Normally, 9 wins against 2 losses is considered good. Not with this PSU team. They're horriffic. 
So, PSU is 9-2. Absolutely horriffic at football, but 9-2.
- Thread starter BobPSU92
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People had sky high expectations after last season. CJF did nothing to discourage the expectations.
If Ohio State had simply pounded us, people could live with that. Gagging up a big lead to blow an undefeated season is always going to create angst. That's where the negativity started.
If Ohio State had simply pounded us, people could live with that. Gagging up a big lead to blow an undefeated season is always going to create angst. That's where the negativity started.
Disappointing losses for sure, but still 9-2. They're awful from what I read here, but still 9-2.
By the way, I can imagine the reaction here had Penn State gotten "pounded" by Tosu.
Yeah, folks here would have "simply lived with it".
Fans are often more about "what could have been" than what is. If PSU ends 10-2, that will be a good record. With the 3 game stretch of UM, tOSU and MSU I thought that 10-2 was the best possible finish they'd have this year. In hindsight - with PSU losing the 2 road games by a total of 4 points - it is understandable that fans would fantasize about what could have been. Too bad that no matter how hard you try you can't change the results.
The trouble with college football fans today is if their team doesn't make the playoffs , there is this what's the use, it doesn't matter, i don't care attitude.
That is totally immature for anyone especially a PS fan.
This is what ND fans do, and any team base in the SEC.Great coaches like Phil Fulmer, Dan Devine, Bob Davie, Mark Richt, were ousted by greedy fan bases.
Coach Franklin is doing a fantastic job, and the team is a highly motivated goal seeking squad . When a QB goes 16 for 16 in a quarter, and you have a 3 1/2 hour delay, well it's just not your day.
Bottom line to some fans - Grow the F up.
That is totally immature for anyone especially a PS fan.
This is what ND fans do, and any team base in the SEC.Great coaches like Phil Fulmer, Dan Devine, Bob Davie, Mark Richt, were ousted by greedy fan bases.
Coach Franklin is doing a fantastic job, and the team is a highly motivated goal seeking squad . When a QB goes 16 for 16 in a quarter, and you have a 3 1/2 hour delay, well it's just not your day.
Bottom line to some fans - Grow the F up.
That's a bit dramatic Bob. I don't think many people believe PSU is a horrific team. They're just concerned that the team sometimes hasn't lived up to expectations.Normally, 9 wins against 2 losses is considered good. Not with this PSU team. They're horriffic.
The OL really struggled last year but they seemed to improve late in the year. Every player returned except for Gaia who wasn't viewed as a strong player anyway. People were talking about Barkley improving his rushing stats from 1,500 yards to perhaps 2,000 yards. Instead Barkley only has 1,076 yards with just one regular season game remaining. We've gone backwards. I'm not sure if it's the kids or if opponents have caught on to Moorehead's scheme but they've definitely not lived up to expectations.
Gesicki was awesome the last half of last year so expectations were sky high. Do you think he's improved? Not me! I think he's a very good receiver and we don't use him enough in the red zone but he certainly hasn't lived up to expectations. Hamilton, on the other hand, has had an excellent senior year. Johnson & Thompkins have been good but they don't adjust to the ball like Godwin.
PSU's DTs looked really good late last year and I expected that to continue this year. Not so much. They aren't bad but they certainly haven't lived up to expectations IMO. Perhaps it's because they aren't getting help from the DEs. Now we'll be losing Chavis, Cothran, and Cothren. We're really going to need players like Ellison & Shelton to step up next year.
We knew that DE could be a problem. It's really a shame that Sickels didn't return. Then Brown went down early and now Buchholz. Miller and Toney are too small and too young. Simmons has been a bit slow to develop. No fault there, just one of those things.
We knew we had a problem at LB and they've played about as expected. Next year we could take a step back with Cabinda and Smith gone. That position is going to take time. I don't see us returning to LBU any time soon.
The secondary lost a couple of kids like Golden but had a lot returning. Marcus Allen had 81 tackles as a sophmore and 110 as a junior. Only 60 with 1 regular season game remaining this year which is a significant drop off. Losing Reid really hurt (Campbell is good but not as good as Reid). Haley has been OK. McPhearson & Wade looked lost yesterday which is discouraging. Taylor was a highly rated recruit but has hardly moved up the depth chart.
Bottom line is that this is a good team but some areas haven't improved which is a cause for concern. I think fans will be generally happy if the team can beat Maryland and win a NY6 Bowl game. Anything less will be a bit disappointing given the expectations.
The only concern I have as others have mentioned is did the team improve. The OL play and the DL play of blitzing and not getting pressure concerns me. Is it the X and O's or Jimmy and Joe's. I thought 10-2 was where this team would end up at the beginning of the season so I can't complain.
But I like seeing improvement and that improvement is with coaching as much as playing.
They have a very favorable home away schedule next year. I was hoping that improvements would allow for a nice continuation of this run even with 26 moving on. I still think they are favored in most of their games next year. Ohio State, Mich State, Iowa, and Wisky all at home next year.
But I like seeing improvement and that improvement is with coaching as much as playing.
They have a very favorable home away schedule next year. I was hoping that improvements would allow for a nice continuation of this run even with 26 moving on. I still think they are favored in most of their games next year. Ohio State, Mich State, Iowa, and Wisky all at home next year.
I think a lot of the outraged posters gave the points yesterday. Just sayin.
gave the points yesterday. Just sayin.
Who's expectations? Fan bases may not have the most realistic expectations all the time.
I never have a confident feeling with this team going into a game against any half decent team on the road. And this has largely been borne out, with the exception of the Northwestern game. Yes, they are 9-2, but it just doesn't seem like a solid 9-2 to me.
This is one reason the playoff isn't good for football. It ruins the bowls. Once you are out of it, it feels like a lost season. And it shouldn't ........ This was and still is a good year.
I think it is as much or more about the how and how close, neither have been positive for Penn State.
Taking quarters or halves off, being in position for more and earlier scores, and in spite of this being less than a touchdown away from an undefeated season.
This could be said about every team in college football if you break down all their games by quarters and halves. No team dominates every quarter of every game. No team capitalizes on all their scoring opportunities. We just see it more with Penn State because we watch every play of every quarter closely.
FIRE. EVERY. COACH.In other words, FIRE. FRANKLIN.
Are you under the impression this is the same exact team every year? Did godwin ,bell, golden, and sickles improve?
Its just the fact they lost two games by a total of 4 points that irks everyone. If they weren't winnable games that is one thing, but clearly both were winnable and a few costly mistakes were made. I think the MSU one was the bigger kick to the groin. If PSU wins one of those games i don't think we hear the griping nearly as much.
I predicted 10-2 at beginning of year so not surprised, its just the way we lost those games that is tough to stomach. Its ok for fans to be disappointed, otherwise be a fan of Pitt and enjoy moral victories like yesterday.
Small margin for error in CFB, its so hard to get into final 4 let alone win the championship. Sure would have been nice with this core to see us on big stage, even the B1G championship again which if we just held on against OSU would have happened.
I predicted 10-2 at beginning of year so not surprised, its just the way we lost those games that is tough to stomach. Its ok for fans to be disappointed, otherwise be a fan of Pitt and enjoy moral victories like yesterday.
Small margin for error in CFB, its so hard to get into final 4 let alone win the championship. Sure would have been nice with this core to see us on big stage, even the B1G championship again which if we just held on against OSU would have happened.
As I posted above, I don't buy this one bit. For many here, it was 12-0 or else. The expectations for many were sky high. No way would they have accepted a blowout loss (or two). This place would have imploded had Penn State been blown out.
Best barometer for Franklin and the team is fans showing up for the game. Damn good crowd for that opponent and that weather. Fans bitching and complaining on a message board are a miniscule fraction of the fanbase.
Of course not, but I did think a young OL would get better as a unit over the full season. They don't seem any better as a unit.
They certainly looked better yesterday....I know it was Nebraska, but they're still a P5 team with four wins....it's not like they're 0-11.
As I said last week, if we can’t go 12-0, we might as well go 0-12.
About time you finally got it. What have you been cooking up under the hood all these years Bob?
I agree but yesterday was not a great barometer. All I want is a line that can get you 3rd and 2 or 3 consistently. This team was all about big plays, they had trouble grinding.
I'm actually WAY more concerned with the D. The O did their job scoring more than enough points. The D never got pressure even with a lot of blitzing.
I agree...the blitzing is disturbing. I'm not sure if it's the players or the scheme, but we always seem to send the house yet still get little to no pressure on the QB. Are the players a step slow or do they run directly into a blocker (which is what it looks like).
And ESPN and all other networks covering the sport only make it worse by making the final four and the Heisman vote all that matters from about October 3rd forward. Frankly this focus is a dis-service to the 126 Division 1 schools who will not make the playoffs. All of which work just as hard day after day for five grueling months and put up outstanding performances under all types of conditions.
I don't know if it's players or schemes but all it did was to leave the DB's in a world of hurt. And they kept doing it over and over. QB pressure is a must going forward, they have to find a way.
You really think that? I read a lot of over reaction to everything on this board. Bob is right, the torches and pitchforks would have been out if PSU got pounded by OSU. The OUTRAGE would have been ten-fold.
My take on improvement. College football is not a linear sport. Teams such as Bama, Clemson, and OSU have success year in and year out because of recruiting and coaching. Other teams have good coaching and make a run every few years with an experienced team and fall the next year.
PSU is entering a period of trying to be consistent year in and year out and compete with OSU, Clemson and Bama. This means the staff has to be flexible.
Last year's team took off after the loss to Michigan. They started notoriously slow and got some breaks and the offense worked by running Barkley and throwing deep. Basically, they were an explosive offense that relied on explosive plays. The offense changed last year when they allowed McSorley to run the ball. Their DL was experienced. A problem was that the team lacked depth, but still had talent.
This year's team is totally different. The offense starts fast. The defense plays light out in the first half. The offense relied on Barkley and more sustained drives. Still explosive, but they don't rely on it as much as last year. Everything changed after the Iowa game. Barkley was a leading candidate for the Heisman and chalking up yards running and catching the ball. Opponents decided after that game that Barkley wouldn't beat them and keyed on him. See Rutgers hit Barkley even when he didn't have the ball b/c they were keying that he would. The offense adapted to this. They could no longer run the ball and the OL run blocking became problematic. The offense relied more on underneath passes and then began to take more shots deep. Barkley was used more as a decoy and McSorley had to step up.
The OL still lacks depth and the DL is not as experienced nor as talented. So, when the most talented and experienced players go down, it is noticeable. Last year, the defense got stronger as the game went on. Not so this year as evidenced in the OSU and MSU game.
Special teams were immensely improved until the last couple of games.
I don't see this as a coaching problem, but a coaching success that the staff has adapted and is flexible and has won in different ways based on different personnel and what the opponents are doing.
As for individual player success, the biggest jump should be from sophomore to junior, so it isn't surprising that Gesiecki hasn't improved, but he also hasn't regressed. I don't think Barkley has regressed either. It is just that teams schemed to limit his ability. McSorley has improved as has other receivers and special teams. The DL this year is simply not as good as last year and haven't been able to pressure the QB like last year.
Next year will be different again and would expect to see some leaps on the OL and DL. Johnson looks like he is ready to take over from Godwin and Hamilton. I'm sure that there are others that will shine in the coming months. The future looks bright.
Even if the record drops next year, with the talent recruited in the past couple of years, 2019 should be a banner year.
PSU is entering a period of trying to be consistent year in and year out and compete with OSU, Clemson and Bama. This means the staff has to be flexible.
Last year's team took off after the loss to Michigan. They started notoriously slow and got some breaks and the offense worked by running Barkley and throwing deep. Basically, they were an explosive offense that relied on explosive plays. The offense changed last year when they allowed McSorley to run the ball. Their DL was experienced. A problem was that the team lacked depth, but still had talent.
This year's team is totally different. The offense starts fast. The defense plays light out in the first half. The offense relied on Barkley and more sustained drives. Still explosive, but they don't rely on it as much as last year. Everything changed after the Iowa game. Barkley was a leading candidate for the Heisman and chalking up yards running and catching the ball. Opponents decided after that game that Barkley wouldn't beat them and keyed on him. See Rutgers hit Barkley even when he didn't have the ball b/c they were keying that he would. The offense adapted to this. They could no longer run the ball and the OL run blocking became problematic. The offense relied more on underneath passes and then began to take more shots deep. Barkley was used more as a decoy and McSorley had to step up.
The OL still lacks depth and the DL is not as experienced nor as talented. So, when the most talented and experienced players go down, it is noticeable. Last year, the defense got stronger as the game went on. Not so this year as evidenced in the OSU and MSU game.
Special teams were immensely improved until the last couple of games.
I don't see this as a coaching problem, but a coaching success that the staff has adapted and is flexible and has won in different ways based on different personnel and what the opponents are doing.
As for individual player success, the biggest jump should be from sophomore to junior, so it isn't surprising that Gesiecki hasn't improved, but he also hasn't regressed. I don't think Barkley has regressed either. It is just that teams schemed to limit his ability. McSorley has improved as has other receivers and special teams. The DL this year is simply not as good as last year and haven't been able to pressure the QB like last year.
Next year will be different again and would expect to see some leaps on the OL and DL. Johnson looks like he is ready to take over from Godwin and Hamilton. I'm sure that there are others that will shine in the coming months. The future looks bright.
Even if the record drops next year, with the talent recruited in the past couple of years, 2019 should be a banner year.
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