This year and next year

[bdgan]

Most of us predicted 10-2 this year so why such disappointment?

• Many were concerned about DE and those concerns proved legit. Injuries to Brown & Buchholz made matters worse.
• Many were concerned about LB which also proved legit.
• Most expected the DTs to be a big strength. They've been OK but not as good as expected.
• Most expected the OL to be improved and for Barkley to rush for 1,800 yards. This is obviously the biggest disappointment. Part of the problem might be he scheme.
• Two coaching concerns (for me anyway). At OSU we went conservative with a 15 pt lead and it cost us the game. Also, we had a very creative offensive game plan vs. UM then mysteriously went back to a traditional offense after that.

It will be difficult to be too disappointed if we win out and also win a bowl game. But what could have been.


So what should we expect next year?

• The OL loses Mahon but returns everybody else. Wright, Gonzalez, McGovern, Bates, Menet, and Thorpe have the potential for big improvement but they're going to have to prove it.
• McSorley should be back and Sanders/Robinson can fill in for Barkley. I don't expect much of a drop off.
• Gesicki graduates. Can Holland or Bowers play? Can they block?
• WR loses Blacknall & Hamilton. Hamilton will be tough to replace but we should be OK with Johnson, Charles, Polk, & Thompkins.
• DE should see the most improvement with Brown, Buchholz, Miller, Toney, & Simmons.
• DT will be a drop off after losing Cothran, Cothren, & Chavis. Givens, Windsor, & Jordan will have to improve.
• LB is a problem with Cabinda & Smith gone. Parsons? To late to move Toney?
• CB should be fine. Lose Campbell & Haley but gain Reid and have Oruwariye, Wade, and Castro-Fields.
• S might have trouble replacing Allen & Apke. Scott, Taylor, & Monroe are unproven.
• K is a mystery with Davis graduating. Pinegar?

The offense should be nearly as potent if we can get a TE that can block and catch an occasional pass. The defense could take a step back with weakness at DT, LB, and S. We also need a kicker.

PS should certainly be 4-0 with wins over App State, Pitt, Kent St, and at Illinois. Then OSU & MSU back to back but at home. I'll say 5-1. @ Indiana is no guarantee then Iowa at home. Let's say 7-1. Then @ Michigan followed by Wisconsin. Could easily fall to 7-3. Finish @ Rutgers and vs. Maryland. Sounds like 9-3. Could be better if we find a MLB, TE, S, and K.

 

[GreggK]

Because we were 4 points away from being undefeated in two very winnable games

 

[fairgambit]

The problem for me with the 2 losses is we threw both games away. Even if we had just blown one, we would still be in the mix. We had our hands on the gold ring and dropped it. While the future looks bright, given the uncertainty of life, you never know if you will ever get that close again. We are not Alabama. It will be a battle every year to just win our Division. We had a chance and now it's gone.

 

[RTLH]

I had said for a year the problem on defense is no SOB in the front 7. l I heard and that includes from the staff at BWI was about how great our depth was and how we would have fresh bodies in at the end, well a bunch of average players are one thing, having a few great players is another. On the defensive front 7 we do not have any truly truly great players.

And what happened was still on his radio program less Monday even eluded the fact that he didn't see any great players like odrick, Clark, still Hill, Arrington posluszny Connor Conlin

 

[PennStateTurf2002]

Wisconsin is Home isn’t it ?

 

[delcoLion]

Most of us predicted 10-2 this year so why such disappointment

• Gesicki graduates.

The offense should be nearly as potent if we can get a TE that can block and catch an occasional pass. The defense could take a step back with weakness at DT, LB, and S. We also need a kicker.

.

I don't want to pile on to Gesicki, he's one of us and he's a great receiving threat. He waves at pass rushers and blitzers. You have to figure that a traditional TE would have helped the PSU running game immeasurably. We're getting ahead of ourselves here but TE is a position to watch next year.

 

[PennStateTurf2002]

Also we have a bye after Ohio State prior to MSU coming here. I am gonna assume we win our home schedule. Indiana and Michigan are our toughest road tests, both winnable.

 

[fkkkjm]

I think people overlook just how bad Gesicki is at run blocking. Bottom line is he sucks at it. I was actually happy Millen. called him out on Saturday. I think our run blocking will be improved with his absence. The next guys up can’t be worse, can they?

 

[AWS1022]

The problem for me with the 2 losses is we threw both games away. Even if we had just blown one, we would still be in the mix. We had our hands on the gold ring and dropped it. While the future looks bright, given the uncertainty of life, you never know if you will ever get that close again. We are not Alabama. It will be a battle every year to just win our Division. We had a chance and now it's gone.

That could be said after every game. Last year we were one dropped pass from beating Pitt and the way we lost to UM was unacceptable. That's why you have to look at seasons as a whole and not game by game. I'm sure many teams who's fans predicted 10-2 and are on track for that are complaining about the ones they lost and how they lost them. A CFP playoff spot was right in the hands of ND, TCU, USC and many others and they "threw it away". Losses can always be second guessed, but pretty much every team loses.

 

[Rip_E_2_Joe_PA]

I am with you up to here....

• Gesicki graduates. Can Holland or Bowers play? Can they block? Did Gesicki throw more than 2 blocks this season?
• WR loses Blacknall & Hamilton. Hamilton will be tough to replace but we should be OK with Johnson, Charles, Polk, & Thompkins. You missed Hamler, Darien, Hippenhammer and Sullivan-Brown (2 of which have been noted by the coaching staff)
• DE should see the most improvement with Brown, Buchholz, Miller, Toney, & Simmons. Yetur Matos where'd he go?
• DT will be a drop off after losing Cothran, Cothren, & Chavis. Givens, Windsor, & Jordan will have to improve. Shelton and Hansard, Bolds where'd they go?
• LB is a problem with Cabinda & Smith gone. Parsons? To late to move Toney? LB, and S. We also need a kicker. Ellis Brooks or move one of the two heavier OS LBs inside.

PS should certainly be 4-0 with wins over App State, Pitt, Kent St, and at Illinois. Then OSU & MSU back to back but at home. I'll say 5-1. @ Indiana is no guarantee then Iowa at home. Let's say 7-1. Then @ Michigan followed by Wisconsin on the road. Could easily fall to 7-3. Finish @ Rutgers and vs. Maryland. Sounds like 9-3. Could be better if we find a MLB, TE, S, and K.[/QUOTE] None of our competition loses player eh? Pretty Funny stuff.

 

[bdgan]

I am with you up to here....

• Gesicki graduates. Can Holland or Bowers play? Can they block? Did Gesicki throw more than 2 blocks this season?
• WR loses Blacknall & Hamilton. Hamilton will be tough to replace but we should be OK with Johnson, Charles, Polk, & Thompkins. You missed Hamler, Darien, Hippenhammer and Sullivan-Brown (2 of which have been noted by the coaching staff)
• DE should see the most improvement with Brown, Buchholz, Miller, Toney, & Simmons. Yetur Matos where'd he go?
• DT will be a drop off after losing Cothran, Cothren, & Chavis. Givens, Windsor, & Jordan will have to improve. Shelton and Hansard, Bolds where'd they go?
• LB is a problem with Cabinda & Smith gone. Parsons? To late to move Toney? LB, and S. We also need a kicker. Ellis Brooks or move one of the two heavier OS LBs inside.

PS should certainly be 4-0 with wins over App State, Pitt, Kent St, and at Illinois. Then OSU & MSU back to back but at home. I'll say 5-1. @ Indiana is no guarantee then Iowa at home. Let's say 7-1. Then @ Michigan followed by Wisconsin on the road. Could easily fall to 7-3. Finish @ Rutgers and vs. Maryland. Sounds like 9-3. Could be better if we find a MLB, TE, S, and K.

None of our competition loses player eh? Pretty Funny stuff.[/QUOTE]
That was a bad miss by me to forget Matos. DE shouild definitely be improved.

As for the rest, I'm not ready to predict that we're in good shape because we have some inexperienced freshmen.

 

[artsandletters]

I am with you up to here....

• Gesicki graduates. Can Holland or Bowers play? Can they block? Did Gesicki throw more than 2 blocks this season?
• WR loses Blacknall & Hamilton. Hamilton will be tough to replace but we should be OK with Johnson, Charles, Polk, & Thompkins. You missed Hamler, Darien, Hippenhammer and Sullivan-Brown (2 of which have been noted by the coaching staff)
• DE should see the most improvement with Brown, Buchholz, Miller, Toney, & Simmons. Yetur Matos where'd he go?
• DT will be a drop off after losing Cothran, Cothren, & Chavis. Givens, Windsor, & Jordan will have to improve. Shelton and Hansard, Bolds where'd they go?
• LB is a problem with Cabinda & Smith gone. Parsons? To late to move Toney? LB, and S. We also need a kicker. Ellis Brooks or move one of the two heavier OS LBs inside.

PS should certainly be 4-0 with wins over App State, Pitt, Kent St, and at Illinois. Then OSU & MSU back to back but at home. I'll say 5-1. @ Indiana is no guarantee then Iowa at home. Let's say 7-1. Then @ Michigan followed by Wisconsin on the road. Could easily fall to 7-3. Finish @ Rutgers and vs. Maryland. Sounds like 9-3. Could be better if we find a MLB, TE, S, and K.

None of our competition loses player eh? Pretty Funny stuff.[/QUOTE]
Also, Shorter will play as a freshman at WR.

 

[Rip_E_2_Joe_PA]

None of our competition loses player eh? Pretty Funny stuff.

That was a bad miss by me to forget Matos. DE shouild definitely be improved.

As for the rest, I'm not ready to predict that we're in good shape because we have some inexperienced freshmen.[/QUOTE]

Last year we played with a lot of inexperience players.... this year too in fact, that has been the case for the last three years. Who knows what these youngsters will bring to the table, but I think that is what is one of the greatest assets this coaching staff has, starting with Gattis.... strength and to a man the position coaches... great judges of talent and teachers. they may suck at play calling on the road when winning late in a game. But they develop talent.

DT will be a strength on this team next season as will DE. If Jarvis Miller is healthy I am not concerned about LB.... Brown will pack on 15-20 more lbs and be a monster. In fact, I am looking forward to the youngsters seeing the field next year, already.

 

[LineMountain]

I think if we find a TE we will be fine on offense.

The defense is going to be very vulnerable up the middle; DT, MLB, SS. Cabinda and Allen are good thumpers in the middle for run D.

 

[fairgambit]

That could be said after every game. Last year we were one dropped pass from beating Pitt and the way we lost to UM was unacceptable. That's why you have to look at seasons as a whole and not game by game. I'm sure many teams who's fans predicted 10-2 and are on track for that are complaining about the ones they lost and how they lost them. A CFP playoff spot was right in the hands of ND, TCU, USC and many others and they "threw it away". Losses can always be second guessed, but pretty much every team loses.

All losses count the same, but all losses are not the same. When you lose, as we did last year, by getting blown out by Michigan, there is no second guessing. When you lead OSU by 11 with less than 6 minutes left, you should not lose the game. Yesterday Notre Dame threw nothing away. They were never in the game. Sure, many here predicted 10-2, but when you get to 7-0, and you lead late in the 4th quarter of game 8, your expectations change.

 

[grinagrin]

If I’m Pry, I’m telling Ellis Brooks to not leave the weight room and to watch as much film as possible cuz next year he has a chance to be a 4 year starter at MLB

 

[BrucePa]

The difference between 11-2 and 10-3 last year, and between 10-0 and 8-2 this year, plus a final 4 appearance with a chance for all the marbles, is pitiful coaching decisions and folding like a cheap suitcase in the 4th quarter. There is no good reason that Penn State shouldn't be on a 20-game winning streak.

 

[Rip_E_2_Joe_PA]

I think if we find a TE we will be fine on offense.

The defense is going to be very vulnerable up the middle; DT, MLB, SS. Cabinda and Allen are good thumpers in the middle for run D.

I'll take all comers on this one. Cabinda was here one game gone the next. Allen is a great player but there are several good players waiting in the wings. DT will be stacked. My concern still is with the OL.... I keep hearing the pundits say they will be good next year.... when do we bgind to see this? Does he OL Good Fairy Princess show up with magic dust in mid August and the execution just begin... Just like that?

 

[Rip_E_2_Joe_PA]

PS... Kicking has been a mystery this season....

 

[bdgan]

If I’m Pry, I’m telling Ellis Brooks to not leave the weight room and to watch as much film as possible cuz next year he has a chance to be a 4 year starter at MLB

I guess the Toney at MLB ship has sailed. Too bad since they have Buchholz, Brown, Miller, Simmons, and Gross-Matos all with experience.

Givens won't be able to play DE next year. We'll need him dedicated to DT with 3 kids graduating.

 

[MarkinMadison]

Most of us predicted 10-2 this year so why such disappointment?

• Many were concerned about DE & LB and those concerns proved legit. Injuries to Brown & Buchholz made matters worse.
• Many were concerned about LB which also proved legit.
• Most expected the DTs to be a big strength. They've been OK but not as good as expected.
• Most expected the OL to be improved and for Barkley to rush for 1,800 yards. This is obviously the biggest disappointment. Part of the problem might be he scheme.
• Two coaching concerns (for me anyway). At OSU we went conservative with a 15 pt lead and it cost us the game. Also, we had a very creative offensive game plan vs. UM then mysteriously went back to a traditional offense after that.

It will be difficult to be too disappointed if we win out and also win a bowl game. But what could have been.


So what should we expect next year?

• The OL loses Mahon but returns everybody else. Wright, Gonzalez, McGovern, Bates, Menet, and Thorpe have the potential for big improvement but they're going to have to prove it.
• McSorley should be back and Sanders/Robinson can fill in for Barkley. I don't expect much of a drop off.
• Gesicki graduates. Can Holland or Bowers play? Can they block?
• WR loses Blacknall & Hamilton. Hamilton will be tough to replace but we should be OK with Johnson, Charles, Polk, & Thompkins.
• DE should see the most improvement with Brown, Buchholz, Miller, Toney, & Simmons.
• DT will be a drop off after losing Cothran, Cothren, & Chavis. Givens, Windsor, & Jordan will have to improve.
• LB is a problem with Cabinda & Smith gone. Parsons? To late to move Toney?
• CB should be fine. Lose Campbell & Haley but gain Reid and have Oruwariye, Wade, and Castro-Fields.
• S might have trouble replacing Allen & Apke. Scott, Taylor, & Monroe are unproven.
• K is a mystery with Davis graduating. Pinegar?

The offense should be nearly as potent if we can get a TE that can block and catch an occasional pass. The defense could take a step back with weakness at DT, LB, and S. We also need a kicker.

PS should certainly be 4-0 with wins over App State, Pitt, Kent St, and at Illinois. Then OSU & MSU back to back but at home. I'll say 5-1. @ Indiana is no guarantee then Iowa at home. Let's say 7-1. Then @ Michigan followed by Wisconsin on the road. Could easily fall to 7-3. Finish @ Rutgers and vs. Maryland. Sounds like 9-3. Could be better if we find a MLB, TE, S, and K.

One of things that I like about next year is that we don't have back-to-back road games in the Big 10 schedule. The reasons for losing to MSU have been beaten to death.....but playing a road game coming off a road game had to be exhausting. These kids are not pros where there is nothing else going on their lives but sleeping on airplanes and in hotels.

Many people mentioned that both OSU and Penn State were drained after their game and felt it the following week.......but at least OSU went to Iowa after a home game.....maybe a minor issue.....but what a strange, strange day that was at MSU...amongst many things.

I think the way the Big 10 has it is that when the team has 4 home and 5 away games (like this year and 2019 for Penn State), they are going to get stuck with back-to-back away games.....not the case next year when Penn State plays 5 home and 4 on the road. Wisconsin had back-to-back away games this year....but it was softened by being Illinois and Indiana......hardly an OSU/MSU road trip.

 

[bdgan]

One of things that I like about next year is that we don't have back-to-back road games in the Big 10 schedule. The reasons for losing to MSU have been beaten to death.....but playing a road game coming off a road game had to be exhausting.

Agree. The delay didn't help at MSU either. I wonder what their visitor locker rooms are like.

We are replacing Nebraska with Wisconsin so that makes things more difficult.

 

[canuckhal]

I think if we find a TE we will be fine on offense.

The defense is going to be very vulnerable up the middle; DT, MLB, SS. Cabinda and Allen are good thumpers in the middle for run D.

What about Dalton? Has there been any talk of him? Also, I think either of the TE recruits this year will get a shot.

 

[GregInPitt]

Most of us predicted 10-2 this year so why such disappointment?

• Many were concerned about DE & LB and those concerns proved legit. Injuries to Brown & Buchholz made matters worse.
• Many were concerned about LB which also proved legit.
• Most expected the DTs to be a big strength. They've been OK but not as good as expected.
• Most expected the OL to be improved and for Barkley to rush for 1,800 yards. This is obviously the biggest disappointment. Part of the problem might be he scheme.
• Two coaching concerns (for me anyway). At OSU we went conservative with a 15 pt lead and it cost us the game. Also, we had a very creative offensive game plan vs. UM then mysteriously went back to a traditional offense after that.

It will be difficult to be too disappointed if we win out and also win a bowl game. But what could have been.


So what should we expect next year?

• The OL loses Mahon but returns everybody else. Wright, Gonzalez, McGovern, Bates, Menet, and Thorpe have the potential for big improvement but they're going to have to prove it.
• McSorley should be back and Sanders/Robinson can fill in for Barkley. I don't expect much of a drop off.
• Gesicki graduates. Can Holland or Bowers play? Can they block?
• WR loses Blacknall & Hamilton. Hamilton will be tough to replace but we should be OK with Johnson, Charles, Polk, & Thompkins.
• DE should see the most improvement with Brown, Buchholz, Miller, Toney, & Simmons.
• DT will be a drop off after losing Cothran, Cothren, & Chavis. Givens, Windsor, & Jordan will have to improve.
• LB is a problem with Cabinda & Smith gone. Parsons? To late to move Toney?
• CB should be fine. Lose Campbell & Haley but gain Reid and have Oruwariye, Wade, and Castro-Fields.
• S might have trouble replacing Allen & Apke. Scott, Taylor, & Monroe are unproven.
• K is a mystery with Davis graduating. Pinegar?

The offense should be nearly as potent if we can get a TE that can block and catch an occasional pass. The defense could take a step back with weakness at DT, LB, and S. We also need a kicker.

PS should certainly be 4-0 with wins over App State, Pitt, Kent St, and at Illinois. Then OSU & MSU back to back but at home. I'll say 5-1. @ Indiana is no guarantee then Iowa at home. Let's say 7-1. Then @ Michigan followed by Wisconsin on the road. Could easily fall to 7-3. Finish @ Rutgers and vs. Maryland. Sounds like 9-3. Could be better if we find a MLB, TE, S, and K.

Some of the 4th and 5th year (in 2018) players that you refer to will not be on the team, as that is how a team with about 15 or 16 scholarship players playing in their last year of eligibility can recruit a full class of 25 players.

• The OL loses Mahon but returns everybody else. Wright, Gonzalez, McGovern, Bates, Menet, and Thorpe have the potential for big improvement but they're going to have to prove it.

Wright may or may not be back, but he has had 4 years to improve and at this point is at best an average OT. I believe the improvement will be from Gonzalez, McGovern, Bates, Menet, Gellerstadt, Miranda, and Thorpe, with the outside chance that a player such as Holme might surprise as well.

• McSorley should be back and Sanders/Robinson can fill in for Barkley. I don't expect much of a drop off.

Agree on Sanders and Robinson. And Brown should not be forgotten. Slade may be too good to redshirt.

• Gesicki graduates. Can Holland or Bowers play? Can they block?

Also Dalton. And could Freiermuth and/or Kuntz play as true freshmen. Hillary could block better than Gesicki. so the run game will improve next year with any TE that even makes contact with his assignment on a regular basis. I believe Kuntz is enrolling early.

• WR loses Blacknall & Hamilton. Hamilton will be tough to replace but we should be OK with Johnson, Charles, Polk, & Thompkins.

The great thing about this year with Hamilton was that he had loads of experience as well as confidence. So he pretty much stepped in from the word go as a replacement for Godwin as the go to guy. Johnson should be that guy next year. And there is plenty of talent that will compete to play WR (3 redshirt FR and Shorter) along with the improvement that Johson, Charles, Polk & Thompkins make in the off season.

• DE should see the most improvement with Brown, Buchholz, Miller, Toney, & Simmons.

Who knows if Brown will be back. If Buchholz is healthy, along with a bigger Miller we have two solid starters. And I believe Gross-Matos will push to start, with Toney and Simmons and Joseph all improving to provide better depth and better run defense than what we have seen lately. To me Gross-Matos is already better than Simmons and Toney and GM will make the biggest improvement as this will be his first off season in the S&C program as well as within Spring practices. A true freshman like Smith could come in and contribute just like GM did this year.

• DT will be a drop off after losing Cothran, Cothren, & Chavis. Givens, Windsor, & Jordan will have to improve.

Great to see Shelton and Jordan get playing time this past week. They will be needed when the top 3 move on... Shelton looks petty big and Hansard and Bolds will also have a chance to earn playing time. Givens will be the leader at DT, with Windsor, and possibly Buchholz if the DE's mature and he can move....

• LB is a problem with Cabinda & Smith gone. Parsons? To late to move Toney?

Cabinda will be hard to replace, but that's the nature of college football. If Bowen comes back and moves to MLB we could field a comparable starting group, in Bowen, Farmer and Brown. How will Miller develop, and what about the 3 redshirt LB's? Unknowns to us, but not to CJF and Pry. If Toney was moving it would have been done, but who knows.

• CB should be fine. Lose Campbell & Haley but gain Reid and have Oruwariye, Wade, and Castro-Fields.

I believe CJF said that Oruwariye is coming back and that is great news, as he is our most aggressive CB to the ball in the air. Nice 4 with Reid, Wade and CF. McPherson also got PT this year, although he looks like the least physical of the top 5. And 2 CB's that redshirted this year, Johnson and Brown, will compete for PT as well.

• S might have trouble replacing Allen & Apke. Scott, Taylor, & Monroe are unproven.

All players are unproven until they actually start, but Scott and Monroe have gotten some PT and have proven to be ball hawks on special teams. That's how Safety's develop. And with Taylor and Sutherland also in the mix for PT, will there be a need to move a CB to Safety? Maybe not. Maybe 2018 is the year a true Safety plays some on special teams, Humphries or Young. Allen's run support will be missed, especially because the LB injuries and lack of size at DE this year make our run defense dependent upon him....

• K is a mystery with Davis graduating. Pinegar?

Don't forget Barbir. And could the kicker out with the eating disorder reappear?

 

[Ranger Dan]

We don’t have the right kind of D tackles or O tackles to expect any better than 10-2. There are some talented and more stout D tackles, as well as O linemen that project to tackle in this years class. This gives me hope for the future...

 

[PennStateNate]

So Barkley is the best player in College Football and could be the best PSU has seen, but when he leaves we won't see much of a drop off? I don't get that. RB is going to be a huge dropoff, Barkley is so good and does so much.

I honestly think 2018 we will drop back a bit, maybe 9-3, 8-4.. 2019 is looking great tho.

 

[palmettolion]

• S might have trouble replacing Allen & Apke. Scott, Taylor, & Monroe are unproven.

We will have a lot of trouble replacing Allen in the run game and as leader, not in pass defense. Strongly disagree about Apke. Scott is better right now.

 

[Springcity]

That was a bad miss by me to forget Matos. DE shouild definitely be improved.

As for the rest, I'm not ready to predict that we're in good shape because we have some inexperienced freshmen.

Last year we played with a lot of inexperience players.... this year too in fact, that has been the case for the last three years. Who knows what these youngsters will bring to the table, but I think that is what is one of the greatest assets this coaching staff has, starting with Gattis.... strength and to a man the position coaches... great judges of talent and teachers. they may suck at play calling on the road when winning late in a game. But they develop talent.

DT will be a strength on this team next season as will DE. If Jarvis Miller is healthy I am not concerned about LB.... Brown will pack on 15-20 more lbs and be a monster. In fact, I am looking forward to the youngsters seeing the field next year, already.[/QUOTE]
I thought you did a good job. Pretty comprehensive several things are debatable . Overall pretty good

 

[Springcity]

2019 is the year where we compete for the College Footabll Playoffs. That is where we should have high expectations. All areas of the team including offensive line will be talented and experienced

 

[PSU.:.]

Not really dissapointed in the record. It’s the total lack of any run game and OL development that is extremely dissapointing. PSU has best running back in college football in like 10-20 years and the run game is complete garbage.
Now that is behond disappointing!!!
Pissing me off just thinking about it.

 

[GregInPitt]

So Barkley is the best player in College Football and could be the best PSU has seen, but when he leaves we won't see much of a drop off? I don't get that. RB is going to be a huge dropoff, Barkley is so good and does so much.

I honestly think 2018 we will drop back a bit, maybe 9-3, 8-4.. 2019 is looking great tho.

The running game is about blocking, which was pretty sparse at best this year. What impact did SB have when he was getting tackled 4 yards in the backfield as he got the ball? None. Sanders was the #1 RB in the country coming out of H.S., and the other backs on the roster are talented as well. I believe it is even money that next year's starting RB (assuming SB goes to the NFL, a player such as Sanders wins the starting job, the OL improves even marginally, and we field a TE that can make actual contact with his assignment) runs for more yards than SB will this year. So as far as actual RB production, I don't see much of a drop off coming next year either.

 

[PSU.:.]

So Barkley is the best player in College Football and could be the best PSU has seen, but when he leaves we won't see much of a drop off? I don't get that. RB is going to be a huge dropoff, Barkley is so good and does so much.

I honestly think 2018 we will drop back a bit, maybe 9-3, 8-4.. 2019 is looking great tho.

Well depends how the OL improves if the run game will drop or not. Barkley has been very absent in the run game this year because of a horrid OL and slowing developing scheme.

If the offense is tweaked and OL is improved I don’t think there will be much of a drop off in the run game. Passing offense might drop off some because defenses won’t be keying so much on the running back.

 

[LineMountain]

I'll take all comers on this one. Cabinda was here one game gone the next. Allen is a great player but there are several good players waiting in the wings. DT will be stacked. My concern still is with the OL.... I keep hearing the pundits say they will be good next year.... when do we bgind to see this? Does he OL Good Fairy Princess show up with magic dust in mid August and the execution just begin... Just like that?

The key to every defense is up the middle and working inside to outside. Also, an experienced MLB means the world to aligning a defense and stopping the run. Allen has been like another LB in his run support. We lose our best DT’s which is huge in the ground & pound B1G especially in Oct./Nov.

 

[AWS1022]

All losses count the same, but all losses are not the same. When you lose, as we did last year, by getting blown out by Michigan, there is no second guessing. When you lead OSU by 11 with less than 6 minutes left, you should not lose the game. Yesterday Notre Dame threw nothing away. They were never in the game. Sure, many here predicted 10-2, but when you get to 7-0, and you lead late in the 4th quarter of game 8, your expectations change.

And Wiscy shouldn't have blown their lead against us in the Big championship game. And Iowa shouldn't have let us march down the field and score a last second TD. It goes both ways. Sometimes you lose games you shouldn't and sometimes you win games you shouldn't.

 

[fairgambit]

And Wiscy shouldn't have blown their lead against us in the Big championship game. And Iowa shouldn't have let us march down the field and score a last second TD. It goes both ways. Sometimes you lose games you shouldn't and sometimes you win games you shouldn't.

True. Wiscy is a perfect example. I know a Wisconsin guy and he feels the same way about our game as I do about OSU. They blew it, and so did we.

 

[Ian]

TE is key in RPO. Would like to see Stevens bulk up a bit and move into Gesicki’s spot. He is a player and they need to get him on the field. Clifford is the heir apparent at QB. A tough competitor and a winner just like Trace.

 

[Rip_E_2_Joe_PA]

The key to every defense is up the middle and working inside to outside. Also, an experienced MLB means the world to aligning a defense and stopping the run. Allen has been like another LB in his run support. We lose our best DT’s which is huge in the ground & pound B1G especially in Oct./Nov.

Correction: We lose our most experienced DT's. One starter has been great the other very good. However, all you guys seem to ignore the rotation that has been used here. The only real concern I see is replacing Cabinda and that is a very very big concern. Nobody loves Allen more than me, however there is excellent talent at that position to step in and do an outstanding job when he moves on.

 

[mfb5053]

We will have a lot of trouble replacing Allen in the run game and as leader, not in pass defense. Strongly disagree about Apke. Scott is better right now.

Apke could successfully be replaced by a traffic cone.

 

[kgilbert78]

And Wiscy shouldn't have blown their lead against us in the Big championship game. And Iowa shouldn't have let us march down the field and score a last second TD. It goes both ways. Sometimes you lose games you shouldn't and sometimes you win games you shouldn't.

Re. the Iowa game: I'm still shaking my head and wondering "how did that happen". And I was there.

 

[LineMountain]

TE is key in RPO. Would like to see Stevens bulk up a bit and move into Gesicki’s spot. He is a player and they need to get him on the field. Clifford is the heir apparent at QB. A tough competitor and a winner just like Trace.

Stevens will be our starting QB in 2019.