Time to Turn the Page

Penn State lost to Michigan State this weekend, and it didn’t come as a surprise to me - Joepa’s boys seem to always have a difficult time with the Spartans. However, having a 24-7 lead in the second half should’ve been enough to win it. Unfortunately, Penn State blew it, and it came down to two areas, defense, and quarterback play. I know that Michigan State has a good offense, but Penn State is supposed to have a good defense, too, right?

Well, a few weeks ago, against the Butt-Guys, the Nittany Lions were manhandled on the defensive side of the ball. Against Temple last week, even though PSU got a shutout, Temple did move the ball rather easily. This week was more of the same. Somebody HAS to step up – I don’t’ think Posluvsney would’ve let this happen if he was on the team.

On the offensive side of the ball, the play-calling in the second half was questionable at best … especially on that last real drive. Penn State moves the ball to the red zone with ease – there is plenty of time left. Why not run the ball? Instead, you put the game in the hands of a shaky quarterback … and the result was predictable. Morelli threw 4 awful passes, and PSU lost.

Now, they get to focus on a pre-New Year’s Day bowl, and football without Morelli … finally!

Battle of Pennsylvania Decided!

OK, maybe it wasn’t the greatest college football game of all time, but Paterno’s boys invaded Philadelphia, and handled an overmatched Temple Owls team rather easily. Truth is, Temple could’ve put up more of a fight early on, had they been able to hold onto some footballs and eliminate mistakes. Al Golden has really turned their program around.

For Penn State, Anthony Morelli’s graduation can’t come soon enough. The man with a strong arm and a bird-brain, made some more idiotic decisions in this victory, fumbling on the 1-yard-line, holding onto footballs far too long, and throwing an awful pick in the third quarter. Folks, this game could’ve been a blowout, but Morelli made sure it wasn’t.

Penn State wraps up their regular season next week against a team with similar skills in Michigan State. This won’t be easy, and with the way PSU plays on the road, it might be better to just hand the ball off the entire game instead of letting “the Schnozzoo” lose the game for ya.

Go State!

Win number 7!

Penn State won its last “home game” of the season this past Saturday, edging the Boilermakers, 26-19. The Nits started off slow yet again, allowing Purdue to score on the opening kickoff. Thankfully, Joe’s boys persisted and were able to overpower Purdue on the ground. One thing that continues to bother me, though – how can we justify not having a special teams coach? We miss lots of field goals, muff punts and kickoffs, and we give up lots of yards on kicks and punts.

Thankfully, the pathetic special teams play didn’t cost our team on Saturday, but it could’ve and it will, eventually. The turning point of the contest was when Purdue fumbled the ball on PSU’s one-yard line, leading at that point, 10-3. If Purdue went up 17-3 at that point, I don’t think we would’ve won. But hey, sometimes you need sparks like this.

Penn State’s next opponent is the Temple Owls, coached by Penn State alum, Al Golden. The game is being held in Philly, and may be Temple’s only sell-out of the season … thanks to all the Penn State fans purchasing the tickets …

Go State!