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Introduction
Two weeks. Two quality wins.
Throughout the off-season plenty of Penn State pundits circled the Ball State sandwich date between Wisconsin and Auburn as a potential #TrapGame™. On paper, it was a valid concern. In 2020, the Cardinals went 7-1, won the MAC championship, and capped the season with a convincing bowl victory over shorthanded San Jose State. On top of that, Ball State returned 20 starters this season, 14 of which were “super seasons” as the FS1 announcers mentioned at least 10 times on Saturday. So, they had success and experience. But they didn’t have the talent, strength, speed, or coaching that Penn State had, which might explain why the Lions breezed by the Cardinals for their 300th win in Beaver Stadium. It wasn’t a complete performance, but James Franklin’s bunch showed improvements in certain areas (run game) compared to last week and, most importantly, escaped without any major injuries. The Whiteout awaits Auburn next week but before we get into that, let’s dive into some B10/MACtion crossover excitement!
Quick Hitters
- Jordan Stout update: On Saturday our do-everything kicker converted 8 of 9 PAT/FGs, punted 3 times for an average of 51.3 yards, which actually LOWERED his total for the season, and forced a touchback on every kickoff. I will accept NO more Jordan Stout hate.
- For only the third time in his career, Sean Clifford completed at least 70 percent of his passes – the other two coming early in 2019 against Buffalo and Maryland. In fact, Clifford’s more-accurate-the-usual afternoon – 21 of 29, 72% completion — marks the 11th time in the James Franklin Era that Penn State’s starting QB hit the 70 percent threshold. Lions are 11-0 in those games
- In our Mike Yurcich: QB Whisperer blog post back in August, I predicted the PSU QB stats for the year (all PSU QBs). I wrote they’d average 61% completions (currently 63%); 34 passes per game (currently 32); and 8.5 YPA (currently: 7.8). So, thus far, we’re in the ballpark! We also tabbed Penn State QBs to throw 0.6 INT/game (currently 0!!) and 2.25 TD/game (currently 1.5). It’d be nice to see the TD’s click up a bit but, overall, we are right on pace.
- Sure, Eastern Michigan – those guardians of the gray turf – isn’t a powerhouse, but even against a weaker opponent Wisconsin’s defense once again proved they’re the real deal. The Badgers allowed a total of 92 yards and 7 points against the EMU Eagles (they should totally be the EMU Emus). Penn State’s struggled last week (especially in the first half) but I would bet a considerable sum of money that Wisconsin finishes with a top 10 defense nationally.
