

 

[rmem]

In case you were not paying attention this team lost by one point. They had the ball at midfield with more than a minute left to get a shot at a winning field goal. Those of us who thought we would win were reasonable, and not overestimating our chances.

We were a bad second down call and an awful fourth down call away. That's on our staff. The players gave their all. The effort, gameplan, and talent was there.

They were up by 12 with 8 minutes left. Is it fair to expect a win at that point?

You two are hilarious. I am talking about expecting a win BEFORE the game you dolts. There were a lot of people here that expected it before the kickoff and that was ridiculous. And you're both being ridiculous now. You guys are acting very entitled while completing ignoring how the defense played in games leading up to this one. Try to actually think about that.

 

[danvillenit]

Yea, Saban and Meyer aren’t emotional. Did you see the shots of Meyer on the sideline? Have you ever watched a Saban pc? Where do people get this crap

 

[danvillenit]

Oh, and he is better with fans and reporters than any coach I’ve seen. Certainly better than Paterno his last 10 years

 

[fastlax16]

You two are hilarious. I am talking about expecting a win BEFORE the game you dolts. There were a lot of people here that expected it before the kickoff and that was ridiculous. And you're both being ridiculous now. You guys are acting very entitled while completing ignoring how the defense played in games leading up to this one. Try to actually think about that.

I expected to be in the game, I thought it was a toss up, which it was. Expectations can change over time, even over the course of a game. If osu is as good as everyone says we shouldn’t lose again looking at what the team did last night against them and what everyone left on the schedule has looked like.