Not Wanting to be Upstaged by an Unexpected First-Half Sparty Party, Penn State OC Kirk Ciarrocca Finally Reached to the Top Shelf and Broke Out the “Good Stuff” in the Final 30 Minutes.
Thanks, Payton.
Who the heck is Payton, you ask?
Oh, that’s Payton Thorne, true freshman QB at Michigan State…you know the guy with cartoon stickers on the sides of his helmet – and probably his school Trapper Keeper — who lit up Penn State like a menorah in the first half. 202 passing yards. 12 consecutive completions. 3 passing TDs. Yeah, THAT Payton. That’s the guy. Thank him.
Because without Payton’s performance, it’s likely we don’t get a glimpse of anything beyond the DEMO version of Kirk Ciarrocca’s playbook. Trailing 21-10 entering the 3rd Quarter, Penn State had no choice but to order plays off-menu, diverting away from the Soylent Slants, Inside Runs, and QB Keepers that paper-cutted Michigan, Rutgers, and most of our attention spans into submission.
In a brief but beautiful moment – like a comet racing across the night sky, or putting on your winter coat for the first time since March and finding $20 in the pocket – Penn State flung the ball all over the empty Beav. In the third quarter, 13 of 18 plays (14 of 19 if you count the 2-point attempt) were passes that amassed 129 yards – 37 more than the Nits tallied the entire first half.
And then, POOF…like cotton candy on your tongue, it was gone.
During the 2nd quarter and halftime of the game against Michigan State on Saturday how many of you (us) thought that the last two weeks, where both Penn State’s offense and defense looked competent, were flukes? Who thought that the Lions, who managed wins against terrible Michigan and Rutgers teams, were now being exposed against a terrible 2-win Spartans team, and were destined to finish 2-6 themselves and with the fewest wins in the division?
I sure did.
I mean, the Good Guys were down 21-10 at the half and made Payton Thorne look like vintage Peyton Manning as he carved up our secondary. But then the 2nd half came, and the defense looked more like the unit we’ve seen over the past couple of weeks and by the end, Penn Sate was literally doing backflips on the field.
If it’s possible for a 3-5 team to possess momentum, Penn State seems to have harnessed it heading into Big Ten “Champions” Week – a.k.a., “Hey Fox, Here’s Some TV Content So You Don’t Have to Run a Masked Singer Marathon” Week.
James Franklin calls them “splash plays,” the tide-turning, highlight-reel plays that typically eat up big chunks of yardage and lead directly to points. Coming into Saturday’s game against Michigan State, Franklin’s Nittany Lions had been left, for the purposes of this analogy, all too dry all too often this fall.
Many of Penn State’s offensive woes stemmed from not being able to convert red-zone chances, but the Nittany Lions weren’t exactly piling up the touchdowns from outside the 20, either; through the first seven games, they had scored 12 touchdowns in the red zone and nine from outside of it.
It was a combination of factors – Sean Clifford’s accuracy issues and spotty pass protection made it tough to connect on routes downfield. Young running backs and defenses packing the box made it tough to spring long runs. And, more recently, the offense’s shift to a grind-it-out-and-control-the-clock-and-move-the-chains-with-quarterback-runs approach that, while taking the pressure off Clifford, reducing the chance for turnovers and arguably giving the team the best chance to win, did not seem to be the best approach for producing splash plays, either.
FTB’s Rapid Reaction/Stream of Consciousness Following Penn State’s Final Home Game of the Season…Maybe.
Editor’s Note: Each Week During the Football Season Stand-Up Comedian and Co-Host of the Punch Drunk Sports Podcast, Jayson Thibault, picks games against the flips of a John F. Kennedy Half-Dollar.
Jayson Thibault is a stand-up comedian and original member of the Punch Drunk Sports Podcast along with Ari Shaffir and Sam Tripoli. The new podcast episode won’t launch until next Tuesday because Teeb will be recording his new comedy album, “Covidiot”, tonight at The Market Lounge & Comedy Club in Valparaiso, Indiana. The show was sold out, but a few extra seats were made available earlier this week, so go to the club’s site for details.
The JFK Half-Dollar Coin was first minted in 1964. This particular 50-cent piece we’re flipping has been in the cup holder of a 2015 Toyota Camry for some time and is a tad sticky. If it picks winners, we’re not going to wash it. If it doesn’t, we’re spending it.
Sure Took Long Enough, But That’s Now Back-to-Back Weeks Penn State’s Defense Played Penn State Defense
Spare us your “It’s only Rutgers” takes.
Yes, it was only Rutgers. And “Only Rutgers” entered Saturday averaging 30.8 points per game. “Only Rutgers” posted 27 vs. Ohio State (more than Penn State), 35 in regulation vs. Michigan (more than Penn State), and just lit up pre-COVID Purdue for 37 points and 400+ total yards seven days earlier.
Through seven games “Only Penn State” has completely shutdown “Only Rutgers” – so let’s not flippantly dismiss the domination Nittany Lions defenders displayed in New Jersey, OK? As you’ll read/see, the defense played really well this week…so let’s stick the negativity next to your novelty elf until we have something fresh to fuss about.
This Being the Holiday Season, Penn State’s Offense – Specifically the Big Eaters Up Front – Extended Maul Hours vs. Rutgers on Saturday, Literally Pushing Its Way to Another More-Spit-Than-Polish Victory.
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Big Ten Weather.
Of all the shortsighted moves the Big Ten made back in Sept. when it decided to reboot the football season, the decision to play 3 games in December (all but one occurring outdoors) escaped a lot of criticism, but shouldn’t get a free pass.
I’m not a meteorologist, but I lived in Big Ten country long enough to know December in places like Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania isn’t like those picturesque Budweiser Clydesdale ads. No, it’s cold, wet, gray, muddy, windy, more gray, and downright miserable – like what I’d imagine a Milwaukee’s Best beer commercial would be, if they ever decided to advertise on TV.
So as we examine Penn State’s offense this week and the next two weeks, God willing, keep these gross conditions in mind when complaining about the Nittany Lions unevolved Neanderball offense.
Penn State has 2 wins in 2 weeks; that’s a streak – and a positive one at that. Not only is it two games without pain, but Penn State’s 23 – 7 win against Rutgers was the 900th win in program history. PSU joins Michigan, Ohio State, Alabama, Texas, Yale, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and Nebraska as the only teams to eclipse the 900 mark. Congratulations to every player, coach, and staff member who’s contributed to even one of those 900 wins – it’s further proof (for those who may have forgotten) that Penn State really is in the upper echelon of college football.
Today, we will focus on this week’s game, season and what’s going well, what still needs improvement, and take a brief look back at the 134 seasons that have cumulated in 900 wins.
Another week, another green fill for the Lions in the stat column that matters most – points. Looking beyond the score, PSU thoroughly dominated every major facet of the game. Domination is a relative term, though. Inherently it assumes something about the performance of the faction that is being dominated. And in this case, that opposing faction – i.e. Rutgers Football – isn’t very good. So while Penn State outgained Rutgers by nearly 2-to-1, outrushed them by 3-to-1, and controlled the ball for 13 more minutes, it feels as though Penn State still has a long way to go to if it intends to contend for conference and/or national titles in the near future.