Obli's Observations: Joe Lunch-bucket

[Obliviax]

Great to see PSU back in the win column. Like most, this win was somewhat unconvincing and pedestrian. But a win is a win. My weekly observations:

• Rutgers is indeed an improving program. They came ready to play and made it look like a challenge through the first quarter and a half.
• Being Rutgers, they had a chip on their shoulders. They are hard to like. But this game meant to much more to them than to us, that makes sense.
• PSU looked tired and unmotivated. I am sure they were happy to be home but they played with so much fun and enjoyment before "the gauntlet" it is hard to see them be so staid.
• For those who support #26 returning kickoffs, he looks a step slower. He doesn't have the explosiveness. He seems to be rounding off his passing routes.
• He also took a shot on the second kickoff return. The defender grabbed his facemask and the back of the helmet and planted him into the turf. He went "under the hood" but played the rest of the game. Looked to me like he wrenched his neck or something.
• The first kickoff was a crazy, reminded me of the opening kickoff in the Rose Bowl...what kickoffs land and go sideways? It actually happened again early in the second half but the ball bounced OOB instead into the field of play. Do we not have an up-man who has responsibility on short balls or is #26 at fault for not coming up on those plays?
• Millen just hammered Gesicki. You can see that he is frustrated with the kid that went to his HS and to his college and is getting no blocking. I saw the guy that appeared to be #88's responsibility make 3 TFL in the first half. I love 88 but he has been a detriment in the running game this year.
• And the OL just hasn't been nearly the same since Bates got hurt. Unfortunate that we now have Fr, So, So, Sr, Jr across the line. McGovern looks like the real deal though...he's been playing great.
• Having said that, pass protection was pretty good.
• And McS had a couple of good runs and strong throws. His TD pass to Hamliton was a bullet and right on the money. The TD to Gesicki was 88 simply being wide open. With so much attention being paid to 26, not sure why we haven't had more of these.
• The D gave up the least yards passing in history at the Beav. Old record was also against Rutgers. But boy, sure seems like they had more than 43 yards passing.
• Defense looked good but gave a little on the DL. we played a very young DL with YGM playing a lot (and looking good) as well as Brandon Smith at LB. R RB's looked strong and the O pushed us around a little until the second half.
• Cabinda played a really solid game.
• Good to see Monroe, TCF, Oruwariye and Wade get some serious playing time. Nick Scott too, who looked good.
• I applaud the staff for trying to get #26 the ball in just about any way possible. But I can't imagine not having a ton of open spaces on the field when four guys follow #26 everywhere he goes. Where are the misdirection plays? Looks like we run the zone-read just enough to make people game plan for it.

• Sadly, Sparty killed us. I was disappointed we didn't be tOSU but wasn't surprised we lost.
• But had we lost to tOSU and beat Sparty, we'd be staring down the barrel at a 11-1 season, headed to the B1G championship and, perhaps, the series. We'd be ranked somewhere between 5 and 7 right now.
• The gauntlet just killed us. Rough scheduling. We lost two of those three....both of the away games. Our best away game win was NW, although you could argue the best game we played was against tOSU.
• Wiscy with an impressive win over Iowa. But Iowa is a different team home and away.
• Seeing some speculation we might be playing ND in a bowl, that would be cool.

• In the end, a win is a win. I'll take it.
• We are averaging 37.7 points per game.
• I have no problem with "it is what it is" from CJF. But I'd like to see some counters and try to exploit the defense flowing so hard to wherever 26 goes.
• I'd be shocked to see 26 not play in a bowl, but I have to say that Sanders looked really good on the first drive when 26 went down.

FWIW!

 

[CDLionFL]

Sideline reporter said Barkley went under the hood for a nature call. Had nothing to do with the hard tackle.

 

[Obliviax]

Sideline reporter said Barkley went under the hood for a nature call. Had nothing to do with the hard tackle.

So he had to go potty with only a couple of minutes after the start of the game? Sorry, not buying that.

 

[royboy]

If what I heard was right, PSU now has the longest home winning streak in the country.

It's disappointing to see some highly ranked teams lose by big margins, and reflect on the impact of two very close losses. More regrets about the MSU game than the Buckeyes.

 

[Obliviax]

If what I heard was right, PSU now has the longest home winning streak in the country.

It's disappointing to see some highly ranked teams lose by big margins, and reflect on the impact of two very close losses. More regrets about the MSU game than the Buckeyes.

its a great point. we see ND get roasted, have the same record, and ranked above us. meanwhile, the team that they lost to, GA, got roasted as well. USC ranked higher than us, TCU.....

 

[ClarkstonMark]

So he had to go potty with only a couple of minutes after the start of the game? Sorry, not buying that.

I don't buy it either

 

[BBrown]

Great to see PSU back in the win column. Like most, this win was somewhat unconvincing and pedestrian. But a win is a win. My weekly observations:

• Rutgers is indeed an improving program. They came ready to play and made it look like a challenge through the first quarter and a half.
• Being Rutgers, they had a chip on their shoulders. They are hard to like. But this game meant to much more to them than to us, that makes sense.
• PSU looked tired and unmotivated. I am sure they were happy to be home but they played with so much fun and enjoyment before "the gauntlet" it is hard to see them be so staid.
• For those who support #26 returning kickoffs, he looks a step slower. He doesn't have the explosiveness. He seems to be rounding off his passing routes.
• He also took a shot on the second kickoff return. The defender grabbed his facemask and the back of the helmet and planted him into the turf. He went "under the hood" but played the rest of the game. Looked to me like he wrenched his neck or something.
• The first kickoff was a crazy, reminded me of the opening kickoff in the Rose Bowl...what kickoffs land and go sideways? It actually happened again early in the second half but the ball bounced OOB instead into the field of play. Do we not have an up-man who has responsibility on short balls or is #26 at fault for not coming up on those plays?
• Millen just hammered Gesicki. You can see that he is frustrated with the kid that went to his HS and to his college and is getting no blocking. I saw the guy that appeared to be #88's responsibility make 3 TFL in the first half. I love 88 but he has been a detriment in the running game this year.
• And the OL just hasn't been nearly the same since Bates got hurt. Unfortunate that we now have Fr, So, So, Sr, Jr across the line. McGovern looks like the real deal though...he's been playing great.
• Having said that, pass protection was pretty good.
• And McS had a couple of good runs and strong throws. His TD pass to Hamliton was a bullet and right on the money. The TD to Gesicki was 88 simply being wide open. With so much attention being paid to 26, not sure why we haven't had more of these.
• The D gave up the least yards passing in history at the Beav. Old record was also against Rutgers. But boy, sure seems like they had more than 43 yards passing.
• Defense looked good but gave a little on the DL. we played a very young DL with YGM playing a lot (and looking good) as well as Brandon Smith at LB. R RB's looked strong and the O pushed us around a little until the second half.
• Cabinda played a really solid game.
• Good to see Monroe, TCF, Oruwariye and Wade get some serious playing time. Nick Scott too, who looked good.
• I applaud the staff for trying to get #26 the ball in just about any way possible. But I can't imagine not having a ton of open spaces on the field when four guys follow #26 everywhere he goes. Where are the misdirection plays? Looks like we run the zone-read just enough to make people game plan for it.

• Sadly, Sparty killed us. I was disappointed we didn't be tOSU but wasn't surprised we lost.
• But had we lost to tOSU and beat Sparty, we'd be staring down the barrel at a 11-1 season, headed to the B1G championship and, perhaps, the series. We'd be ranked somewhere between 5 and 7 right now.
• The gauntlet just killed us. Rough scheduling. We lost two of those three....both of the away games. Our best away game win was NW, although you could argue the best game we played was against tOSU.
• Wiscy with an impressive win over Iowa. But Iowa is a different team home and away.
• Seeing some speculation we might be playing ND in a bowl, that would be cool.

• In the end, a win is a win. I'll take it.
• We are averaging 37.7 points per game.
• I have no problem with "it is what it is" from CJF. But I'd like to see some counters and try to exploit the defense flowing so hard to wherever 26 goes.
• I'd be shocked to see 26 not play in a bowl, but I have to say that Sanders looked really good on the first drive when 26 went down.

FWIW!

Good post.
with some comments.

1.) Yea but at no point in the game did I ever think RU could move the ball on us for any distance.
3.) I don't know about the "tired" part but definitely the Unmotivated part.
4.) I've been saying for a couple of weeks now that I didn't think Barkley looked as quick and fast. I saw afterwards, in Nates article, where they are alluding to a nagging type injury so that may explain it.
5.) I didnt' know what that was all about either but Steve Jones was pretty "pissed" about it and speaking of "pissed" another poster told me that Saquon needed a potty break. LOL.
7.) Yea Mike had a couple of whiffs and almost got Barkely killed.
11.) The RU QB was pathetic.

 

[PSUcup1]

I was elated to see up line up in the pistol, only to be disappointed with the actual play calls from the formation ... baby steps

and yes, we should absolutely be ranked ahead of USC

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

Great to see PSU back in the win column. Like most, this win was somewhat unconvincing and pedestrian. But a win is a win. My weekly observations:

• Rutgers is indeed an improving program. They came ready to play and made it look like a challenge through the first quarter and a half.
• Being Rutgers, they had a chip on their shoulders. They are hard to like. But this game meant to much more to them than to us, that makes sense.
• PSU looked tired and unmotivated. I am sure they were happy to be home but they played with so much fun and enjoyment before "the gauntlet" it is hard to see them be so staid.
• For those who support #26 returning kickoffs, he looks a step slower. He doesn't have the explosiveness. He seems to be rounding off his passing routes.
• He also took a shot on the second kickoff return. The defender grabbed his facemask and the back of the helmet and planted him into the turf. He went "under the hood" but played the rest of the game. Looked to me like he wrenched his neck or something.
• The first kickoff was a crazy, reminded me of the opening kickoff in the Rose Bowl...what kickoffs land and go sideways? It actually happened again early in the second half but the ball bounced OOB instead into the field of play. Do we not have an up-man who has responsibility on short balls or is #26 at fault for not coming up on those plays?
• Millen just hammered Gesicki. You can see that he is frustrated with the kid that went to his HS and to his college and is getting no blocking. I saw the guy that appeared to be #88's responsibility make 3 TFL in the first half. I love 88 but he has been a detriment in the running game this year.
• And the OL just hasn't been nearly the same since Bates got hurt. Unfortunate that we now have Fr, So, So, Sr, Jr across the line. McGovern looks like the real deal though...he's been playing great.
• Having said that, pass protection was pretty good.
• And McS had a couple of good runs and strong throws. His TD pass to Hamliton was a bullet and right on the money. The TD to Gesicki was 88 simply being wide open. With so much attention being paid to 26, not sure why we haven't had more of these.
• The D gave up the least yards passing in history at the Beav. Old record was also against Rutgers. But boy, sure seems like they had more than 43 yards passing.
• Defense looked good but gave a little on the DL. we played a very young DL with YGM playing a lot (and looking good) as well as Brandon Smith at LB. R RB's looked strong and the O pushed us around a little until the second half.
• Cabinda played a really solid game.
• Good to see Monroe, TCF, Oruwariye and Wade get some serious playing time. Nick Scott too, who looked good.
• I applaud the staff for trying to get #26 the ball in just about any way possible. But I can't imagine not having a ton of open spaces on the field when four guys follow #26 everywhere he goes. Where are the misdirection plays? Looks like we run the zone-read just enough to make people game plan for it.

• Sadly, Sparty killed us. I was disappointed we didn't be tOSU but wasn't surprised we lost.
• But had we lost to tOSU and beat Sparty, we'd be staring down the barrel at a 11-1 season, headed to the B1G championship and, perhaps, the series. We'd be ranked somewhere between 5 and 7 right now.
• The gauntlet just killed us. Rough scheduling. We lost two of those three....both of the away games. Our best away game win was NW, although you could argue the best game we played was against tOSU.
• Wiscy with an impressive win over Iowa. But Iowa is a different team home and away.
• Seeing some speculation we might be playing ND in a bowl, that would be cool.

• In the end, a win is a win. I'll take it.
• We are averaging 37.7 points per game.
• I have no problem with "it is what it is" from CJF. But I'd like to see some counters and try to exploit the defense flowing so hard to wherever 26 goes.
• I'd be shocked to see 26 not play in a bowl, but I have to say that Sanders looked really good on the first drive when 26 went down.

FWIW!

Good stuff. Need to finish strong and 'boss up' for whatever bowl game we have and take that, a nice showing at the NFL Draft, and a great recruiting class into the off-season. I'm concerned that we blew our shot this year, and I'm one who prefers experience to talent, but maybe we'll have the right mix next year to make a run at the CFP.

 

[LemonEars]

Great to see PSU back in the win column. Like most, this win was somewhat unconvincing and pedestrian. But a win is a win. My weekly observations:

• Rutgers is indeed an improving program. They came ready to play and made it look like a challenge through the first quarter and a half.
• Being Rutgers, they had a chip on their shoulders. They are hard to like. But this game meant to much more to them than to us, that makes sense.
• PSU looked tired and unmotivated. I am sure they were happy to be home but they played with so much fun and enjoyment before "the gauntlet" it is hard to see them be so staid.
• For those who support #26 returning kickoffs, he looks a step slower. He doesn't have the explosiveness. He seems to be rounding off his passing routes.
• He also took a shot on the second kickoff return. The defender grabbed his facemask and the back of the helmet and planted him into the turf. He went "under the hood" but played the rest of the game. Looked to me like he wrenched his neck or something.
• The first kickoff was a crazy, reminded me of the opening kickoff in the Rose Bowl...what kickoffs land and go sideways? It actually happened again early in the second half but the ball bounced OOB instead into the field of play. Do we not have an up-man who has responsibility on short balls or is #26 at fault for not coming up on those plays?
• Millen just hammered Gesicki. You can see that he is frustrated with the kid that went to his HS and to his college and is getting no blocking. I saw the guy that appeared to be #88's responsibility make 3 TFL in the first half. I love 88 but he has been a detriment in the running game this year.
• And the OL just hasn't been nearly the same since Bates got hurt. Unfortunate that we now have Fr, So, So, Sr, Jr across the line. McGovern looks like the real deal though...he's been playing great.
• Having said that, pass protection was pretty good.
• And McS had a couple of good runs and strong throws. His TD pass to Hamliton was a bullet and right on the money. The TD to Gesicki was 88 simply being wide open. With so much attention being paid to 26, not sure why we haven't had more of these.
• The D gave up the least yards passing in history at the Beav. Old record was also against Rutgers. But boy, sure seems like they had more than 43 yards passing.
• Defense looked good but gave a little on the DL. we played a very young DL with YGM playing a lot (and looking good) as well as Brandon Smith at LB. R RB's looked strong and the O pushed us around a little until the second half.
• Cabinda played a really solid game.
• Good to see Monroe, TCF, Oruwariye and Wade get some serious playing time. Nick Scott too, who looked good.
• I applaud the staff for trying to get #26 the ball in just about any way possible. But I can't imagine not having a ton of open spaces on the field when four guys follow #26 everywhere he goes. Where are the misdirection plays? Looks like we run the zone-read just enough to make people game plan for it.

• Sadly, Sparty killed us. I was disappointed we didn't be tOSU but wasn't surprised we lost.
• But had we lost to tOSU and beat Sparty, we'd be staring down the barrel at a 11-1 season, headed to the B1G championship and, perhaps, the series. We'd be ranked somewhere between 5 and 7 right now.
• The gauntlet just killed us. Rough scheduling. We lost two of those three....both of the away games. Our best away game win was NW, although you could argue the best game we played was against tOSU.
• Wiscy with an impressive win over Iowa. But Iowa is a different team home and away.
• Seeing some speculation we might be playing ND in a bowl, that would be cool.

• In the end, a win is a win. I'll take it.
• We are averaging 37.7 points per game.
• I have no problem with "it is what it is" from CJF. But I'd like to see some counters and try to exploit the defense flowing so hard to wherever 26 goes.
• I'd be shocked to see 26 not play in a bowl, but I have to say that Sanders looked really good on the first drive when 26 went down.

FWIW!

Good observations. I have a few more:

• I was pleased with the game. Rutgers isn't a good team but are improving. They won 3 Big games this year. They seem to be well coached and improving.
• Rutgers seemed more interesting in stopping #26 than in winning the game. The spied him with multiple defenders on every play. This gave us tons of passing lanes.
  
• We never called a time out the whole game. This seems unusual to me. I can't remember a similar game.
• McSorley was standing beside Stevens during a TO. Stevens is a giant compared to Trace. I never appreciated their huge size difference until I saw them standing together.
  
• Is Gross-Matos the new starter at DE? It seemed like he played most of the game. He and Castro-Fields seem to be our best true freshmen. So far Wade has been a disappointment to me. He plays but he isn't living up to his all-world 5* credentials.
  
• Backups were getting tons of playing time right from the start of the game. This seemed to be planned. I wonder if the staff is already thinking of next year.

 

[BBrown]

I was elated to see up line up in the pistol, only to be disappointed with the actual play calls from the formation ... baby steps

and yes, we should absolutely be ranked ahead of USC

Agree. Now I want to see them run some plays out of it.

 

[Obliviax]

Good stuff. Need to finish strong and 'boss up' for whatever bowl game we have and take that, a nice showing at the NFL Draft, and a great recruiting class into the off-season. I'm concerned that we blew our shot this year, and I'm one who prefers experience to talent, but maybe we'll have the right mix next year to make a run at the CFP.

yeah...this was our year. we lose 26 and a ton of talent in the defensive backfield. I suspect next year will be a bit of a down year but who knows....sometimes things just click. I am hopeful we'll have another good run year after next with Stevens at QB, Two good RBs (Sanders & Slade), and Johnson at WR.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

yeah...this was our year. we lose 26 and a ton of talent in the defensive backfield. I suspect next year will be a bit of a down year but who knows....sometimes things just click. I am hopeful we'll have another good run year after next with Stevens at QB, Two good RBs (Sanders & Slade), and Johnson at WR.

I don’t see Johnson staying four years. His measurables are NFL ready now. Good news is WR recruiting is excellent and FR can contribute there right away.

 

[Obliviax]

Good observations. I have a few more:

• I was pleased with the game. Rutgers isn't a good team but are improving. They won 3 Big games this year. They seem to be well coached and improving.
• Rutgers seemed more interesting in stopping #26 than in winning the game. The spied him with multiple defenders on every play. This gave us tons of passing lanes.
  
• We never called a time out the whole game. This seems unusual to me. I can't remember a similar game.
• Is Gross-Matos the new starter at DE? It seemed like he played most of the game. He and Castro-Fields seem to be our best true freshmen. So far Wade has been a disappointment to me. He plays but he isn't living up to his all-world 5* credentials.
  
• Backups were getting tons of playing time right from the start of the game. This seemed to be planned. I wonder if the staff is already thinking of next year.

Good notes...stopping #26 at any cost seems to be the thing. Millen kept saying this with is "26 will kill you while 9 will hurt you" thingy. so true. But our offense should be able to exploit the holes left with LB's flying to the mesh point and DE's crashing upfield. I sill suspect we are tipping plays. Seems the other team always knows when we have a zone-read play coming.

 

[bdgan]

Great to see PSU back in the win column. Like most, this win was somewhat unconvincing and pedestrian. But a win is a win. My weekly observations:

• Millen just hammered Gesicki. You can see that he is frustrated with the kid that went to his HS and to his college and is getting no blocking. I saw the guy that appeared to be #88's responsibility make 3 TFL in the first half. I love 88 but he has been a detriment in the running game this year.
• Cabinda played a really solid game.
• Good to see Monroe, TCF, Oruwariye and Wade get some serious playing time. Nick Scott too, who looked good.

FWIW!

• I think we should use Gesicki as a big WR. Make him our 4th WR with no TEs or our 3rd WR with another TE in who can block.
• Cabinda will be missed. Losing both him and Smith leaves a big hole at MLB.
• Nick Scott got burned bad on a couple of plays in the 1st half. Wade got beat bad late but he's young. I have high hopes for TCF & Oruwariye next year.

 

[marshall23]

So he had to go potty with only a couple of minutes after the start of the game? Sorry, not buying that.

I can testify that it happens.

 

[olelion]

Some of you tape watchers will have to verify this. It appeared to me that if the play was a fully designed pass play, blocking was very good. Ditto for the run designed plays. The RPO or whatever seems to invite total chaos among the linemen resulting in Barkley getting creamed or undo pressure on Trace. Maybe it's merely a communication issue up front, I don't know. Sometimes it's exacerbated by Gesicki's total inability to even touch a defender.

 

[pandaczar12]

• But had we lost to tOSU and beat Sparty, we'd be staring down the barrel at a 11-1 season, headed to the B1G championship and, perhaps, the series. We'd be ranked somewhere between 5 and 7 right now.

Is this true? I thought that OSU would still be going because of having the same conference record but owning the head to head win?

 

[LemonEars]

I can testify that it happens.

He was inside the tent a long time. Probably #2. Probably ate Mexican Friday night.

 

[royboy]

I don’t see Johnson staying four years. His measurables are NFL ready now. Good news is WR recruiting is excellent and FR can contribute there right away.

Well, #84 is actually eligible to come out this year if he wants to. He doesn't seem ready for that IMO.

Incoming recruit Shorter is a potential star and should see the field next year.

 

[BBrown]

Good stuff. Need to finish strong and 'boss up' for whatever bowl game we have and take that, a nice showing at the NFL Draft, and a great recruiting class into the off-season. I'm concerned that we blew our shot this year, and I'm one who prefers experience to talent, but maybe we'll have the right mix next year to make a run at the CFP.

I think we can have good season next year but I also think we may take a step back in terms of wins.
The schedule is much tougher but its a good home schedule.
The one area that scares me, ok 2 areas are LB'r and TE. We have no one on the current roster to replace Mike G. and our LB'rs are going to be very, very green. And after Sat. I'm not sure Bowen doesn't get the "talk".

 

[Obliviax]

I can testify that it happens.

But it doesn't make sense.

warmups>opening kickoff>turnover>sit on the bench while the defense plays>kickoff after FG>personal foul penalty>don't show up for the offense because you have to tinkle.

 

[marshall23]

But it doesn't make sense.

warmups>opening kickoff>turnover>sit on the bench while the defense plays>kickoff after FG>personal foul penalty>don't show up for the offense because you have to tinkle.

who said he had to piss?

 

[Obliviax]

Is this true? I thought that OSU would still be going because of having the same conference record but owning the head to head win?

I think you are correct. Oddly, we'd be in opposite positions from last year. Last year, PSU has two losses and wins the B1G but doesn't go to the dance. This year, had we beaten Sparty, we'd only have one loss, tOSU goes to the B1G but we'd be higher ranked. Would they have sent us to the dance?

 

[BBrown]

Good observations. I have a few more:

• I was pleased with the game. Rutgers isn't a good team but are improving. They won 3 Big games this year. They seem to be well coached and improving.
• Rutgers seemed more interesting in stopping #26 than in winning the game. The spied him with multiple defenders on every play. This gave us tons of passing lanes.
  
• We never called a time out the whole game. This seems unusual to me. I can't remember a similar game.
• McSorley was standing beside Stevens during a TO. Stevens is a giant compared to Trace. I never appreciated their huge size difference until I saw them standing together.
  
• Is Gross-Matos the new starter at DE? It seemed like he played most of the game. He and Castro-Fields seem to be our best true freshmen. So far Wade has been a disappointment to me. He plays but he isn't living up to his all-world 5* credentials.
  
• Backups were getting tons of playing time right from the start of the game. This seemed to be planned. I wonder if the staff is already thinking of next year.

as for your Gross-Matos comment yea I think he is. Also Shareef Miller limped off pretty bad as well. But I think he came back in. Not sure how effective he was.

Interesting I thought Wade was doing ok. Your right about Fields though, he's going to be a good one.

 

[Ceasar]

Good notes...stopping #26 at any cost seems to be the thing. Millen kept saying this with is "26 will kill you while 9 will hurt you" thingy. so true. But our offense should be able to exploit the holes left with LB's flying to the mesh point and DE's crashing upfield. I sill suspect we are tipping plays. Seems the other team always knows when we have a zone-read play coming.

I actually think the data suggests Millen has it backwards - Saquon will hurt you, Trace will kill you. Because when you say Trace you are including Hamilton, Gesicki, Thompkins, JJ, Blacknall...Teams have slowed down or even shut down Barkley and lost, often times badly. Examples would include Wiscy last year, Pitt this year, Indiana this year and last and others. The one team that played to stop us from throwing downfield and making big plays was Iowa. Saquon had a career day but we scored just 21 and pulled it out at the end.

 

[BBrown]

Well, #84 is actually eligible to come out this year if he wants to. He doesn't seem ready for that IMO.

Incoming recruit Shorter is a potential star and should see the field next year.

Word is we have some real studs at WR in Hippenhammer and Hammler.

 

[royboy]

as for your Gross-Matos comment yea I think he is. Also Shareef Miller limped off pretty bad as well. But I think he came back in. Not sure how effective he was.

Interesting I thought Wade was doing ok. Your right about Fields though, he's going to be a good one.

Fields, Wade, and a returning John Reid should allow for more man coverage schemes next year. Hope so anyway.

 

[ClarkstonMark]

I think we can have good season next year but I also think we may take a step back in terms of wins.
The schedule is much tougher but its a good home schedule.
The one area that scares me, ok 2 areas are LB'r and TE. We have no one on the current roster to replace Mike G. and our LB'rs are going to be very, very green. And after Sat. I'm not sure Bowen doesn't get the "talk".

any rumors on why Bowen did not play?

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

Well, #84 is actually eligible to come out this year if he wants to. He doesn't seem ready for that IMO.

Incoming recruit Shorter is a potential star and should see the field next year.

Wouldn’t surprise me if he did - no inside knowledge but some of these kids think a salary beats another year at school. Have seen worse players make the same decision.

 

[PennStateTurf2002]

Is this true? I thought that OSU would still be going because of having the same conference record but owning the head to head win?

He was wrong in initial post. Ohio State would still be heading to the B1G championship game unless they would have lost 1 of final 2, even with the Iowa loss.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

any rumors on why Bowen did not play?

Dreaded ‘team rule violation.’

 

[LemonEars]

who said he had to piss?

I'll never forget a high school basketball game I played in many many years ago. One of our best players had a touch of the flu. He played but had a bathroom issue. He used the bathroom before the game and at halftime. The game was close and he had to go badly late in the fourth quarter. We couldn't afford for him to be off the court so he crapped his pants in front of about 500 fans. Running down his leg. We wore white shorts! The poor guy never lived it down. I remember the cheerleaders running on the court and watching where they stepped. It happens.

 

[Obliviax]

He was wrong in initial post. Ohio State would still be heading to the B1G championship game unless they would have lost 1 of final 2, even with the Iowa loss.

that's right...but they still have a big game against UM

 

[BBrown]

any rumors on why Bowen did not play?

Violated team rules is all I heard.
But this is the second time. SMH.

 

[WDLion]

Great to see PSU back in the win column. Like most, this win was somewhat unconvincing and pedestrian. But a win is a win. My weekly observations:

• Rutgers is indeed an improving program. They came ready to play and made it look like a challenge through the first quarter and a half.
• Being Rutgers, they had a chip on their shoulders. They are hard to like. But this game meant to much more to them than to us, that makes sense.
• PSU looked tired and unmotivated. I am sure they were happy to be home but they played with so much fun and enjoyment before "the gauntlet" it is hard to see them be so staid.
• For those who support #26 returning kickoffs, he looks a step slower. He doesn't have the explosiveness. He seems to be rounding off his passing routes.
• He also took a shot on the second kickoff return. The defender grabbed his facemask and the back of the helmet and planted him into the turf. He went "under the hood" but played the rest of the game. Looked to me like he wrenched his neck or something.
• The first kickoff was a crazy, reminded me of the opening kickoff in the Rose Bowl...what kickoffs land and go sideways? It actually happened again early in the second half but the ball bounced OOB instead into the field of play. Do we not have an up-man who has responsibility on short balls or is #26 at fault for not coming up on those plays?
• Millen just hammered Gesicki. You can see that he is frustrated with the kid that went to his HS and to his college and is getting no blocking. I saw the guy that appeared to be #88's responsibility make 3 TFL in the first half. I love 88 but he has been a detriment in the running game this year.
• And the OL just hasn't been nearly the same since Bates got hurt. Unfortunate that we now have Fr, So, So, Sr, Jr across the line. McGovern looks like the real deal though...he's been playing great.
• Having said that, pass protection was pretty good.
• And McS had a couple of good runs and strong throws. His TD pass to Hamliton was a bullet and right on the money. The TD to Gesicki was 88 simply being wide open. With so much attention being paid to 26, not sure why we haven't had more of these.
• The D gave up the least yards passing in history at the Beav. Old record was also against Rutgers. But boy, sure seems like they had more than 43 yards passing.
• Defense looked good but gave a little on the DL. we played a very young DL with YGM playing a lot (and looking good) as well as Brandon Smith at LB. R RB's looked strong and the O pushed us around a little until the second half.
• Cabinda played a really solid game.
• Good to see Monroe, TCF, Oruwariye and Wade get some serious playing time. Nick Scott too, who looked good.
• I applaud the staff for trying to get #26 the ball in just about any way possible. But I can't imagine not having a ton of open spaces on the field when four guys follow #26 everywhere he goes. Where are the misdirection plays? Looks like we run the zone-read just enough to make people game plan for it.

• Sadly, Sparty killed us. I was disappointed we didn't be tOSU but wasn't surprised we lost.
• But had we lost to tOSU and beat Sparty, we'd be staring down the barrel at a 11-1 season, headed to the B1G championship and, perhaps, the series. We'd be ranked somewhere between 5 and 7 right now.
• The gauntlet just killed us. Rough scheduling. We lost two of those three....both of the away games. Our best away game win was NW, although you could argue the best game we played was against tOSU.
• Wiscy with an impressive win over Iowa. But Iowa is a different team home and away.
• Seeing some speculation we might be playing ND in a bowl, that would be cool.

• In the end, a win is a win. I'll take it.
• We are averaging 37.7 points per game.
• I have no problem with "it is what it is" from CJF. But I'd like to see some counters and try to exploit the defense flowing so hard to wherever 26 goes.
• I'd be shocked to see 26 not play in a bowl, but I have to say that Sanders looked really good on the first drive when 26 went down.

FWIW!

Gesicki didn't go to the same high school as Millen. Barkley did.

 

[marshall23]

I'll never forget a high school basketball game I played in many many years ago. One of our best players had a touch of the flu. He played but had a bathroom issue. He used the bathroom before the game and at halftime. The game was close and he had to go badly late in the fourth quarter. We couldn't afford for him to be off the court so he crapped his pants in front of about 500 fans. Running down his leg. We wore white shorts! The poor guy never lived it down. I remember the cheerleaders running on the court and watching where they stepped. It happens.

I won't name anyone but.....I recall a game involving Coal Township, back in the 60s where a star running back was taken off the field on a stretcher and returned in a clean pair of pants for the second half.

 

[olelion]

I think we can have good season next year but I also think we may take a step back in terms of wins.
The schedule is much tougher but its a good home schedule.
The one area that scares me, ok 2 areas are LB'r and TE. We have no one on the current roster to replace Mike G. and our LB'rs are going to be very, very green. And after Sat. I'm not sure Bowen doesn't get the "talk".

Gesicki won't be missed

 

[Obliviax]

Gesicki didn't go to the same high school as Millen. Barkley did.

that's what I said...in a very poorly constructed sentence.

Point being was that it was clear that Millen was frustrated that "Sasa" wasn't getting the help he needed to win the H T.

 

[marshall23]

Violated team rules is all I heard.
But this is the second time. SMH.

Suspending a starter? Unheard of at every D1 football school except Pitt......the Liar's say so.