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The Blue Kool-Aid

africamurphy

Well-Known Member
Apr 1, 2019
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I fully expect to lose on Saturday. Probably close...but it could even be ugly like two Saturdays ago at Michigan.

However, there is reason to be optimistic. Drink with me...

1--OSU's schedule has been weak. They've had one away game, which are notoriously harder in the Big Ten than anywhere else. Toledo is the only team with a winning record. Yes, they creamed everyone. But good teams do that to bad teams. We don't know how good OSU is yet. They've only really struggled with Notre Dame in week 1. A weak Notre Dame team (see Point 4 below).

2--PSU plays OSU tough at home even when our teams are bad. See 2012, 2014, and even 2016 (where OSU made the playoffs with only a loss to us as their blemish for the season). We have the talent to stay on the field with OSU...and do almost every time we play.

3--We're healthy. We're deep. No, not as talented as OSU, but deeper than we've been. And maybe deep enough to hold on down the stretch of a tight game...

4--We have the defense to slow down OSU's offensive juggernaut. Notre Dame--despite their awful offense--had a good defense and they kept that game close. What will they do with some adversity? If our offense can get any momentum, there's no reason we can't play complementary football and keep the game close, or even carry a lead for some of the game and make them respond to adversity.

5--Our offense. Okay, it's tough to be really optimistic here...but the freshmen RBs have more experience than ever (captain obvious) and the game plan has included the TEs in a more powerful fashion. Our receivers have flashed...but have been up and down. If they can stay "up," it could be a fun afternoon. Clifford has been a solid game manager at times and has made the "easy" throws...he doesn't need to throw for 300 and have zero turnovers, but if he can throw for 200 and run for a few first downs (maybe get 50 yards and a TD) and limit mistakes, then that's a Clifford that can put PSU in position to win.

If you drink my Kool-Aid, you can see a 34-28 PSU victory.
 
I'm of the belief that Penn State will prove to the world- beyond a shadow of a doubt- that they are 100% absolutely the 3rd best team in the B1G this Saturday!!!
 
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3--We're healthy.
We are? We were missing both starting OGs, Kevone Lee and Chop Robinson vs. Minnesota. The RT got banged up during the game. Clifford may be less than 100% but was able to play through it quite well against Minn, but if he has something minor it could resurface with any hit at any time.
 
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I think PSU matches up pretty well with OSU, but not well at all against Michigan. I think Franklin and staff have basically been recruiting with an eye to beating OSU and did not count on the Fightin' Jimmahs successfully building a Man Ball team.

Not predicting a victory but would be shocked if it was more than 2 scores. And if you can keep it to one score into the 4th Q anything can happen.
 
I'm of the belief that Penn State will prove to the world- beyond a shadow of a doubt- that they are 100% absolutely the 3rd best team in the B1G EAST this Saturday!!!
FIFY. The way Illinois is playing, and with the memory of last year's debacle lingering strongly, I'm kind of glad they're not on the schedule this year. I'm guessing a road game in Champaign would be a nail biter.
 
I fully expect to lose on Saturday. Probably close...but it could even be ugly like two Saturdays ago at Michigan.

However, there is reason to be optimistic. Drink with me...

1--OSU's schedule has been weak. They've had one away game, which are notoriously harder in the Big Ten than anywhere else. Toledo is the only team with a winning record. Yes, they creamed everyone. But good teams do that to bad teams. We don't know how good OSU is yet. They've only really struggled with Notre Dame in week 1. A weak Notre Dame team (see Point 4 below).

2--PSU plays OSU tough at home even when our teams are bad. See 2012, 2014, and even 2016 (where OSU made the playoffs with only a loss to us as their blemish for the season). We have the talent to stay on the field with OSU...and do almost every time we play.

3--We're healthy. We're deep. No, not as talented as OSU, but deeper than we've been. And maybe deep enough to hold on down the stretch of a tight game...

4--We have the defense to slow down OSU's offensive juggernaut. Notre Dame--despite their awful offense--had a good defense and they kept that game close. What will they do with some adversity? If our offense can get any momentum, there's no reason we can't play complementary football and keep the game close, or even carry a lead for some of the game and make them respond to adversity.

5--Our offense. Okay, it's tough to be really optimistic here...but the freshmen RBs have more experience than ever (captain obvious) and the game plan has included the TEs in a more powerful fashion. Our receivers have flashed...but have been up and down. If they can stay "up," it could be a fun afternoon. Clifford has been a solid game manager at times and has made the "easy" throws...he doesn't need to throw for 300 and have zero turnovers, but if he can throw for 200 and run for a few first downs (maybe get 50 yards and a TD) and limit mistakes, then that's a Clifford that can put PSU in position to win.

If you drink my Kool-Aid, you can see a 34-28 PSU victory.

You talked me into it.

Haha!

No seriously, nice analysis even if probably wishful thinking.

That said, I do think we have a realistic (though improbable) shot to win this game. Playing at home is a big plus. Beyond that, the most critical factor is the QB. To have a chance, we need a strong, mistake-free game from Sean...and he's capable of delivering it.
 
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I fully expect to lose on Saturday. Probably close...but it could even be ugly like two Saturdays ago at Michigan.

However, there is reason to be optimistic. Drink with me...

1--OSU's schedule has been weak. They've had one away game, which are notoriously harder in the Big Ten than anywhere else. Toledo is the only team with a winning record. Yes, they creamed everyone. But good teams do that to bad teams. We don't know how good OSU is yet. They've only really struggled with Notre Dame in week 1. A weak Notre Dame team (see Point 4 below).

2--PSU plays OSU tough at home even when our teams are bad. See 2012, 2014, and even 2016 (where OSU made the playoffs with only a loss to us as their blemish for the season). We have the talent to stay on the field with OSU...and do almost every time we play.

3--We're healthy. We're deep. No, not as talented as OSU, but deeper than we've been. And maybe deep enough to hold on down the stretch of a tight game...

4--We have the defense to slow down OSU's offensive juggernaut. Notre Dame--despite their awful offense--had a good defense and they kept that game close. What will they do with some adversity? If our offense can get any momentum, there's no reason we can't play complementary football and keep the game close, or even carry a lead for some of the game and make them respond to adversity.

5--Our offense. Okay, it's tough to be really optimistic here...but the freshmen RBs have more experience than ever (captain obvious) and the game plan has included the TEs in a more powerful fashion. Our receivers have flashed...but have been up and down. If they can stay "up," it could be a fun afternoon. Clifford has been a solid game manager at times and has made the "easy" throws...he doesn't need to throw for 300 and have zero turnovers, but if he can throw for 200 and run for a few first downs (maybe get 50 yards and a TD) and limit mistakes, then that's a Clifford that can put PSU in position to win.

If you drink my Kool-Aid, you can see a 34-28 PSU victory.
Love your enthusiasm! But a tall order.
 
We are? We were missing both starting OGs, Kevone Lee and Chop Robinson vs. Minnesota. The RT got banged up during the game. Clifford may be less than 100% but was able to play through it quite well against Minn, but if he has something minor it could resurface with any hit at any time.
Hopefully Tengwell and Robinson play. Even Lee would give us a boost as a change of pace.
 
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You talked me into it.

Haha!

No seriously, nice analysis even if probably wishful thinking.

That said, I do think we have a realistic (though improbable) shot to win this game. Playing at home is a big plus. Beyond that, the most critical factor is the QB. To have a chance, we need a strong, mistake-free game from Sean...and he's capable of delivering it.
Yeah no picks from him or fumbles. And he needs a decent run game to take the pressure off him. We gotta get to 100 yards rushing and ideally 150. If that happens then to quote Lloyd Christmas..."SO YOU'RE SAYING I HAVE A SHOT!"
 
I fully expect to lose on Saturday. Probably close...but it could even be ugly like two Saturdays ago at Michigan.

However, there is reason to be optimistic. Drink with me...

1--OSU's schedule has been weak. They've had one away game, which are notoriously harder in the Big Ten than anywhere else. Toledo is the only team with a winning record. Yes, they creamed everyone. But good teams do that to bad teams. We don't know how good OSU is yet. They've only really struggled with Notre Dame in week 1. A weak Notre Dame team (see Point 4 below).

2--PSU plays OSU tough at home even when our teams are bad. See 2012, 2014, and even 2016 (where OSU made the playoffs with only a loss to us as their blemish for the season). We have the talent to stay on the field with OSU...and do almost every time we play.

3--We're healthy. We're deep. No, not as talented as OSU, but deeper than we've been. And maybe deep enough to hold on down the stretch of a tight game...

4--We have the defense to slow down OSU's offensive juggernaut. Notre Dame--despite their awful offense--had a good defense and they kept that game close. What will they do with some adversity? If our offense can get any momentum, there's no reason we can't play complementary football and keep the game close, or even carry a lead for some of the game and make them respond to adversity.

5--Our offense. Okay, it's tough to be really optimistic here...but the freshmen RBs have more experience than ever (captain obvious) and the game plan has included the TEs in a more powerful fashion. Our receivers have flashed...but have been up and down. If they can stay "up," it could be a fun afternoon. Clifford has been a solid game manager at times and has made the "easy" throws...he doesn't need to throw for 300 and have zero turnovers, but if he can throw for 200 and run for a few first downs (maybe get 50 yards and a TD) and limit mistakes, then that's a Clifford that can put PSU in position to win.

If you drink my Kool-Aid, you can see a 34-28 PSU victory.
Nice. I would like to add, the coaching staff doing there job, identifying the weaknesses OSU exhibits both defensively and offensively. Anyhow, Let's Go, WE ARE....
 
Love your enthusiasm! But a tall order.
Enthusiasm is an exaggeration. I don't think we have a shot.

But there is a feasible path where OSU isn't that amazing (they just haven't been tested yet!) and we are built right to upset them at home.
 
1--OSU's schedule has been weak. They've had one away game, which are notoriously harder in the Big Ten than anywhere else. Toledo is the only team with a winning record. Yes, they creamed everyone. But good teams do that to bad teams. We don't know how good OSU is yet. They've only really struggled with Notre Dame in week 1. A weak Notre Dame team (see Point 4 below).

Notre Dame and Rutgers have winning records too so 3 of the 7. None are great teams though.
 
Notre Dame lost at home to Marshall the very next week. They are improving buy were a bad team in the first couple of weeks.
They're still a bad team losing to Stanford two weeks ago. Just corrected the 1 team with a winning record as it's 3.
 
They're still a bad team losing to Stanford two weeks ago. Just corrected the 1 team with a winning record as it's 3.

ND is neither awful nor good. They lost their starting QB in the Marshall game. They lost to a retched Stanford team but beat an otherwise undefeated UNC. I think the Irish are better than Auburn. But then, OSU didn't throttle ND at home like Penn State throttled the Tigers on the road.

Ohio State's offense is no joke. But their defense? Who knows?
 
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I fully expect to lose on Saturday. Probably close...but it could even be ugly like two Saturdays ago at Michigan.

However, there is reason to be optimistic. Drink with me...

1--OSU's schedule has been weak. They've had one away game, which are notoriously harder in the Big Ten than anywhere else. Toledo is the only team with a winning record. Yes, they creamed everyone. But good teams do that to bad teams. We don't know how good OSU is yet. They've only really struggled with Notre Dame in week 1. A weak Notre Dame team (see Point 4 below).

2--PSU plays OSU tough at home even when our teams are bad. See 2012, 2014, and even 2016 (where OSU made the playoffs with only a loss to us as their blemish for the season). We have the talent to stay on the field with OSU...and do almost every time we play.

3--We're healthy. We're deep. No, not as talented as OSU, but deeper than we've been. And maybe deep enough to hold on down the stretch of a tight game...

4--We have the defense to slow down OSU's offensive juggernaut. Notre Dame--despite their awful offense--had a good defense and they kept that game close. What will they do with some adversity? If our offense can get any momentum, there's no reason we can't play complementary football and keep the game close, or even carry a lead for some of the game and make them respond to adversity.

5--Our offense. Okay, it's tough to be really optimistic here...but the freshmen RBs have more experience than ever (captain obvious) and the game plan has included the TEs in a more powerful fashion. Our receivers have flashed...but have been up and down. If they can stay "up," it could be a fun afternoon. Clifford has been a solid game manager at times and has made the "easy" throws...he doesn't need to throw for 300 and have zero turnovers, but if he can throw for 200 and run for a few first downs (maybe get 50 yards and a TD) and limit mistakes, then that's a Clifford that can put PSU in position to win.

If you drink my Kool-Aid, you can see a 34-28 PSU victory.
IDK. I think JF goes to 1-8 vs OSU and if I was a betting man, I'm probably taking OSU to cover.
As it stands right now, PSU has played one ranked team and it gave up 418 rushing yards. The PSU offense only managed 268 yds and 10 pts.
 
Good correction--like us they've beat no one good
Who are the good teams who must be beat for the victorious team to be considered good? Who has beaten those good teams so far? And, if they were beaten, are they still good?
 
Who are the good teams who must be beat for the victorious team to be considered good? Who has beaten those good teams so far? And, if they were beaten, are they still good?

The way Lando sees things, any team beaten by us can not possibly be "good." I mean, they may have been "good" before they played us, but if they lose to us, they've been exposed as not "good."

We've played the 17th most difficult schedule in the country, and there's not a "good" team on it. An amazing statistical feat.

Just wait, if we beat Ohio State this Saturday, Lando will tell us they're not "good" either. The guy is a comedian.
 
Who are the good teams who must be beat for the victorious team to be considered good? Who has beaten those good teams so far? And, if they were beaten, are they still good?
Just a service reminder: Texas A&M (3-4), Notre Dame (4-3 with home loss to Marshall), and Oklahoma (4-3 with 49-0 loss to Texas) were all in the top 10 to start the season. Mich st (3-4) was 12. Baylor (4-3), Pitt (4-3), Texas (5-3), Iowa (3-4), and Arkansas (4-3) were all ranked as well.

Then the games were played. And teams got credit for beating what were thought to be good teams. Arkansas (4-3) was a top 10 team in weeks 3 and 4. BYU (4-4) was #12 and Miami (3-4) was #13 in week 3.

The bottom line is that a lot of teams are thought to be good at various points in the season. Some are actually bad teams and over-ranked. Some are mediocre. Some actually are good and get worse with injuries. Some are actually good but go through a very tough part of their schedule (you can argue PSU is there right now) and their record doesn't reflect how good they are relative to teams that haven't yet played tougher teams. I like to measure at the end of the season. But ESPN likes to measure from the moment the previous season ends.
 
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We've played the 17th most difficult schedule in the country, and there's not a "good" team on it. An amazing statistical feat.
There is a certain level of amateurism associated with those who don't understand that you simply play the team across the field from you and that Parker Washington or Joey Porter or Curtis Jacobs don't get to decide who it is that they play against.
 
The way Lando sees things, any team beaten by us can not possibly be "good." I mean, they may have been "good" before they played us, but if they lose to us, they've been exposed as not "good."

We've played the 17th most difficult schedule in the country, and there's not a "good" team on it. An amazing statistical feat.

Just wait, if we beat Ohio State this Saturday, Lando will tell us they're not "good" either. The guy is a comedian.
Dudes, put this guy on ignore. I have had him on ignore for months. He is not a PSU fan. It is great to not see any of his messages. He'll go away once no one engages with him.
 
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Dudes, put this guy on ignore. I have had him on ignore for months. He is not a PSU fan. It is great to not see any of his messages. He'll go away once no one engages with him.
By the way, I think this Lando clown and a couple other nics are all the same person.
 
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You talked me into it.

Haha!

No seriously, nice analysis even if probably wishful thinking.

That said, I do think we have a realistic (though improbable) shot to win this game. Playing at home is a big plus. Beyond that, the most critical factor is the QB. To have a chance, we need a strong, mistake-free game from Sean...and he's capable of delivering it.
I think this is backwards. If we can run the ball (offensive line plays well), and our receivers can actually get some separation then the QB will play well. Clifford has made some dumb mistakes this season but they seem to be more one-off events and he hasn't struggled for long.
 
I think this is backwards. If we can run the ball (offensive line plays well), and our receivers can actually get some separation then the QB will play well. Clifford has made some dumb mistakes this season but they seem to be more one-off events and he hasn't struggled for long.
I think we may do okay in pass protection but worried the WRs get no separation and that triggers forced passes into traffic (picks) or coverage sacks.
 
I think this is backwards. If we can run the ball (offensive line plays well), and our receivers can actually get some separation then the QB will play well. Clifford has made some dumb mistakes this season but they seem to be more one-off events and he hasn't struggled for long.

I get where you're coming from, and it's a valid point, but I don't really see it quite that way.

The old rule used to be establish the run to set up the pass. Now, the way the game is played today, as often as not it works the other way around.

We saw this against Minnesota. It wasn't until Clifford hit some big plays that the backs started to find some room. And then everything changed.

Ohio State has a great O. They're going to score. I think the key to winning this game will not be our D but rather our O. And the key to our O is Sean Clifford.

Just my opinion. That and $2.00 will buy you a cup of coffee.
 
Who are the good teams who must be beat for the victorious team to be considered good? Who has beaten those good teams so far? And, if they were beaten, are they still good?
Georgia beat Oregon
Tennessee beat Alabama
Michigan beat us
Ohio State or Penn State will get a quality win on Saturday
 
So we are good?
Yeah, we're a good team right now. Not elite but we're in that second/third tier.
This is a very down year of college football. There's very few good teams as shown by just how bad the Big Ten is other than the Big 3.
 
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