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Saturday's Game:

bjf1984

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Sep 8, 2014
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Certainly, I think the smart money would be on PSU.

That said, I can't help but feel this game could turn into a complete abortion for both offenses.
Lots of three and outs.....the type of game that - unless you are a rabid fan of one of the teams - would be unwatchable.

That would - I am afraid - bode poorly for PSU, because it then becomes a game that can be controlled by the punting teams (when every 4th snap is a punt, the punt game becomes the one item that can determine field position).

Just for grins, I took a look back at last years game:

There were THIRTY offensive possessions in the game (so, obviously, an average "drive time" of 2:00 minutes)
Temple had 10 possessions of 2 minutes or less (6 of 1 minute or less): PSU had 7 of 2 minutes or less (6 of 1 minute or less)
That's incredible.

If things play out anywhere along those lines on Saturday, and barring Walker having another game where he imitates a Junior High QB (and Walker - not withstanding his game against us - really isn't that bad of a QB), the PSU punt game could be the nightmare scenario.
I could really see a game where Temple is consistently working with a short field, and PSU is bottled up in their own end for 3/4 of the game......thanks to Temple gaining 10-20 yards of field position on each punt exchange.

If that happens - even if Temple struggles to gain 250 yards of offense in the game (which I think will be the case) - they could be in position to add 2 or 3 cheap field goals due to short fields, and come away with a 16-7ish win.
That type of outcome wouldn't surprise me at all.

Again, the smart money would be on PSU, and if either offense is going to be able to put forth a decent or good effort, it is far more likely (IMHO) to be Penn State's. But the uglier the game is, the more the PSU punting issues will influence the outcome.

All in all, I'd be satisfied to get out of this one with a 13-10 win. A solid win by more than one score would just be gravy.
 
Certainly, I think the smart money would be on PSU.

That said, I can't help but feel this game could turn into a complete abortion for both offenses.
Lots of three and outs.....the type of game that - unless you are a rabid fan of one of the teams - would be unwatchable.

That would - I am afraid - bode poorly for PSU, because it then becomes a game that can be controlled by the punting teams (when every 4th snap is a punt, the punt game becomes the one item that can determine field position).

Just for grins, I took a look back at last years game:

There were THIRTY offensive possessions in the game (so, obviously, an average "drive time" of 2:00 minutes)
Temple had 10 possessions of 2 minutes or less (6 of 1 minute or less): PSU had 7 of 2 minutes or less (6 of 1 minute or less)
That's incredible.

If things play out anywhere along those lines on Saturday, and barring Walker having another game where he imitates a Junior High QB (and Walker - not withstanding his game against us - really isn't that bad of a QB), the PSU punt game could be the nightmare scenario.
I could really see a game where Temple is consistently working with a short field, and PSU is bottled up in their own end for 3/4 of the game......thanks to Temple gaining 10-20 yards of field position on each punt exchange.

If that happens - even if Temple struggles to gain 250 yards of offense in the game (which I think will be the case) - they could be in position to add 2 or 3 cheap field goals due to short fields, and come away with a 16-7ish win.
That type of outcome wouldn't surprise me at all.

Again, the smart money would be on PSU, and if either offense is going to be able to put forth a decent or good effort, it is far more likely (IMHO) to be Penn State's. But the uglier the game is, the more the PSU punting issues will influence the outcome.

All in all, I'd be satisfied to get out of this one with a 13-10 win. A solid win by more than one score would just be gravy.
Really optimistic there Bucky
 
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Certainly, I think the smart money would be on PSU.

That said, I can't help but feel this game could turn into a complete abortion for both offenses.
Lots of three and outs.....the type of game that - unless you are a rabid fan of one of the teams - would be unwatchable.

That would - I am afraid - bode poorly for PSU, because it then becomes a game that can be controlled by the punting teams (when every 4th snap is a punt, the punt game becomes the one item that can determine field position).

Just for grins, I took a look back at last years game:

There were THIRTY offensive possessions in the game (so, obviously, an average "drive time" of 2:00 minutes)
Temple had 10 possessions of 2 minutes or less (6 of 1 minute or less): PSU had 7 of 2 minutes or less (6 of 1 minute or less)
That's incredible.

If things play out anywhere along those lines on Saturday, and barring Walker having another game where he imitates a Junior High QB (and Walker - not withstanding his game against us - really isn't that bad of a QB), the PSU punt game could be the nightmare scenario.
I could really see a game where Temple is consistently working with a short field, and PSU is bottled up in their own end for 3/4 of the game......thanks to Temple gaining 10-20 yards of field position on each punt exchange.

If that happens - even if Temple struggles to gain 250 yards of offense in the game (which I think will be the case) - they could be in position to add 2 or 3 cheap field goals due to short fields, and come away with a 16-7ish win.
That type of outcome wouldn't surprise me at all.

Again, the smart money would be on PSU, and if either offense is going to be able to put forth a decent or good effort, it is far more likely (IMHO) to be Penn State's. But the uglier the game is, the more the PSU punting issues will influence the outcome.

All in all, I'd be satisfied to get out of this one with a 13-10 win. A solid win by more than one score would just be gravy.

I've never been a big predictor of scores but I will be shocked if we are held to even close to 7 points. Someone is going to have to explain to me how the defense that we ran on for 250+ yards late last season, in a year when we couldn't run on anyone, is going to stymie us so completely. I simply can't understand that thinking.
 
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Really optimistic there Bucky
I think PSU will win......I consider that optimistic.

I think it COULD be an UGLY game, and that PSU's punt game could be terrible......I consider that realistic
(as evidenced by last year's game that was an UGLY-fest - 6-3 at the half thanks to a 50 yard FG as time expired - until Temple then turned the ball over 5 times on the next 7 possessions)
 
I've never been a big predictor of scores but I will be shocked if we are held to even close to 7 points. Someone is going to have to explain to me how the defense that we ran on for 250+ yards late last season, in a year when we couldn't run on anyone, is going to stymie us so completely. I simply can't understand that thinking.
Worry wart syndrome.
 
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I am in the same thinking of Sagarins with a 2 score win, perhaps 10-14 more. If not we will have bigger issues than we thought going forward.
 
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I've never been a big predictor of scores but I will be shocked if we are held to even close to 7 points. Someone is going to have to explain to me how the defense that we ran on for 250+ yards late last season, in a year when we couldn't run on anyone, is going to stymie us so completely. I simply can't understand that thinking.
PSU's offense had the ball for over TWENTY-ONE minutes of the first half last year....the defense absolutely STONED the Temple offense. Six Temple possessions - 5 three and outs.
But........PSU only had 2 FGs (one a 50 yarder).
This year, we don't have Ficken (and - quite frankly - I doubt if any FG over 30 yards is any better than a 50-50 shot this year......though I will hope to be pleasantly surprised).

Until Temple (and the PSU defense) started giving the PSU offense the ball in scoring position (not to mention the pick-six), the PSU offense did squadoosh - so, yes, I can explain how that could happen. It's basically what happened last year......without Walker channeling his inner "Michael Robinson:Iowa:2002" self :-(

I don't think it will. I do think the PSU offense will be better than last year......but I don't expect it to be great, and it COULD be lousy (again), especially in a season-opener, and the Temple defense certainly COULDN'T be put in any worse of a position than they were last year.

Hopefully, PSU puts up 40 on Temple......but I think it would be pretty unfair to EXPECT that, or to be unhappy if PSU wins a low-scoring defense-dominated game. That's all.
 
PSU's offense had the ball for over TWENTY-ONE minutes of the first half last year....the defense absolutely STONED the Temple offense. Six Temple possessions - 5 three and outs.
But........PSU only had 2 FGs (one a 50 yarder).
This year, we don't have Ficken (and - quite frankly - I doubt if any FG over 30 yards is any better than a 50-50 shot this year......though I will hope to be pleasantly surprised).

Until Temple (and the PSU defense) started giving the PSU offense the ball in scoring position (not to mention the pick-six), the PSU offense did squadoosh - so, yes, I can explain how that could happen. It's basically what happened last year......without Walker channeling his inner "Michael Robinson:Iowa:2002" self :-(

I don't think it will. I do think the PSU offense will be better than last year......but I don't expect it to be great, and it COULD be lousy (again), especially in a season-opener, and the Temple defense certainly COULDN'T be put in any worse of a position than they were last year.

Hopefully, PSU puts up 40 on Temple......but I think it would be pretty unfair to EXPECT that, or to be unhappy if PSU wins a low-scoring defense-dominated game. That's all.

Not sure I saw an explanation in there. Are you suggesting that once again PSU will run successfully against Temple but be unable to finish off drives with points? I guess it's possible, but I don't think you can count on a team having success running the ball but being unable to score. Usually, if you can run, and run at will at times, you win easily. I guess we'll see.
 
Not sure I saw an explanation in there. Are you suggesting that once again PSU will run successfully against Temple but be unable to finish off drives with points? I guess it's possible, but I don't think you can count on a team having success running the ball but being unable to score. Usually, if you can run, and run at will at times, you win easily. I guess we'll see.

The explanation is that, last year - until Temple's O/PSU's D starting up the turnover machine, the PSU Offense did squat. And it would be silly to think that couldn't happen again.....and if this time Walker doesn't turn the ball over 5 times in a half, it could be ugly.
That's not a prognostication....just something well within the realm of possibility given what happened last year.

Don't forget, most of that PSU run game was in the form of three long runs, in the second half, against a completely gassed and demoralized Temple D (they had been on the field for - literally - an entire normal game's worth of time .....in the first half). Before Temple's D was gassed (remember, PSU had the ball for well over 20 minutes of the first half), Penn State tailbacks ran 23 times in the first half......for 78 yards. It's not like they came out and imposed their will on the Temple front seven. BOTH offenses were being dominated by the opposing defenses.

I think....based on last year's final score....people are getting a very distorted outlook.
PSU may very well put up 40......but that's only gonna' happen if the PSU offense plays a LOT better than what we saw last year.
I do expect to see improvement on Offense.....but unless and until we do, another effort like last year (barring the defense coming up with a half-dozen turnovers) could make things very winnable for the Owls.
 
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Temple always gives PSU fits ... this year will be no different.

A close game magnifies every nuance of a team's character and ability. The inability to maintain field position advantage when punting the ball to the opponent, over the course of a game, makes the opponent that much better. They have less fear when they are not playing against their own goal line - their play book expands. Consequently, their 20 - 25 yard drive moves the ball into long field goal or short punt situation and your poor special teams play creates much bigger obstacles to overcome.

Over the summer, I watched several opponent's "classic" games on BTN - the ones where their opponent was PSU (last year). The opponent's advantage in special teams was pronounced. Is there going to be an improvement in that facet of the game?

I sure hope so.
 
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The explanation is that, last year - until Temple's O/PSU's D starting up the turnover machine, the PSU Offense did squat. And it would be silly to think that couldn't happen again.....
Yes, but silly is the status quo among *some posters* here, so why change now?
 
Certainly, I think the smart money would be on PSU.

That said, I can't help but feel this game could turn into a complete abortion for both offenses.
Lots of three and outs.....the type of game that - unless you are a rabid fan of one of the teams - would be unwatchable.

That would - I am afraid - bode poorly for PSU, because it then becomes a game that can be controlled by the punting teams (when every 4th snap is a punt, the punt game becomes the one item that can determine field position).

Just for grins, I took a look back at last years game:

There were THIRTY offensive possessions in the game (so, obviously, an average "drive time" of 2:00 minutes)
Temple had 10 possessions of 2 minutes or less (6 of 1 minute or less): PSU had 7 of 2 minutes or less (6 of 1 minute or less)
That's incredible.

If things play out anywhere along those lines on Saturday, and barring Walker having another game where he imitates a Junior High QB (and Walker - not withstanding his game against us - really isn't that bad of a QB), the PSU punt game could be the nightmare scenario.
I could really see a game where Temple is consistently working with a short field, and PSU is bottled up in their own end for 3/4 of the game......thanks to Temple gaining 10-20 yards of field position on each punt exchange.

If that happens - even if Temple struggles to gain 250 yards of offense in the game (which I think will be the case) - they could be in position to add 2 or 3 cheap field goals due to short fields, and come away with a 16-7ish win.
That type of outcome wouldn't surprise me at all.

Again, the smart money would be on PSU, and if either offense is going to be able to put forth a decent or good effort, it is far more likely (IMHO) to be Penn State's. But the uglier the game is, the more the PSU punting issues will influence the outcome.

All in all, I'd be satisfied to get out of this one with a 13-10 win. A solid win by more than one score would just be gravy.

with almost identical rosters, PSU won 30-13 last year. There were a ton of turnovers, sloppy game. But PSU physically wore down T. This year's team is much more physical than last year's team. Lynch at 130 yards rushing, T popped a 75 yard pass for a TD. I don't know why this year's game would be worse than last years. This PSU team is much more prepared, rested, deeper and physical than last years.

Baring massive turnovers, PSU wins this one.
 
There have been a wide range of predictions on this game, from a 1 point Penn State victory, to my predicting us to win by 21 or more. I don't know of anyone, other than a Temple troll or two, that has predicted Temple will win. As the week has gone on, the predictions for a larger Penn State victory (17 points or more) have increased in number. As I have said, with no National Championship reasonably in reach for us this year, I really don't care if we win by 1 or 100, and that's true for all our games, even Buffalo. Coming off sanctions, any win is meaningful. I just want us to be 6-0 headed into Ohio State, and I don't care if every single win is by 1. That said, I continue to predict this will be a Penn State blowout, 21 points or better. We'll know soon enough.
 
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with almost identical rosters, PSU won 30-13 last year. There were a ton of turnovers, sloppy game. But PSU physically wore down T. This year's team is much more physical than last year's team. Lynch at 130 yards rushing, T popped a 75 yard pass for a TD. I don't know why this year's game would be worse than last years. This PSU team is much more prepared, rested, deeper and physical than last years.

Baring massive turnovers, PSU wins this one.

"with almost identical rosters, PSU won 30-13 last year"

True, which is - kinda' - why I would be very cautious about this game.
Because, with essentially the same rosters.....last year's game was a 6-6 game in the middle of the third quarter - with each offense working to "out-ugly" the other.
Temple won the "ugly contest"....with 5 turnovers in the last 20 minutes of the game.

Otherwise, that Temple game was on the same track as the Rutgers, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan and Indiana games....and as we saw, all of those games came down to the final minutes to see which offense would be able to scratch out a couple of first downs. PSU came out on top in a few, and came up short in a few.


I think PSU will win......but I don't expect it to be pretty - and judging by the comments from most PSU fans, I expect a whole lot of folks might be apoplectic with how the game progresses (if PSU doesn't dominate the Owls).
I'll be relatively happy if PSU comes out a 13-10 winner.....so long as they win.
 
"with almost identical rosters, PSU won 30-13 last year"

True, which is - kinda' - why I would be very cautious about this game.
Because, with essentially the same rosters.....last year's game was a 6-6 game in the middle of the third quarter - with each offense working to "out-ugly" the other.
Temple won the "ugly contest"....with 5 turnovers in the last 20 minutes of the game.

Otherwise, that Temple game was on the same track as the Rutgers, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan and Indiana games....and as we saw, all of those games came down to the final minutes to see which offense would be able to scratch out a couple of first downs. PSU came out on top in a few, and came up short in a few.


I think PSU will win......but I don't expect it to be pretty - and judging by the comments from most PSU fans, I expect a whole lot of folks might be apoplectic with how the game progresses (if PSU doesn't dominate the Owls).

I think you are missing a couple of key points. The offensive line was at its worst, last year, versus T. We were in the middle of a 2-6 run. The team was running with a totally new staff who lost preparation time having to deal with the Dublin game. The WR were all new. We had lost ZZ. Hack had developed "happy feet" by that point in the season.

Our biggest threat is a) Paris Palmer flaming out and b) kicking. I expect us to be a much better passing team (last year we had 112 yards and two INTs) and as good in the rushing game. I expect our defense to be dominating. I am not overlooking Temple, they are a good team, but not better than last year and we will be better than last year.
 
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