Some 28-point W's over inferior teams make you feel good...and some don't

[Jerry]

Northwestern today does not.

Our D is dominant and showed that again. However, our O: not so much.

It used to be you could win a national championship on the strength of great D alone. Those days are long gone.

Drew missed some throws, and we lack a serious deep threat, but that's not the issue. Drew is still settling in. Anyone who thought he would be an instant superstar was kidding themselves.

Our running game, on the other hand, is an issue. You need a respectable running game to win this league, but we couldn't average 4 even Yards Per Carry against the worst rushing D in the conference. That follows similarly shaky numbers against Illinois and Iowa.

Potts, the Minnesota transfer, is a ray of light. I'd like to see a lot more of him.

No way we win in Columbus at this level on O.

Then again, each game has its own dynamic, so who knows.

 

[knickslions]

Northwestern today does not.

Our D is dominant and showed that again. However, our O: not so much.

It used to be you could win a national championship on the strength of great D alone. Those days are long gone.

Drew missed some throws, and we lack a serious deep threat, but that's not the issue. Drew is still settling in. Anyone who thought he would be an instant superstar was kidding themselves.

Our running game, on the other hand, is an issue. You need a respectable running game to win this league, but we couldn't average 4 even Yards Per Carry against the worst rushing D in the conference. That follows similarly shaky numbers against Illinois and Iowa.

Potts, the Minnesota transfer, is a ray of light. I'd like to see a lot more of him.

No way we win in Columbus at this level on O.

Then again, each game has its own dynamic, so who knows.

What scares you about Ohio state. This isn’t their teams of the past. Their offense is not good

 

[LandoComando]

What scares you about Ohio state. This isn’t their teams of the past. Their offense is not good

But their defense is and our offense is very bad. They still have Harrison who will be the best player on the field as well.

 

[AWS1022]

Northwestern today does not.

Our D is dominant and showed that again. However, our O: not so much.

It used to be you could win a national championship on the strength of great D alone. Those days are long gone.

Drew missed some throws, and we lack a serious deep threat, but that's not the issue. Drew is still settling in. Anyone who thought he would be an instant superstar was kidding themselves.

Our running game, on the other hand, is an issue. You need a respectable running game to win this league, but we couldn't average 4 even Yards Per Carry against the worst rushing D in the conference. That follows similarly shaky numbers against Illinois and Iowa.

Potts, the Minnesota transfer, is a ray of light. I'd like to see a lot more of him.

No way we win in Columbus at this level on O.

Then again, each game has its own dynamic, so who knows.

Our running game isn’t good enough to beat OSU, but we’re out rushing them….ok, got it.

 

[rrdd2021]

What scares you about Ohio state. This isn’t their teams of the past. Their offense is not good

Their offense will come around with a new QB and 3 new starters on the OL. Have you seen their defense play? Probably their best defensive unit in 4 to 5 years and it's that unit that's caved under Ryan Day in big games

I guess we'll find out next week as OSU plays an extremely dangerous Maryland team. That could end up being a great game. I don't think anyone can shut down that Maryland offense - they're just explosive

 

[rrdd2021]

But their defense is and our offense is very bad. They still have Harrison who will be the best player on the field as well.

I actually think that their other WR - Egbuka - has shined more than Harrison this year.

 

[ryoder1]

Northwestern today does not.

Our D is dominant and showed that again. However, our O: not so much.

It used to be you could win a national championship on the strength of great D alone. Those days are long gone.

Drew missed some throws, and we lack a serious deep threat, but that's not the issue. Drew is still settling in. Anyone who thought he would be an instant superstar was kidding themselves.

Our running game, on the other hand, is an issue. You need a respectable running game to win this league, but we couldn't average 4 even Yards Per Carry against the worst rushing D in the conference. That follows similarly shaky numbers against Illinois and Iowa.

Potts, the Minnesota transfer, is a ray of light. I'd like to see a lot more of him.

No way we win in Columbus at this level on O.

Then again, each game has its own dynamic, so who knows.

We can win in Columbus. We will play better, the game is a lot mental and we were not going to be mentally sharp today playing NW after a White Out. Just take the win, we won by 28.

My concerns/questions are about Nelson's injury, what about Allen and what about Tre Wallace?

For the WRs, use Clifford more. He is reliable to pick up a first on 3rd and 5-10. Versus OSU, I want to see a heavy dose of our TEs.

Allen has more power than Singleton so we need him to break tackles and grind out yards. Potts seems to be good, so get him on the field.

If Nelson is out then I have no idea how we can adjust.

 

[Gnat91]

You guy’s got DuhOSU stuck in your heads. This years O$u team might lose to Maryland.

 

[LandoComando]

I actually think that their other WR - Egbuka - has shined more than Harrison this year.

Both are great. Harrison's come up with bigger plays. Comes down to McCord.

 

[ND Heaven68]

You guy’s got DuhOSU stuck in your heads. This years O$u team might lose to Maryland.

So could PSU and UM - that Maryland team is DANGEROUS

 

[Gnat91]

So could PSU and UM - that Maryland team is DANGEROUS

Stfu

 

[KCLion]

We can win in Columbus. We will play better, the game is a lot mental and we were not going to be mentally sharp today playing NW after a White Out. Just take the win, we won by 28.

My concerns/questions are about Nelson's injury, what about Allen and what about Tre Wallace?

For the WRs, use Clifford more. He is reliable to pick up a first on 3rd and 5-10. Versus OSU, I want to see a heavy dose of our TEs.

Allen has more power than Singleton so we need him to break tackles and grind out yards. Potts seems to be good, so get him on the field.

If Nelson is out then I have no idea how we can adjust.

I’d like to see 84 make a block.

 

[knickslions]

But their defense is and our offense is very bad. They still have Harrison who will be the best player on the field as well.

The offense is real bad? Come on you’re better than that.

 

[YYZ86]

So could PSU and UM - that Maryland team is DANGEROUS

Unlike the Irish

 

[ND Heaven68]

I actually think that their other WR - Egbuka - has shined more than Harrison this year.

That Egbuka - and the OSU QB - killed us down the stretch. That OSU QB is going to be really good down the road

 

[rrdd2021]

That Egbuka - and the OSU QB - killed us down the stretch. That OSU QB is going to be really good down the road

The PAC 12 gets all the publicity for top QBs, but the B1G East has 4 really good ones too in McCarthy, Allar, the OSU kid and the Maryland QB. That Maryland QB might be the best of the bunch. Man, he's great

 

[JWB389]

I think we tend to look at our own team and judge expected performance on what we see. In reality, these performances happen to everybody. We’re fine. Only one team wins it all. You need some luck along the way and you’ll play some bad games. Drew is young. This may not be a championship team. Enjoy them regardless.

 

[LandoComando]

The offense is real bad? Come on you’re better than that.

You're right. We're average but they rely on long sustained drives which won't end well against better teams. The lack of explosive plays is problematic especially against Ohio State and Michigan.

Notre Dame isn't elite but their offense is better than ours right now and Ohio State suffocated them last week.

 

[Jerry]

We can win in Columbus. We will play better, the game is a lot mental and we were not going to be mentally sharp today playing NW after a White Out. Just take the win, we won by 28.

My concerns/questions are about Nelson's injury, what about Allen and what about Tre Wallace?

For the WRs, use Clifford more. He is reliable to pick up a first on 3rd and 5-10. Versus OSU, I want to see a heavy dose of our TEs.

Allen has more power than Singleton so we need him to break tackles and grind out yards. Potts seems to be good, so get him on the field.

If Nelson is out then I have no idea how we can adjust.

All good points.

Don't get me wrong. I'll happily take the win and was never concerned about the outcome. In fact, at halftime in the game thread I predicted that NW would score 3 points maximum in the second half.

Also, I totally agree: we can win in Columbus. What I said was that at the same level of performance on offense as was shown against Northwestern, we won't win in Columbus. Ohio State has a top-5 D of its own after all.

Keep in mind, the struggles on O are not a one-game fluke. There's a bit of a pattern now where we can't break the running game loose and have shown little in the way of explosiveness.

That said, each game has its own dynamic, and football, as the saying goes, is a game of emotions. Momentum can shift quickly on the field...sometimes with just one big play. But I do think we've got some issues to iron out on O.

 

[AWS1022]

All good points.

Don't get me wrong. I'll happily take the win and was never concerned about the outcome. In fact, at halftime in the game thread I predicted that NW would score 3 points maximum in the second half.

Also, I totally agree: we can win in Columbus. What I said was that at the same level of performance on offense as was shown against Northwestern, we won't win in Columbus. Ohio State has a top-5 D of its own after all.

Keep in mind, the struggles on O are not a one-game fluke. There's a bit of a pattern now where we can't break the running game loose and have shown little in the way of explosiveness.

That said, each game has its own dynamic, and football, as the saying goes, is a game of emotions. Momentum can shift quickly on the field...sometimes with just one big play. But I do think we've got some issues to iron out on O.

Every game is different. If we beat OSU with 350 yards passing and 50 yards rushing, will everyone be complaining about our running game? If not, then how’s that any different than any other game we win?

 

[bourbon n blues]

Northwestern today does not.

Our D is dominant and showed that again. However, our O: not so much.

It used to be you could win a national championship on the strength of great D alone. Those days are long gone.

Drew missed some throws, and we lack a serious deep threat, but that's not the issue. Drew is still settling in. Anyone who thought he would be an instant superstar was kidding themselves.

Our running game, on the other hand, is an issue. You need a respectable running game to win this league, but we couldn't average 4 even Yards Per Carry against the worst rushing D in the conference. That follows similarly shaky numbers against Illinois and Iowa.

Potts, the Minnesota transfer, is a ray of light. I'd like to see a lot more of him.

No way we win in Columbus at this level on O.

Then again, each game has its own dynamic, so who knows.

I take it game by game and hope for a win. I’m 1968,69,73,78,85,86, and 94 we were undefeated in the regular season. We won MNCs in 82 and 86.

Every single season we were undefeated that I recall (78 and up) we had scares. So in 16% of the seasons we were undefeated since 68, but zero since 94.

So it’s not like we’re regularly seeing even one loss regular seasons, the last I think was 2008.

 

[bourbon n blues]

The 1978 team beat temple on the road 10-7. In 85 our victory margins were 2,2,7,7,2,4,27,4,21,30,31.

1986 it was a two point victory at home against Maryland then 5 points away at Notre Dame. And four points against Miami . Those slackers should have beaten the Canes by 14 minimum !! 😎😎

I’m not saying worries and concerns aren’t warranted, just pointing out few go undefeated and almost everyone has scares, cough cough Georgia last night cough cough.

 

[Jerry]

Every game is different. If we beat OSU with 350 yards passing and 50 yards rushing, will everyone be complaining about our running game? If not, then how’s that any different than any other game we win?

One thing I promise: if we beat OSU, regardless of how, there will be no complaining from me...about anything. (I'm actually more confident about Michigan at home though.)

In fact, my comments in this thread are not meant as "complaints" but rather observations of reality. It's not a betrayal of the team to note some obvious issues on O.

It would be nice to get 350 yards passing against the Bucks, but their secondary is lockdown, we don't seem to have much of a deep game, and with Drew still settling in, our own passing attack has appeared out of synch at times. We're gonna need a functional running attack.

But hey, hope springs eternal. Perhaps my post came off as more negative than I intended it. We've got a dominant D which we've ridden to 5-0. Maybe that factor will end up proving the difference in Columbus too.

 

[AWS1022]

One thing I promise: if we beat OSU, regardless of how, there will be no complaining from me...about anything. (I'm actually more confident about Michigan at home though.)

In fact, my comments in this thread are not meant as "complaints" but rather observations of reality. It's not a betrayal of the team to note some obvious issues on O.

It would be nice to get 350 yards passing against the Bucks, but their secondary is lockdown, we don't seem to have much of a deep game, and with Drew still settling in, our own passing attack has appeared out of synch at times. We're gonna need a functional running attack.

But hey, hope springs eternal. Perhaps my post came off as more negative than I intended it. We've got a dominant D which we've ridden to 5-0. Maybe that factor will end up proving the difference in Columbus too.

It’s not a betrayal, but are they always observations of reality or observations based on unrealistic expectations? I think posters often forget there is another team on the field trying to stop us from doing certain things and those teams are made up of pretty good football players. Just because one team has better players doesn’t mean the other team’s players forgot how to play the game they’ve been playing their whole lives and the game they play well enough to be on a D-1 scholarship.

 

[bourbon n blues]

It’s not a betrayal, but are they always observations of reality or observations based on unrealistic expectations? I think posters often forget there is another team on the field trying to stop us from doing certain things and those teams are made up of pretty good football players. Just because one team has better players doesn’t mean the other team’s players forgot how to play the game they’ve been playing their whole lives and the game they play well enough to be on a D-1 scholarship.

George Paterno said the other team is trying too.

 

[Jerry]

It’s not a betrayal, but are they always observations of reality or observations based on unrealistic expectations? I think posters often forget there is another team on the field trying to stop us from doing certain things and those teams are made up of pretty good football players. Just because one team has better players doesn’t mean the other team’s players forgot how to play the game they’ve been playing their whole lives and the game they play well enough to be on a D-1 scholarship.

No argument with your above point, but I think it's a reality that Ohio State's players on D-1 scholarship are a lot better than Northwestern's and also a reality that Northwestern's run D ranks dead last in the conference.

Therefore, it's reasonable to observe that if we can't get our O, especially the running game, untracked against Northwestern, we might have a serious problem beating the Buckeyes in their stadium.

I'm not saying we have no shot. I'm saying it's going to be hard to do it with the same level of performance on O that's been observed in the last three league games.

 

[bourbon n blues]

No argument with your above point, but I think it's a reality that Ohio State's players on D-1 scholarship are a lot better than Northwestern's and also a reality that Northwestern's run D ranks dead last in the conference.

Therefore, it's reasonable to observe that if we can't get our O, especially the running game, untracked against Northwestern, we might have a serious problem beating the Buckeyes in their stadium.

I'm not saying we have no shot. I'm saying it's going to be hard to do it with the same level of performance on O that's been observed in the last three league games.

Week to week is different. Psu will get a better effort from certain teams than other weaker opponents of theirs .

 

[LandoComando]

Week to week is different. Psu will get a better effort from certain teams than other weaker opponents of theirs .

And Penn State has the talent to make that extra effort irrelevant

 

[Jerry]

George Paterno said the other team is trying too.

God rest George Paterno. I loved him and Fran Fisher as a radio broadcast team back in the day.

 

[AWS1022]

No argument with your above point, but I think it's a reality that Ohio State's players on D-1 scholarship are a lot better than Northwestern's and also a reality that Northwestern's run D ranks dead last in the conference.

Therefore, it's reasonable to observe that if we can't get our O, especially the running game, untracked against Northwestern, we might have a serious problem beating the Buckeyes in their stadium.

I'm not saying we have no shot. I'm saying it's going to be hard to do it with the same level of performance on O that's been observed in the last three league games.

I’m sure Ohio State is thinking the same thing since we’ve out rushed them this season and they have to go against our defense.

 

[christoph]

Against a good team our D will get tired. Our oline is trash. It’s difficult to watch and even the commentators were talking about it.

 

[AWS1022]

Against a good team our D will get tired. Our oline is trash. It’s difficult to watch and even the commentators were talking about it.

Then don’t watch…please.

 

[Jerry]

I’m sure Ohio State is thinking the same thing since we’ve out rushed them this season and they have to go against our defense.

Well they're averaging something like 5.5 yards a carry, which is pretty darn decent, but on the whole I think their O is not on the same level as some other recent Buckeye teams...plus their QB is also inexperienced.

We can only hope they'll enter the stadium overconfident, but I don't think their coaches will let that happen. Now if only Lou Holtz will refrain from taking any more shots at their collective manhood in the week before the game.

 

[Jerry]

Northwestern today does not.

Our D is dominant and showed that again. However, our O: not so much.

It used to be you could win a national championship on the strength of great D alone. Those days are long gone.

Drew missed some throws, and we lack a serious deep threat, but that's not the issue. Drew is still settling in. Anyone who thought he would be an instant superstar was kidding themselves.

Our running game, on the other hand, is an issue. You need a respectable running game to win this league, but we couldn't average 4 even Yards Per Carry against the worst rushing D in the conference. That follows similarly shaky numbers against Illinois and Iowa.

Potts, the Minnesota transfer, is a ray of light. I'd like to see a lot more of him.

No way we win in Columbus at this level on O.

Then again, each game has its own dynamic, so who knows.

Had a family obligation early this afternoon so just finished watching the tape of this game.

I hate to say told ya so, but you could see this coming a mile away.

Discount all the stats on O that a lot of people had been trumpeting. They were misleading at best. Drew is a first-year starter still settling into the college game and today stepped into the lions' den against an excellent secondary. The issues with our running game and receiving corps were also obvious in recent weeks.

The D did its part this afternoon. The O, on the other hand, showed why some of us have been worried. Its performance against the Bucks was dreadful. 20 total yards or so in the 2nd half before the garbage-time TD late. This will hopefully be a learning experience for Drew.

Now stand by for people screaming and giving up on the team, which is also ridiculous. In fact, I predict right now that we beat Michigan in a few weeks...unless we go into our familiar post-Buckeye swoon.

 

[LafayetteBear]

Had a family obligation early this afternoon so just finished watching the tape of this game.

I hate to say told ya so, but you could see this coming a mile away.

Discount all the stats on O that a lot of people had been trumpeting. They were misleading at best. Drew is a first-year starter still settling into the college game and today stepped into the lions' den against an excellent secondary. The issues with our running game and receiving corps were also obvious in recent weeks.

The D did its part this afternoon. The O, on the other hand, showed why some of us have been worried. Its performance against the Bucks was dreadful. 20 total yards or so in the 2nd half before the garbage-time TD late. This will hopefully be a learning experience for Drew.

Now stand by for people screaming and giving up on the team, which is also ridiculous. In fact, I predict right now that we beat Michigan in a few weeks...unless we go into our familiar post-Buckeye swoon.

Jerry, I had hoped that Allar would be better against the Buckeyes than he was. I had hoped the PSU running game would be more productive, and take some pressure off of Allar. It didn't work out that way, and we therefore have to endure yet another season of losing to them. It has cast a pall over my weekend, in truth. But I still hold out hope that Allar can live up to his recruiting hype. He has shown some flashes against the weaker teams. No surprise there, but if gets more comfortable going through his progressions, making decisions quickly and correctly, and delivering his passes accurately, perhaps that live game experience will allow him to start doing it in games against stronger opponents, when he is under a bit more pressure.

 

[GSPMax]

Jerry, I had hoped that Allar would be better against the Buckeyes than he was. I had hoped the PSU running game would be more productive, and take some pressure of of Allar. It didn't work out that way, and we therefore have to endure yet another season of losing to them. It has cast a pall over my weekend, in truth. But I still hold out hope that Allar can live up to his recruiting hype. He has shown some flashes against the weaker teams. No surprise there, but if gets more comfortable going through his progressions, making decisions quickly and correctly, and delivering his passes accurately, perhaps that live game experience will allow him to start doing it in games against stronger opponents, when he is under a bit more pressure.

I know you are a stickler for grammar. Might want to check yours professor.

 

[rrdd2021]

Had a family obligation early this afternoon so just finished watching the tape of this game.

I hate to say told ya so, but you could see this coming a mile away.

Discount all the stats on O that a lot of people had been trumpeting. They were misleading at best. Drew is a first-year starter still settling into the college game and today stepped into the lions' den against an excellent secondary. The issues with our running game and receiving corps were also obvious in recent weeks.

The D did its part this afternoon. The O, on the other hand, showed why some of us have been worried. Its performance against the Bucks was dreadful. 20 total yards or so in the 2nd half before the garbage-time TD late. This will hopefully be a learning experience for Drew.

Now stand by for people screaming and giving up on the team, which is also ridiculous. In fact, I predict right now that we beat Michigan in a few weeks...unless we go into our familiar post-Buckeye swoon.

Look, I've read all year comparing PSU's stats to OSU's but what many just refused to recognize was the caliber of competition. Many drooled over Allar but there's a huge difference going from UMas to OSU. Many were trying to justify WVU being a good team on this site. And here was the problem - many OSU followers consider this OSU defense to be their best in the last 10 to 15 years..... something they've totally lacked the last few years. Everybody drilled their defenses under Day - everybody. And PSU's defense has nothing to hang their heads about - they're rock solid.

I'm now seeing all of the slobbering over Michigan. are they good ? Yeah, real good. But think about this.....there best win was against Rutgers so far this year. But Rutgers beat MSU - the team UM is drilling tonight. They won't face a top team til they play PSU and then have to follow that with games against Maryland and OSU. I guess my point is that maybe the schedules should be taken into consideration when comparing teams.

 

[LafayetteBear]

I know you are a stickler for grammar. Might want to check yours professor.

I changed "of" to the intended "off." Thanks for pointing out that egregious mistake. And BTW, that was a spelling mistake, not a grammar mistake.

 

[Jerry]

Jerry, I had hoped that Allar would be better against the Buckeyes than he was. I had hoped the PSU running game would be more productive, and take some pressure off of Allar. It didn't work out that way, and we therefore have to endure yet another season of losing to them. It has cast a pall over my weekend, in truth. But I still hold out hope that Allar can live up to his recruiting hype. He has shown some flashes against the weaker teams. No surprise there, but if gets more comfortable going through his progressions, making decisions quickly and correctly, and delivering his passes accurately, perhaps that live game experience will allow him to start doing it in games against stronger opponents, when he is under a bit more pressure.

Laf, I had similar "hopes" but honestly no expectations along those lines.

Drew has indeed shown flashes and obviously has great potential. Hopefully he won't get too down on himself. Hell, it looked like he was almost crying post-game.

As for the running game, God knows. But when you can't get it going against Northwestern, I'm not sure why anyone thought it would be magically resuscitated in the Shoe against a top-5 D.

We have a big problem at WR. Our number one guy would probably be a number two at many other big-time programs. The inability to get separation is a killer and at this point may be working on Drew's head.

Next year at home I like our chances. Don't laugh. Meanwhile, though this morning all of sports media is jeering at Franklin, the conventional wisdom can be turned on its head with just one big win. That opportunity will present itself in a few weeks.

 

[ram2020]

Laf, I had similar "hopes" but honestly no expectations along those lines.

Drew has indeed shown flashes and obviously has great potential. Hopefully he won't get too down on himself. Hell, it looked like he was almost crying post-game.

As for the running game, God knows. But when you can't get it going against Northwestern, I'm not sure why anyone thought it would be magically resuscitated in the Shoe against a top-5 D.

We have a big problem at WR. Our number one guy would probably be a number two at many other big-time programs. The inability to get separation is a killer and at this point may be working on Drew's head.

Next year at home I like our chances. Don't laugh. Meanwhile, though this morning all of sports media is jeering at Franklin, the conventional wisdom can be turned on its head with just one big win. That opportunity will present itself in a few weeks.

To me, the WR position is the most indicting for Franklin. I always think that a coach should be fired if the unit in which he came through the ranks isn't a top unit. He was a WR coach and outside of a couple real talents, he hasn't ever really developed a depth of talent at that position. We don't recruit it well, we don't develop it well. Also, Franklin was an OC in this conference at a point, yesterday was a total offensive failure at every position. We continue to not have a Top performing O-line, over 10 years now. If Franklin was a Defensive Coordinator coming up....or had a history of working with DB's, I'd blame this loss squarely on the O-coordinator. It's just really alarming that the positions and side of the ball Franklin acquired his experience was a total system failure yesterday....again. I don't want want Franklin fired, I don't think we could get anyone better, at least that's clearly an upgrade, but he deserves some real tough criticism now.