I came away, after the game, with a good feeling. But looking back, there was nothing special about this game to get me excited. After a couple of days, I realize the great thing about the game was "consistency". PSU played a very predictable and bland game. Ball St. was very concerned about giving up deep "explosion" plays so PSU took what was given. In that, we played a balanced game and got what you wanted to expect from just about every position.
Offense
Overall, a good solid game after a huge win and a huge upcoming game. Ball State is a good team by MAC standards. They are not Akron. Toledo gave ND fits. Ball St won the Western Conference, the MAC championship game and toasted San Jose State in a bowl game. They are not Wisconsin or Auburn but are a solid team. But PSU was able to tune up and improve a lot while resting some kids. I hear a lot of talk about formations, motions and innovation on offense. That we may see some interesting stuff against Auburn that we didn't want to use in the first game due to first-game jitters. Or the second game because we didn't want to show them. But we will see them Saturday night. I got a kick out of watching the Steelers Matt Canada plays off of the jet sweep. I know many don't like him but I thought his Pitt experience was exceptional and hard to defend. I'd love to see more off of the jet sweep with Dotson and others.
Offense
- PSU was precise in the first half and simply drove the length of the field with sustained plays that moved the chains and then allowed us to get under center (where the paychecks are cashed).
- I see what CJF says about Cain and why he is the go to back. He just makes yardage and seems to squirt into little holes (down @BobPSU92 ) and make something out of nothing. He moves the chains and puts the offense into manageable situations. Contrast this with Lee who, I think has great talent, but is inconsistent. Many people don't know that the Detroit Lions were a better team the year after Barry Sanders suddenly retired. BS was one of the best that ever lived but after breaking off several miraculous runs, he'd get stuffed and the drive would stall. Cain is consistent, Lee is not. Oddly, Lee has only one yard less rushing with 12 less carries.
- The OL was a little disappointing, IMHO. While we made yardage, I didn't see the OL move anyone (again). And while Ball State is a pretty good team, they simply don't match up with PSU talent-wise.
- I did see some experimenting, I think. I saw the center move to guard and a new center inserted. Was someone banged up? Were they just trying new stuff? Disappointed at guard? This, I don't know.
- WRs continue to play well. Good solid, fundamentally well-played WR performance. After last year, all we could hope for. Dotson made a great move to get into the endzone on his TD. Washington tied Dotson for most receptions.
- TE performance was good and improving. I saw some missed blocks but saw some pancakes as well.
- SC ran the offense well. he didn't do anything to turn your head but that is SC. No turnovers and well managed. (BTW, I did see Lee put the ball on the ground and I am sure that contributed to his lack of use down the stretch in favor of ford). SC has been showing good pocket presence and seems to move to open areas smoothly when kids are covered and there is a rush.
- Roberson made a nice TD throw but his first series looked bad. Understandable. he does look like a good athlete but needs to feel comfortable is we need him against a good team. He clearly has a good arm and can run the ball.
- This may be the best defense of the CJF era. The second and third levels along with great play by "Hey" Arnold E is disruptive.
- it looks like we have a LOT of depth with the exception of DL but are building depth there as well.
- It also looks like we rested some guys, Brisker to name one.
- Great to see a defensive TD. First in, what, six years?
- I am not a fan of trash-talking. Number 9 seems to do a lot of that. He's going to draw a flag soon. But he and TCF are playing great corner.
- Stoud averaging 51 YP punt. awesome. KO's as strong as I've ever seen.
- 3 of 4 FGs with a long of 45 and 5/5 in PATs. Big improvement but not comfortable, yet.
Overall, a good solid game after a huge win and a huge upcoming game. Ball State is a good team by MAC standards. They are not Akron. Toledo gave ND fits. Ball St won the Western Conference, the MAC championship game and toasted San Jose State in a bowl game. They are not Wisconsin or Auburn but are a solid team. But PSU was able to tune up and improve a lot while resting some kids. I hear a lot of talk about formations, motions and innovation on offense. That we may see some interesting stuff against Auburn that we didn't want to use in the first game due to first-game jitters. Or the second game because we didn't want to show them. But we will see them Saturday night. I got a kick out of watching the Steelers Matt Canada plays off of the jet sweep. I know many don't like him but I thought his Pitt experience was exceptional and hard to defend. I'd love to see more off of the jet sweep with Dotson and others.