There is unhappiness in East Lansing

[Online Persona]

That may be true but the way the season played out, we were favored in every game. I think our most challenging game was Purdue since it was the first game of the season. Charlie Jones made a big splash and we couldn't anticipate that because he wasn't on the team last year and didn't play much before with Iowa. Auburn had a down year, fired their coach. We didn't play Iowa, Wisconsin or Nebraska. We played Minn after they lost their key starting QB.

So you can say we won 1.5 more games than we should have, a closer look shows that we won the games we should have and lost to the two we should have. We simply "held serve".

We can all call that "improvement" and rightfully so. We didn't lose to an "Indiana" or "Illinois", if that is considered an improvement. My position is that this "improvement" came after two years of dismal performance. I am not going to jump up and down because we beat Purdue and MD in the same year.

We beat 6 teams by 4 or more TDs. We beat a 7th by 19 because we emptied the bench. We beat another only by 10 in spite of 5 turnovers in a monsoon. Purdue was the only close win and they were much more challenging on the road to open the season as they returned more starters than any big 10 team from a 9 win team the previous year and we have relied heavily on freshmen.

Some of you just want to miserable. Oh, the horror, we didn't beat 2 undefeated teams on top of absolutely dominating the rest of the competition in an 8th to upper third most challenging schedule of all teams. Go root for another team if it's so bad.

 

[scrivener]

We beat 6 teams by 4 or more TDs. We beat a 7th by 19 because we emptied the bench. We beat another only by 10 in spite of 5 turnovers in a monsoon. Purdue was the only close win and they were much more challenging on the road to open the season as they returned more starters than any big 10 team from a 9 win team the previous year and we have relied heavily on freshmen.

Some of you just want to miserable. Oh, the horror, we didn't beat 2 undefeated teams on top of absolutely dominating the rest of the competition in an 8th to upper third most challenging schedule of all teams. Go root for another team if it's so bad.

Lol...ok dude. You can aspire for more and still be positive about this 10-2 season. We beat the teams we should for the first time in yrs. That alone is progress. Is there any reason to not aspire and expect more...
No. And, JF has said as much. Relax.

 

[Online Persona]

Lol...ok dude. You can aspire for more and still be positive about this 10-2 season. We beat the teams we should for the first time in yrs. That alone is progress. Is there any reason to not aspire and expect more...
No. And, JF has said as much. Relax.

Strawman, who isn't aspiring for more? You can do that without using every post to try to diminish Penn St and what we have accomplished with a very, very young team.

 

[Jerry]

We beat 6 teams by 4 or more TDs. We beat a 7th by 19 because we emptied the bench. We beat another only by 10 in spite of 5 turnovers in a monsoon. Purdue was the only close win and they were much more challenging on the road to open the season as they returned more starters than any big 10 team from a 9 win team the previous year and we have relied heavily on freshmen.

Some of you just want to miserable. Oh, the horror, we didn't beat 2 undefeated teams on top of absolutely dominating the rest of the competition in an 8th to upper third most challenging schedule of all teams. Go root for another team if it's so bad.

On the substance of this argument, I pretty much come down on your side and have done so all season, but honestly, some of the people on "our" side strike me as overly touchy on this topic.

I mean, I don't see any reason to be personally insulted by a differing opinion that is reasonably expressed.

Meanwhile, the one thing we all seem to agree on is that our 10th win is in the bag. Let's hope we all have that right.

 

[scrivener]

Strawman, who isn't aspiring for more? You can do that without using every post to try to diminish Penn St and what we have accomplished with a very, very young team.

When did I diminish? It's my first time on this thread. It is a very young team that has made tremendous progress in the running game, turnover efficiency, etc. We have also played an exciting brand of football, especially on defense. The previous couple of years have been brutal without much excitement. The future is bright -- and it has to begin next year. With the portal, NIL, and eligibility changes, the "youth" description to me doesn't hold as much water anymore. You can quick fix areas with the portal, combined with HS recruiting. A couple of positions that might be older with experience today, could be young next year. That is the case for every program in CFB. If your roster's 22 is primarily upperclassmen, that is actually a poor job of layering.

 

[marshall23]

Awesome. This is the problem with America. There are no standards. PSU should aspire to doing something more than beating Minny with their second team QB and Purdue with Charlie Jones and 15 other two and three star recruits with substandard facilities.

Yep, that's what's wrong with America!

 

[AWS1022]

Now you are just making stuff up. Weird you get emotional about this.

Making stuff up? Go back and read the posts. And as far as emotional, I’m not the one arguing with an entire board.

 

[marshall23]

On the substance of this argument, I pretty much come down on your side and have done so all season, but honestly, some of the people on "our" side strike me as overly touchy on this topic.

I mean, I don't see any reason to be personally insulted by a differing opinion that is reasonably expressed.

Meanwhile, the one thing we all seem to agree on is that our 10th win is in the bag. Let's hope we all have that right.

Nothing is ever in the bag. I've heard rumors that some of our opponents are also awarding scholarships, hiring strength and conditioning experts and even coaches that specialize by position. This will ultimately result in bona-fide competition in which outcomes are always determined on the field.
Apparently some PSU "fans" have trouble accepting this as fact.
In the past Purdue, Maryland, Rutgers, Indiana and others merely existed to be the foil of mighty PSU, because they deserve nothing but victory.

 

[marshall23]

Awesome. This is the problem with America. There are no standards. PSU should aspire to doing something more than beating Minny with their second team QB and Purdue with Charlie Jones and 15 other two and three star recruits with substandard facilities.

PSU will be better because fans like you have "standards."

 

[scrivener]

PSU will be better because fans like you have "standards."

So, you are mocking him because he believes the PSU program should be held to higher standards? Interesting. JF says it every year...so take it from him them. Most fans/alumni goal isn't to finish 3rd in the division, which they will this year. That doesn't mean it hasn't been a "good" year. It does mean, they weren't close to contending for a championship, so it was a "good", but unfulfilling year, at least IMO. I can't wait to read this board if/when we beat Tulane or some other crappy mid-major possibly in the Cotton, where any of the starting 22 would be lucky to start for PSU, and how many will tout that as a "great" win. An 11 win season including a bowl is a heckuva building block for next year, but observing the 11 win season and really putting aside the blue/white glasses will tell you, a good amount of progress was made, and still has to be made to reach the "elite" level that JF talks about -- so don't come after posters who aspire for more when JF says it all the time.

 

[LandoComando]

Don't count out Auburn , Cadillac winning that game gives him the job.

Do you really think that game gives Cadillac the job?

 

[LandoComando]

Honestly, I don't know why we're even fighting about this. The reality is...

Penn State had a good season
Penn State lacks a quality win but destroyed the teams they should have which a lot of other teams can't say and we couldn't say the past 2 years
Penn State's performance against Michigan and the 4th quarter against Ohio State was disappointing and we need to start seeing wins against those teams "more" often. Always isn't realistic.
We beat every team we should have and lost the 2 games we should have. That's good a season.

 

[marshall23]

So, you are mocking him because he believes the PSU program should be held to higher standards? Interesting. JF says it every year...so take it from him them. Most fans/alumni goal isn't to finish 3rd in the division, which they will this year. That doesn't mean it hasn't been a "good" year. It does mean, they weren't close to contending for a championship, so it was a "good", but unfulfilling year, at least IMO. I can't wait to read this board if/when we beat Tulane or some other crappy mid-major possibly in the Cotton, where any of the starting 22 would be lucky to start for PSU, and how many will tout that as a "great" win. An 11 win season including a bowl is a heckuva building block for next year, but observing the 11 win season and really putting aside the blue/white glasses will tell you, a good amount of progress was made, and still has to be made to reach the "elite" level that JF talks about -- so don't come after posters who aspire for more when JF says it all the time.

You are missing the point. What a fan wants or thinks has absolutely nothing to do with what happens on the field. We aren't the players, coaches, consultants, recruiting staff, nor are we the decision makers like the athletic director, administration or members of the board of trustees.
So be happy, sad, elated or despondent....it's only impacting you. Certainly everyone is entitled to an opinion. We all know what that counts for.

 

[LandoComando]

You are missing the point. What a fan wants or thinks has absolutely nothing to do with what happens on the field. We aren't the players, coaches, consultants, recruiting staff, nor are we the decision makers like the athletic director, administration or members of the board of trustees.
So be happy, sad, elated or despondent....it's only impacting you. Certainly everyone is entitled to an opinion. We all know what that counts for.

Then why do you care about how they feel?

 

[scrivener]

You are missing the point. What a fan wants or thinks has absolutely nothing to do with what happens on the field. We aren't the players, coaches, consultants, recruiting staff, nor are we the decision makers like the athletic director, administration or members of the board of trustees.
So be happy, sad, elated or despondent....it's only impacting you. Certainly everyone is entitled to an opinion. We all know what that counts for.

Obviously....agreed with your first sentence. But, that's also what these discussion boards are for...so we can chat and express opinions. Of course, it has no bearing how teams do.

 

[marshall23]

Then why do you care about how they feel?

I don't care. As I've said many times....reading and responding here to passionate fans is amusing to me.
It's like a hobby.

 

[marshall23]

Obviously....agreed with your first sentence. But, that's also what these discussion boards are for...so we can chat and express opinions. Of course, it has no bearing how teams do.

Correct. Also express differences of opinion.

 

[LandoComando]

I don't care. As I've said many times....reading and responding here to passionate fans is amusing to me.
It's like a hobby.

Fair enough

 

[marshall23]

Honestly, I don't know why we're even fighting about this. The reality is...

Penn State had a good season
Penn State lacks a quality win but destroyed the teams they should have which a lot of other teams can't say and we couldn't say the past 2 years
Penn State's performance against Michigan and the 4th quarter against Ohio State was disappointing and we need to start seeing wins against those teams "more" often. Always isn't realistic.
We beat every team we should have and lost the 2 games we should have. That's good a season.

Perhaps one of your more rational posts.

 

[LandoComando]

Perhaps one of your more rational posts.

All my posts are rational

 

[Jerry]

Honestly, I don't know why we're even fighting about this. The reality is...

Penn State had a good season
Penn State lacks a quality win but destroyed the teams they should have which a lot of other teams can't say and we couldn't say the past 2 years
Penn State's performance against Michigan and the 4th quarter against Ohio State was disappointing and we need to start seeing wins against those teams "more" often. Always isn't realistic.
We beat every team we should have and lost the 2 games we should have. That's good a season.

Your first line was accurate and some other points, at least partially, but in the process you went seriously off-base in the claim that Penn State "lacks a quality win."

See my tutorial above on the definition of "quality teams." We've got a number of quality wins this year. If you don't see that, your head is back in 1977.

 

[LandoComando]

Your first line was accurate and some other points, at least partially, but in the process you went seriously off-base in the claim that Penn State "lacks a quality win."

See my tutorial above on the definition of "quality teams." We've got a number of quality wins this year. If you don't see that, your head is back in 1977.

We don't have a quality win but for sake of argument let's change it to a win over a ranked team as we don't agree on quality.

 

[marshall23]

Fair enough

You might notice that I am not prone to "coaching" the team or educating the coaching staff. If watching PSU games or attending bowl games didn't result in a sense of enjoyment.....I simply wouldn't do it anymore. I wouldn't come here and bitch about what used to be (according to my memory), should be or whatever.
Trust me, if PSU doesn't win tomorrow, I'll be throwing and punching shit during the game....but I won't return here and re coach the game or disparage a good kid like Sean Clifford. I'll leave all that to the real fans.

 

[scrivener]

Your first line was accurate and some other points, at least partially, but in the process you went seriously off-base in the claim that Penn State "lacks a quality win."

See my tutorial above on the definition of "quality teams." We've got a number of quality wins this year. If you don't see that, your head is back in 1977.

So your tutorial is a good measure of quality wins? Numbers, SOS, and other 'metrics' only tell a certain story. Any educated football fan who watches enough games can be measured and balanced enough to figure it out. Beating teams with winning records isn't always the best predicate for that. IU was down to their like 4th qb...Minny started a rookie who had no clue what he was doing, and was missing a couple of offensive starters if I remember correctly. NW sucks nads...so does Rutgers. Beating Purdue and Auburn are solid wins...not our fault that both are down and under achieving. Someone in a previous thread was lauding how good Ohio has been this year and how that is a quality win. I mean, ok. But, if you think that PSU has beaten teams with similar/comparable talent to what they have, your head is in 1977. They finally beat all the teams they should (something JF hasn't really done for a full season), so that is progress. Just don't give me metrics or Vegas lines...I can figure it out.

 

[LandoComando]

So your tutorial is a good measure of quality wins? Numbers, SOS, and other 'metrics' only tell a certain story. Any educated football fan who watches enough games can be measured and balanced enough to figure it out. Beating teams with winning records isn't always the best predicate for that. IU was down to their like 4th qb...Minny started a rookie who had no clue what he was doing, and was missing a couple of offensive starters if I remember correctly. NW sucks nads...so does Rutgers. Beating Purdue and Auburn are solid wins...not our fault that both are down and under achieving. Someone in a previous thread was lauding how good Ohio has been this year and how that is a quality win. I mean, ok. But, if you think that PSU has beaten teams with similar/comparable talent to what they have, your head is in 1977. They finally beat all the teams they should (something JF hasn't really done for a full season), so that is progress. Just don't give me metrics or Vegas lines...I can figure it out.

I truly can't believe someone thinks we have quality wins but to each their own

 

[LandoComando]

You might notice that I am not prone to "coaching" the team or educating the coaching staff. If watching PSU games or attending bowl games didn't result in a sense of enjoyment.....I simply wouldn't do it anymore. I wouldn't come here and bitch about what used to be (according to my memory), should be or whatever.
Trust me, if PSU doesn't win tomorrow, I'll be throwing and punching shit during the game....but I won't return here and re coach the game or disparage a good kid like Sean Clifford. I'll leave all that to the real fans.

Clifford gets bashed way too much for sure

 

[scrivener]

I truly can't believe someone thinks we have quality wins but to each their own

I mean it is such a gray area word, "quality," that to me, can't be quantified with metrics. Winning on the road in CFB is difficult so those wins over Purdue and Auburn are solid. But, as for wins over ranked teams or teams with equal to better talent, i.e. Michigan and OSU, obviously, we didn't hit that metric.

 

[Agoodnap]

Well Auburn and Minnesota will finish right at their preseason predicted win totals so you can't say they were less than we thought they would be. I think you could say that Purdue and Michigan State (assuming we beat them) are less than what was expected so overall the season was easier than expected but that's about it. I think it would be a lot easier to feel good about things if we were at least competitive vs OSU and UM. We're still lacking in some key areas.

Competitive against OSU? We kicked the living crap out of them for 51 minutes of that game. Michigan on the other hand kicked the crap out of us for 60 minutes of that game, regardless of the score at halftime.

 

[AWS1022]

So, you are mocking him because he believes the PSU program should be held to higher standards? Interesting. JF says it every year...so take it from him them. Most fans/alumni goal isn't to finish 3rd in the division, which they will this year. That doesn't mean it hasn't been a "good" year. It does mean, they weren't close to contending for a championship, so it was a "good", but unfulfilling year, at least IMO. I can't wait to read this board if/when we beat Tulane or some other crappy mid-major possibly in the Cotton, where any of the starting 22 would be lucky to start for PSU, and how many will tout that as a "great" win. An 11 win season including a bowl is a heckuva building block for next year, but observing the 11 win season and really putting aside the blue/white glasses will tell you, a good amount of progress was made, and still has to be made to reach the "elite" level that JF talks about -- so don't come after posters who aspire for more when JF says it all the time.

One quarter away is “not contending for a championship”? Since when?

 

[Obliviax]

PSU will be better because fans like you have "standards."

PSU will be better because you settle for mediocrity.

 

[scrivener]

Competitive against OSU? We kicked the living crap out of them for 51 minutes of that game. Michigan on the other hand kicked the crap out of us for 60 minutes of that game, regardless of the score at halftime.

We played well vs OSU, better than we have in many years. However, a little hyperbolic to say we kicked the living crap out of them after 51 minutes...it was 21-16. We were playing well to that point, but slow down on the kicking the crap. OSU in 9 minutes did more "dominating" than we did.

 

[Obliviax]

Making stuff up? Go back and read the posts. And as far as emotional, I’m not the one arguing with an entire board.

entire board? Two people that think beating Minnesota and their second team QB is awesome.

If I am going to reduce my fandom to hoping to beat Purdue, I'll go root for for Iowa State

 

[Obliviax]

We played well vs OSU, better than we have in many years. However, a little hyperbolic to say we kicked the living crap out of them after 51 minutes...it was 21-16. We were playing well to that point, but slow down on the kicking the crap. OSU in 9 minutes did more "dominating" than we did.

I believe that the coach handed these out to players and staff after the game.

 

[scrivener]

One quarter away is “not contending for a championship”? Since when?

Since we are finishing 3rd in the division...I mean you could say PSU was 3 quarters away since we "led" in the 3rd q vs Michigan. I mean come on.

 

[AWS1022]

entire board? Two people that think beating Minnesota and their second team QB is awesome.

If I am going to reduce my fandom to hoping to beat Purdue, I'll go root for for Iowa State

I don’t know about you, but I hope we beat everyone we play, including Purdue. I guess that makes me a reduced fan.

 

[AWS1022]

Since we are finishing 3rd in the division...I mean you could say PSU was 3 quarters away since we "led" in the 3rd q vs Michigan. I mean come on.

I guess your definition of contending for a championship is different than mine. If you’re one quarter away from being in contention for the championship, I’d say that’s being in contention. I guess only 12-0 seasons are acceptable. We deserve that, after all we’ve been a dynasty for so many years.

 

[scrivener]

I guess your definition of contending for a championship is different than mine. If you’re one quarter away from being in contention for the championship, I’d say that’s being in contention. I guess only 12-0 seasons are acceptable. We deserve that, after all we’ve been a dynasty for so many years.

Yes, our definitions are different -- hence the beauty of message boards. In theory, had PSU lost 5 games, all in the final minute, would you have said we were 5 quarters or plays away from being undefeated -- despite the loss total? I mean you can play the reduction theory all day...but the final standings are what tell the tale.

 

[knickslions]

I guess your definition of contending for a championship is different than mine. If you’re one quarter away from being in contention for the championship, I’d say that’s being in contention. I guess only 12-0 seasons are acceptable. We deserve that, after all we’ve been a dynasty for so many years.

You can’t reason with these douches. They are sad cause penn state is on verge of 10 win season and a major bowl. They are only happy when things are bad. That way they get to complain more which gives them joy.

 

[scrivener]

You can’t reason with these douches. They are sad cause penn state is on verge of 10 win season and a major bowl. They are only happy when things are bad. That way they get to complain more which gives them joy.

🤡

 

[john4psu]

not for me. I am OK with a 10-2 season. However, we need to look at what 10-2 means. We beat every mediocre and bad team on our schedule. We then had two top 4 teams we lost to. One we played tough, the other blew us out of the stadium.

From my standpoint, assuming we win tomorrow, we did what we were supposed to do. Nothing more, nothing less. That is a big improvement from the last two years when we lost to some awful teams. We lost to Ill, Iowa and Michigan State (Iowa and MSU were both ranked). The Ill game was a travesty by any stretch or imagination and launched Ill to their very good season this year. Hell, they had a parade when they got back.

In 2020, we lost to Indiana, MD, Nebraska, tOSU and Michigan. Iowa blew us out of the stadium.

So 2022 is an improvement but I am not going to get excited about it. Probably our best performance was tOSU in a loss. We were mediocre for a PSU team, IMHO, for 2022. We improved out of losing to teams we should have beaten to just losing to teams that we expect to be better than us.

Regardless of all of that, I am tired of the "wait till next year" attitude. We've sucked or been mediocre for three years in a row. This year has been an improvement and a stepping stone. But I am not going to call it a "success" until we challenge for the B1G championship. That is where PSU should be almost every year.

But Obli, we were predicted to win eight games. So this team and coaching staff exceeded pre-season expectations.

I'll take a 10-win season with a NYD bowl game and graduating our players "Success with Honor" every year. We had years we deserved the national titles, at least a share, and didn't get it. That tempered my expectations along with seeing how the BIG cheats to favor Ohio $tate and UM.