Rewatching The Iowa Game

I feel like this is something I need to do and I also feel like I'm ready to rewatch this game without being driven mad.

A quick thought on Royster; Royster has a peculiar ability to not only commit to the hole and run with power but he is equally capable of running "skinny" while in in traffic. By "skinny" I mean that he never seems to take direct and punishing contact he just turns his body and takes a glancing blow or spins off. Terriffic.

The offense in general looks great in the first half of this game. I have no idea how the Lions dropped this game.

Offensive line was great last year. Run blocking and pass blocking all members of the line were very solid. You have to figure if the starters were great last year that the younger players have to be pretty good behind them. Right? I mean, the Lions' line will be fine in '09, right?

Shonn Greene was a great college player. I hope he is able to stand up-right by the time he is thirty because Iowa gave him the ball every damn time and he gets hit three times per carry.

By comparison, Stepfon Green is just fucking fast. Stepf seems to have limitless potential to be a game-changer but there was something missing. I don't know if he will improve as he becomes more comfortable with the offense.

This game is the perfect example of missed opportunities costing a team. PSU was dominating Iowa through the first three quarters but the Nits had a really tough time putting the ball in the endzone and it came back to bite them. Sigh. I also think PSU will take heating machines on every road game from now on regardless of the forecast.

I could not be more excited to watch Bowman and Sean Lee get a chance to play together. The Defensive line had to be dominant in 2008, however, in 2009 as long as the D-line can occupy blocks Lee and Bowman will take care of the rest.

Clark Takes The Blame

FOS has video of Clark taking questions after the game. Needless to say, he is not only taking the loss very hard but also fully blames himself.

The interception is, of course, on Clark. However, there were plenty of other mistakes and plenty of blame to share. There are also lots of bright points (D-WILL!).

No break down tonight. Only lots of ice-cold beer.

GO STATE! BEAT INDIANA!

One Hiccup Only

Penn State started terribly going three and out and that was a good outcome. It could have been a lot worse, Iowa could have had a safety or the ball on PSU's two. After giving up a quick TD Penn State has looked good on offense controlling both the ball and the clock.

Iowa looked great during Penn State's first possession and then for their next two plays, resulting in a Greene TD. However, since then the game seems to belong to PSU. Iowa, however, is hanging in there and are still only down by 6 points (they will also get the ball to start the second half).

My favorite part of the first half has been all the direct snaps to D-Will. It isn't that PSU hasn't tried this before, however, it was always a pass. Now we have D-Will running the single wing and Iowa is powerless to stop it.

Oh, and PSU controlled the ball for over 75% of the first half.

I am fired up!

GO STATE! BEAT IOWA!

Kirk Ferentz Rumors

My afternoon got a huge jolt when I read that Kirk Ferentz was seen at the Lasch Building this afternoon. I initially heard this over at BHGP. However, FOS has a story which seems to throw a bucket of ice water on the flames of intrigue. FOS explains his visit thusly:

The Hawkeyes intend to upgrade their indoor practice facility in the near future, and apparently liked what they saw when given an opportunity to practice in Holuba Hall before the PSU-Iowa game last fall. Currently, Iowa uses a 23-year-old bubble style indoor practice facility.

Well, yeah, that is a perfectly reasonable explanation. Which, to me, is fantastic news. Ferentz isn't exactly at the top of anyone's wish list of Paterno-replacements.

GO STATE! REMAIN CALM!

Iowa Cartoon

As always, courtesy of A Lion's Tale.

GO STATE BEAT WISCONSIN!

Iowa Video

It is good to win!



GO STATE! BEAT WISCONSIN!

Blue White Roundtable: Week of Iowa

Mike from BSD brings us the questions this week. The usuals suspects of RUTS, TNL, WWN, and the Nittany Notebook bring us better responses than my meager efforts. On to the questions!

1. Besides the fact that we're 3-2, what has been the biggest disappointment this year?

Austin Scott. We all knew that Morelli was capable of turning the ball over and missing reads but what nobody expected was the incredibly sloppy play from Scott. We had seen Scott play extremely well in the 2006 Orange Bowl and all the reports were that he had rededicated himself and was ready for a break-out season. This could not have been further from the truth as he has developed quite the penchant for fumbling.

2. After the Michigan game the play calling was under heavy scrutiny against Illinois. Late in the third quarter with Penn State trailing by seven points, the Nittany Lions had a third and goal from the one yard line. They elected to pitch the ball to Rodney Kinlaw over left tackle and the play lost two yards. Then on fourth and goal from the three they elected to kick a field goal. How would you evaluate the play calling on these two plays?

I'm glad we aren't getting too specific with the questions, nice and broad, that's how I Like 'em! I have no problem with the pitch. Kinlaw is the faster of the two backs and given Scott's inability to hold onto the ball this year I think it was a good decision. Similarly, I have no problem kicking a field goal on fourth down. You gain points and you still have a quarter left to play.

3. Is there anything positive we can take out of the Illinois game?

Yes. There has to be. It might be reaching but PSU moved the ball very effectively against Illinois, but we just couldn't put the ball in the endzone. The Lions gained over 400 yds on offense and controlled the ball for over 33 minutes. This is all positive offensive news. It is, of course, off-set by the number of turnovers but when not turning the ball over the offense looked good. (Wow, I didn't even believe all that).

Lightning Round

Who should be the starting quarterback against Iowa?

Whoever can get the ball in the goddamn endzone!

Joe Must Go! Yes or No?

No. Joe has earned the right to stay as long as he wants. People wanted him to leave after the 2004 season and he delighted us with 2005. You don't fire a legend.
Iowa Prediction?
PSU: 24
Iowa: 20

GO STATE! BEAT IOWA!

This Is Home (Videos to Fire You Up!)

PSU finally returns home after a disastrous series of road games. Could it be that Penn State simply needs the ridiculous confines of Beaver Stadium to really turn up the juice? I hope not, but it will probably help. Observer the excellence and be amazed.




One thing bothers me, did nobody say that their favorite toy was a football?

This one is great, especially if you want to learn a little more about the men behind the team.


Finally, a humorous tour of the Penn State locker room. Just great!

Holy shit! Affter that I am fired up!


GO STATE! BEAT IOWA!

Superstitions and Uncontrolled Weeping

Now that PSU is 3-2 I've had to take drastic measures. I had been sporting a goatee since before the season started. I didn't really think much of it but now that PSU has dropped 2 straight games out came the razor and I'm back to being the clean shaven man I've been in the past. I will also be watching this weeks game while soaking in a vat of gasoline, lighting matches, and weeping uncontrollably. Reading this didn't help.

Thanks to A Lion's Tale.

Gone are the happy, optimistic thoughts of summer; here to stay are the suicidal, paranoid, rantings of a mad-man.

GO STATE! STOP THE BLEEDING BEAT IOWA!

Big Ten Roundtable: Week Three

MSC brings us the questions this week. I'm all a-tingle with anticipation so lets get straight to the questions.

1. Now that two weeks of play are behind us, what is one encouraging surprise and one downing disappointment from your team? (Easy answer to the latter part of the question for Michigan bloggers)

Austin Scott is really starting to show that he can have a very good season this year. He still has to do it against a truly quality opponent but he has 162 rushing yds (4.2/carry) and 4 TDs in the first two games of the year.
Anthony Morelli is playing better than he did this time last year, however, his decision making still is not where anyone hopes it would be. For PSU to join the ranks of elite teams he will have to get his completion percentage into the 60s and just eliminate the truly awful decisions.

2. A look at the current Big Ten standings shows things dead-locked record-wise for the most part. Once conference play actually begins, which two or three teams pull away from the rest of the pack?

Judging from what teams have shown so far, PSU and Wisconsin seem to be the best two teams in the conference. Michigan has looked terrible and Ohio State struggled with Akron into the third quarter.

3. Has your team ever played in a game that was just downright boring and impossible to watch? I ask this because going into the Michigan-Notre Dame game, looking at it on paper, it is shaping up to be one of the ugliest we may see all year.

Oh yeah. The obvious choice is Penn State's loss to Iowa in 2004. The final score was Iowa 6, PSU: 4. I mean, when your defense is so good that it only gives up 6 points and scores 4 points on its own AND YOU STILL LOSE BY 2! Absolutely awful. These guys know what i'm talking about.

GO STATE! GET FIRED UP FOR BUFFALO!

Breaking Down: The Iowa Hawkeyes

In week six Penn State returns home after back-to-back weeks on the road (Michigan and Illinois), at least the have two weeks without having to clean the stadium on Sunday! The Hawkeyes come off a disappointing 7-6 2006 campaign. This is not to say Iowa is without talent, the last time we saw the Hawkeyes play Iowa lost to Texas 26-24 in the Alamo bowl. Certainly, it was a road game for Iowa and they still gave a good Texas team a run for their money. Iowa has many a good blogger including Kinnick North and Hawkeye State, check them out and expand your personal blogosphere. And now, on to the Breakdown.


Rushing:
Iowa returns Young and Sims in the backfield and will be done by committee yet again. THis is not to say that the committee in question was ineffective as they racked up 1443 yds between the two of them and averaging 4.7 YPC. Did I not mention that they combined for 13 touchdowns? Hmmm...Weird. Even if you aren't a fan of RB by commitee you have to admit that both backs are talented and this makes the Iowa backfield deep, if nothing else. What is odd is that only Sims breached the century mark, against Purdue, all year. Truly a committee of equals. Good luck with all that. All Joking aside, stopping the run is a critical component to beating the Hawkeyes. The fact that an inexperienced QB will be manning the helm will make the Lion's defensive-task all the easier.

Passing:
The passing game, however, was clearly manned by Drew Tate in 2006 as he threw for 2623 yds while completing 58% of his passes. Sadly, graduation is a real bastard in college football and Sophomore Jake Christensen will be calling the signals this fall. Christensen did complete nearly 66% of his passes for 285 yards in 2006. The future is bright, right? Well, 256 of those yards (and both TDs) came against Northern Illinois. Not really a performance to hang your hat on. My suspicion is that Iowa will try to establish the run early and get the play-action-passing-game going. The O-line also gave up 20 sacks last season (yikes) and will have to perform better in 2007 if the Hawkeyes are to have a good year. The WRs are young and talented but will have to continue to play very well and adjust to having Christensen at the reins. Again, my prescription for victory is a heavy dose of pressure. Go for the QB boys, and if you happen to tackle the RB along the way, good for you!

Defense:
The Hawkeye defense gave up nearly 21 pts/game in 2007, however, they only graduated three players on defense. With 8 starters returning the Hawkeyes are sure to improve on the defensive side of the ball. If the Hawkeyes can improve on Defense and control the ball the Hawkeyes could be very dangerous this year. However, if the Offense can't keep the defense off the field the Hawkeyes will struggle.

Prediction:
The Hawkeyes will roll into Happy Valley with a 4-1 record with their only loss being to Wisconsin on the road. The Lions will have to try to focus on Iowa and not look ahead to next Wisconsin the following week. The game will come down to Iowa turnovers, as the PSU secondary will feast on a young Iowa passing attack by picking off Christensen three times and converting these turnovers into points. The Iowa running game will do it's damage but the offense will struggle in the red zone.

Final Score!
PSU: 24
Iowa: 16

GO STATE! GET FIRED UP FOR THE FALL!