PSU #18 in SI Post-Spring Poll

[PS4814]

https://www.si.com/college-football/2018/05/10/preseason-rankings-spring-practice-top-25

The program Moorhead left behind should be in decent shape even without All-America running back and No. 2 pick Saquon Barkley. Promoted offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne can take comfort in dangerous dual-threat quarterback Trace McSorley’s experience as well as the presence of a promising fill-in for Barkley in junior Miles Sanders (375 rushing yards, 6.7 yards per carry in his first two seasons). Freshman linebacker Micah Parsons, the 247Sports Composite’s No. 5 overall player in the class of 2018, could be ready to wreck Big Ten offensive gameplans from the jump. He notched a game-high eight tackles and a sack in the spring game last month. Sophomore Lamont Wade acquitted himself well after switching from cornerback to safety.

1. Alabama

2. Clemson

3. Ohio State

4. Washington

5. Wisconsin

6. Miami

7. Oklahoma

8. Georgia

9. TCU

10. Michigan State

11. Stanford

12. West Virginia

13. Michigan

14. UCF

15. USC

16. Auburn

17. Mississippi State

18. Penn State

19. Virginia Tech

20. Notre Dame

21. Oregon

22. Boise State

23. Texas

24. FAU

25. FSU

 

[garw]

“The program Moorhead left behind”? How about Ricky Rahne is ready to take this O to the next level. 18th? Behind Mississippi State? Franklin has led the best several years of recruiting for dear old State we have seen going back to the 1990’s. Franklin finally has the staff his deserves to augment his splendid recruiting.

 

[Ranger Dan]

I will be very surprised if there are 17 teams better than Penn State this fall.

 

[PSUcup1]

It’s almost like they don’t even watch college football

 

[ILLINOISLION]

Sorry, I wasn’t all that impressed with Moorhead last year. Honestly think Rahne did a great job vs Wash and now with the time he’s had since then I think things will only be better this fall.

 

[PearlSUJam]

Sorry, I wasn’t all that impressed with Moorhead last year. Honestly think Rahne did a great job vs Wash and now with the time he’s had since then I think things will only be better this fall.

But Washington is 4 in this article. They are far superior to us.

 

[PSUinCali]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAAAHAHAHHAHA! The same shitty rag that once put "We were...Penn State" and "Shame at Penn State" on their cover...then had a another cover later about PSU being "back" **** them!!! SI should stand for "Suck it!!" Cause that is what they do best.. Sorry to vent but I was a big ready of it for years....since I was a kid...then forever canceled my subscription once I found out how awful the media are and SI was no different and maybe even worse than the rest.

 

[Big 0]

SI jumped the shark a long time ago.

 

[PSU.:.]

Put the team with the leading Heisman candidate qb at #18. Ya I don't think so.
What the heck is with the love fest with Washington. They get a smack down with every decent team they play.

 

[LionsandBear]

Gotta shake my head at many of those teams SI has ahead of us.

 

[N&B4PSU]

Kinda like if they keep picking the same lame horse that maybe, just maybe, THIS year, UW will show up and make them look like rocket scientists.

Stranger things have happened, but if UW finishes anywhere near the top 8 this year i'll be in shock.

Or put another way.. they might finish in the top 8, but if they play a real team in a bowl game they'll get flattened. Again.

So there, UW, there's the bulletin board material you newed! lol.

 

[PSU20]

Sorry, I wasn’t all that impressed with Moorhead last year. Honestly think Rahne did a great job vs Wash and now with the time he’s had since then I think things will only be better this fall.

+1000...That Washington game was incredible when all the "experts" said that we would loose because of the Huskies defense. Rahne did a hell of job with the offense, giving the ball to SB in the "backfield" more often rather than standing still at the LOS which was one of Moorheads favorite plays.

 

[Woodpecker]

Again, in what ways did Wisconsin and Washington improve their teams over last year? I'm not saying that they didn't, I just want to know how they will be better.

 

[Obliviax]

National writers don't know squat. I am sure they see PSU as being Barkley and Moorhead. They have no idea what PSU & CJF went through with sanctions before Moorhead got here and the national emergence of #26 (who, the national press believes, was born on new years day as a soph in the rose bowl). Honestly, that list looks like every pre-season college football poll from the last ten years (AL, Clemson, Ohio State, Washington, etc.). Not a lot of creativity there.

 

[ILLINOISLION]

If Moorhead wasn’t so stubborn and ran the sweep toss with SB 10 times a game instead of having McSorley and Barkley meeting at “x”, then going 1 1000, 2 1000, 3 1000.....well, we beat tOSU.....we beat MSU.....we play in the CFP.....and SB certainly goes to NY and quite possibly wins the Heisman.

 

[PSU20]

Again, in what ways did Wisconsin and Washington improve their teams over last year? I'm not saying that they didn't, I just want to know how they will be better.

If you go back to the 2008 season, the writers had PSU at #25 before the season, and Wisky was #15, and at one point they were #9. I said to myself, "we beat Wisky 38-7 or so last year and have 18 starters returning." "How could they rate Wisky that far ahead of us? Well, we went up to Camp Randle that year and whipped them "48-7" and finally got the respect we deserved.

 

[NittPicker]

PSU at #18 is stupid but what's the deal with Notre Dame at #20. Isn't there a gentlemen's agreement among the media that Notre Dame must be a pre-season top ten team whether they deserve it or not??

 

[ILLINOISLION]

PSU at #18 is stupid but what's the deal with Notre Dame at #20. It's there a gentlemen's agreement among the media that Notre Dame must be a pre-season top ten team whether they deserve it or not??

Just my math.....but if ND is #20 then they’re not a Top Ten team.

I think LionJim can help confirm this for me!

 

[Norm Petersin]

Pitt missing from top 25?

 

[TheWizardofCamelot]

I really appreciate what Moorhead did for the program and no doubt he was one of the top assistants the past two seasons. The only critique I had of him was his inability to sustain a smallish lead (7-14 points). It seemed like he got tight and went too conservative in moments we needed him to keep the foot on the gas.

At the end of the Fiesta Bowl, you could see the kids getting tight as the game got closer and I worried we would see a similar outcome to the USC/OSU games. But, Rahne went aggressive with a 7-point lead and (w/ McSorley) put together a beautiful drive and ate up the clock enough to win the game.

Moorhead always preached being aggressive but it seemed like he went away from that in close games when the other team started putting pressure on the lead. Go for the jugular, man.

 

[Obliviax]

I really appreciate what Moorhead did for the program and no doubt he was one of the top assistants the past two seasons. The only critique I had of him was his inability to sustain a smallish lead (7-14 points). It seemed like he got tight and went too conservative in moments we needed him to keep the foot on the gas.

At the end of the Fiesta Bowl, you could see the kids getting tight as the game got closer and I worried we would see a similar outcome to the USC/OSU games. But, Rahne went aggressive with a 7-point lead and (w/ McSorley) put together a beautiful drive and ate up the clock enough to win the game.

Moorhead always preached being aggressive but it seemed like he went away from that in close games when the other team started putting pressure on the lead. Go for the jugular, man.

Totally agree. Moorhead brought an awesome offense to PSU that perfectly suited our team. I watched the Rose Bowl and it is amazing how we went into a shell, offensively, with something like ten minutes still on the clock. That is forever in college football. And against tOSU, it was clear we had to win that game on offense and with our weakened OL, still kept running the zone read into the DE. having said that, fans always have problems with play calling. But I really liked what Rahne did in the fiesta and like the two back offense I am seeing at the Blue/White game.

 

[mjh218]

There are a few rankings I don’t quite get. I think PSU is probably 8 spots too low. Washington at 4 seems too high. They lost their best defensive player and the pac 12 defender of the year. They also lost their best LB. on offense Browning is back. He is decent but I wasn’t overly impressed with him. Gaskin is a good rb. They also lost their best WR in Pettis. I think they are a solid top 15 team but 4 seems too high.

As usual Michigan seems too high. They have a qb who hasn’t played in a while and who didn’t light the world on fire when he played against decent competition. Last year he started 7 games. He had solid games against South Alabama, Tenn Martin, Cal, Aub and vandy. He had poor games v Alabama and LSU. In college he has almost double the int’s as he does td’s. They lost 4 other offensive starters on offense. Their D will be very good.

 

[PSU20]

I really appreciate what Moorhead did for the program and no doubt he was one of the top assistants the past two seasons. The only critique I had of him was his inability to sustain a smallish lead (7-14 points). It seemed like he got tight and went too conservative in moments we needed him to keep the foot on the gas.

At the end of the Fiesta Bowl, you could see the kids getting tight as the game got closer and I worried we would see a similar outcome to the USC/OSU games. But, Rahne went aggressive with a 7-point lead and (w/ McSorley) put together a beautiful drive and ate up the clock enough to win the game.

Moorhead always preached being aggressive but it seemed like he went away from that in close games when the other team started putting pressure on the lead. Go for the jugular, man.

Three RPO from the 7 YL against OSU just to kick a field goal on 4th down. Against good teams you have to go for the jugular. With the WR's we had in that game, at least try one pass, and let either Gesicki, Blacknall, Johnson, or Hamilton make the play.

 

[mrmk5110]

I sure did a double take seeing teams like WVU, UCF, MissSU as high as they were. Don't get the love fest behind Washington either, but they have quite a favorable schedule this year so I can kind of see why they are ranked so high.

On an unrelated note, looks like Lane Kiffin has weaseled his way back into the top 25.

 

[wilbury]

There are a few rankings I don’t quite get. I think PSU is probably 8 spots too low. Washington at 4 seems too high. They lost their best defensive player and the pac 12 defender of the year. They also lost their best LB. on offense Browning is back. He is decent but I wasn’t overly impressed with him. Gaskin is a good rb. They also lost their best WR in Pettis. I think they are a solid top 15 team but 4 seems too high.

As usual Michigan seems too high. They have a qb who hasn’t played in a while and who didn’t light the world on fire when he played against decent competition. Last year he started 7 games. He had solid games against South Alabama, Tenn Martin, Cal, Aub and vandy. He had poor games v Alabama and LSU. In college he has almost double the int’s as he does td’s. They lost 4 other offensive starters on offense. Their D will be very good.

Their best defensive player wasn't even that great. He spent most of the Fiesta Bowl on his back.

 

[olelion]

https://www.si.com/college-football/2018/05/10/preseason-rankings-spring-practice-top-25

The program Moorhead left behind should be in decent shape even without All-America running back and No. 2 pick Saquon Barkley. Promoted offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne can take comfort in dangerous dual-threat quarterback Trace McSorley’s experience as well as the presence of a promising fill-in for Barkley in junior Miles Sanders (375 rushing yards, 6.7 yards per carry in his first two seasons). Freshman linebacker Micah Parsons, the 247Sports Composite’s No. 5 overall player in the class of 2018, could be ready to wreck Big Ten offensive gameplans from the jump. He notched a game-high eight tackles and a sack in the spring game last month. Sophomore Lamont Wade acquitted himself well after switching from cornerback to safety.

1. Alabama

2. Clemson

3. Ohio State

4. Washington

5. Wisconsin

6. Miami

7. Oklahoma

8. Georgia

9. TCU

10. Michigan State

11. Stanford

12. West Virginia

13. Michigan

14. UCF

15. USC

16. Auburn

17. Mississippi State

18. Penn State

19. Virginia Tech

20. Notre Dame

21. Oregon

22. Boise State

23. Texas

24. FAU

25. FSU

This one is a bit of an outlier compared to other publications. Franklin still not getting credit for making sure "the little things" are taken care of. He is a very good coach.

 

[The_Unit]

I’m not a believer in Michigan State.

 

[psugisher]

I think they're judging us by how much we lost and not much else. I think one of the things that's overlooked is that in our numerous blowout wins, our future starters got a lot of playing time going against other team's starters. Backups are often really good players that are just behind another older great player. I see an overall small drop off from last year's team that could've played for a national title. Depending on how things break, that could be enough to play for a national title this year.

 

[Obliviax]

Their best defensive player wasn't even that great. He spent most of the Fiesta Bowl on his back.

not against us...but he did go #12 overall in the draft. Vita Vea

 

[ILLINOISLION]

not against us...but he did go #12 overall in the draft. Vita Vea

And I remember he made an outstanding play on one of our punt returns.

 

[PSU20]

LOL

In that series, PSU hit OSU with a couple big gainers in the RPO (with McSorley pulling the ball and throwing) to get into scoring territory..... and, once PSU got down inside the 10, OSU was very aware and very "spread" on defense - for a team backed up in their own red zone.

From inside the 10..... PSU ran two Read-Options.
On both of them McSorley kept the ball (the first was a decent gain, the second just a yard or so)........ but, on either of them, if he gives to Barkley, Barkley sprints untouched to the pylon (you can go check the tape).
That is neither a scheme or a play-calling issue..... it was just a read by McSorley that was sub-optimal (I wouldn't even call it a "mistake" per se)

The third attempt, from about the 3, was just blown up when one of the PSU OL (Mahon?) was powned on the LOS.



To think they "didn't go for the jugular" on that drive ..... is just silly.
(In fact, despite the fact that they couldn't pass block worth a damn in the 4th quarter, they converted after being set back on a holding penalty - in pass protection - and with McS running around for his life to hit some huge plays downfield.)
Quite frankly, in that drive, the play calls were outstanding - even though they were living on the edge trying to block the OSU pass rush w guys who were simply not up to the task.

You are correct that they couldn't pass block but they could run block either, and we lost the game with those silly RPO's. The Buckeyes knew exactly what we were going to run and stuffed us.

 

[PSU20]

nothing like a healthy debate.....

 

[Nitwit97]

National writers don't know squat. I am sure they see PSU as being Barkley and Moorhead. They have no idea what PSU & CJF went through with sanctions before Moorhead got here and the national emergence of #26 (who, the national press believes, was born on new years day as a soph in the rose bowl). Honestly, that list looks like every pre-season college football poll from the last ten years (AL, Clemson, Ohio State, Washington, etc.). Not a lot of creativity there.

There is your winning answer. Funny, other teams lose outstanding players and they don’t bat an eyelash. But they believe that Barkley leaving will make the wheels come off. Unreal. Can’t wait to serve them some big meaty sh*tburgers this fall. The hinge game is the last weekend in September, already counting the days!!!

 

[Judge Smails]

Michigan - Their D will be very good.

We didn't seem to have many problems with it.

 

[Chickenman Testa]

We didn't seem to have many problems with it.

Yup - pretty easy to audible to a wheel route when the defense is covering the best RB in the game with a linebacker.

And then there was poor Chase Winovich. Oy vey.

 

[NittPicker]

And then there was poor Chase Winovich. Oy vey.

I forgot about that guy. His older brother wasn't offered a scholarship by PSU therefore the younger brother hates us. Never mind the fact his brother's offers, according to Rivals, were MAC schools and Richmond. Nothing from Michigan but apparently the younger Winovich is OK with that.

 

[Judge Smails]

Yup - pretty easy to audible to a wheel route when the defense is covering the best RB in the game with a linebacker.

And then there was poor Chase Winovich. Oy vey.

Or press cover our slot receiver with a safety. That should work out well for you.

 

[fairfaxlion2]

Sorry, I wasn’t all that impressed with Moorhead last year. Honestly think Rahne did a great job vs Wash and now with the time he’s had since then I think things will only be better this fall.

Yep. It was time for Moorhead to go. Loss at OSU can be entirely placed on him.

Moorhead didn’t leave a program behind he is not the coach. 18 is way too low

 

[Judge Smails]

One thing I'd like to see is Trace make a big jump in his throwing efficiency. IIRC he's hovered around 155 passing efficiency. The elite quarterbacks are at 170, 180 or so. Baker Mayfield, Kerry Collins, etc. Minimizing those airmailed throws that we see fairly regularly.

He handles everything else spectacularly, from the RPO, pressure in the pocket, picking up positive yards instead of taking sacks, etc. But to go from very good to ELITE, would love to see him really dominate throwing the ball.

 

[berklion]

Va Tech at 19? I didn't think they were ever out of the top 10 in pre-season polls