FTB’s Rapid Reaction/Stream of Consciousness Following Penn State’s Bombshell Friday News Dump

• It’s pronounced YER-sitch…Sitch like situation. Here’s a 2014 video of the guy saying his own name. Hurry up and learn how to say it correctly…because with James Franklin’s newfound Queen of Hearts disposition, who knows how long YER-sitch sticks around Happy Valley.

• I’ll be honest…not a huge fan of the move. Not in the short term…and not in the long term, either, because I don’t think there is a “long term” when it comes to Yurcich. He’ll be a head coach in one, two or three years. The tenures of Joe Moorhead and Ricky Rahne proved the Penn State OC is a King Maker role, as both guys got D1 head coaching jobs after two years at the helm. Ciarrocca wasn’t leaving. He offered stability. But back to the short term. Can Penn State really compete for a Big Ten title in 2021 if it has to install a brand new offense AGAIN? The Year 1 to Year 2 progression in Ciarrocca’s offensive production at Western Michigan and Minnesota was substantial…and progress at PSU was noticeable in the final two games of the season – explosive elements of the offense finally emerged in the Michigan State and Illinois season enders.  

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Thanks Temple for Spending Four Years Developing an Unwanted Recruit Into an All-Conference Pass Rusher…We’ll Take It From Here

We’re Portal People, now.  Embrace it.

While the rest of college football was on IG Live squawking about how they kicked dudes in the face and duct-taping squeeze bottles atop trophy stands, Penn State spent the dying breaths of 2020 putzing around the Transfer Portal – College Football’s Monster.com. And wouldn’t you know, while traversing this strange, foreign place, four players 99.9 percent of us have never seen play one snap of football decided to continue their careers in Happy Valley.

Sweet.

The latest (as of this keystroke) and most intriguing newbie is former Temple Defensive End Arnold Ebiketie, a 2nd Team All-AAC Grad Transfer with two years of eligibility left to finish tapping a deep reservoir of talent/potential. By now, you’ve seen his 2020 stats: 42 tackles, 8.5 TFL, 4 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and one defensive touchdown – a gift score that might have been his LEAST impressive highlight all season.

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Why What Seems Like a Foregone Conclusion Isn’t Necessarily a No-Brainer Decision

General consensus is Penn State Defensive End Jayson Oweh is a goner.

In fact, there’s a high probability that by the time you actually read this Oweh will have Notes App’d his goodbye to Penn State using standard Early Declaration Bingo Card buzz-phrases like “difficult decision”, “after praying on it”, “thank my coaches”, and “Nittany Nation.”

Therefore, we’re not predicting whether or not Oweh WILL take his talents to Sundays and play for a paycheck next September, rather we’re analyzing if he SHOULD. 

A genetic lottery winner blessed with unique length and uncanny speed for a 250-pounder, Oweh entered the abbreviated 2020 season with zero career starts and a ton of questions to answer…namely, are we sure he can play football?

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Once Again, Brent Pry’s Bunch Showed Up Fashionably Late on Saturday, but When They Did Finally Arrive the Party Ended Quickly for the Fighting Illini. 

FTB CHARTING – BOX SCORE  

Saying the 2020 Penn State Defense is susceptible to “Slow Starts” is the equivalent of saying Santa Claus is susceptible to early onset diabetes. 

Technically, both statements are accurate…but grossly understated. 

As Joe Juliano of The Philadelphia Inquirer noted in his Monday Season-Wrap story 166 of the 241 points the Nittany Lions allowed this season were surrendered in the first half.  That’s 69 percent! 

Niiic…wait, that’s not nice. That’s pathetic! 

The Illinois game perfectly exemplified Penn State’s 2020 early-game ineptitude. In the first 18 plays, what was left of the Fighting Illini compiled 198 yards on offense, scored 3 touchdowns and pulled off a hyper-sexualized end zone dance Robert Smith couldn’t stop referencing. But over the course of the next 42 plays, Penn State held Illinois to 75 total yards, forced seven 3-and-Outs, never let the Lovie-less lads run a play inside The Nits’ 30, and most importantly didn’t get SERVED, yo!  

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Wait, Kirk Ciarrocca’s Explosive Offense, You’re Leaving Already? But (checks watch) You JUST Got Here and We’ve Been Waiting FOREVER! Oh Well, Wanna Meet Up Again Down the Road? Say Sept. 4, 2021?

FTB CHARTING – BOX SCORE

Booked a hotel in Madison, Wisconsin, four weeks ago for Labor Day weekend 2021. Same night I booked a $240 a night, no-pets-allowed but hepatitis-friendly 2-star motel 30 miles from State College for Sept. 18. 

Give me hope. Give me normalcy. Give me something to look forward to, damn it. 

So as much as I wanted to see one more game, one more data point validating this late-season offensive revival, one more Penn State bowl game with an awkward Tourism Commission commercial touting all the non-fun things to do in a city none of us ever want to visit…I can’t say I’m crushed the 2020 ended prematurely. 

Not sure what the hell that has to do with Penn State’s offensive performance vs. Illinois, but whatever.  

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FTB’s Rapid Reaction/Stream of Consciousness Following Penn State’s Snow-Covered Stomping of Illinois 

• Champions Week Champions, baby! Print the shirts!

• I’ll gladly die alone on my “Jahan Dotson needs to stay” hill if necessary, dang it.  What’s the rush? Why leave an advantageous situation (returning QB, returning OC) to become a 3rd or 4th Round NFL Draft pick and find yourself locked in a terrible (comparatively) less-than-a-million-dollars-a-year contract for 4 seasons?  Oh, but what if he gets hurt?  You know what…what if Chris Godwin (heaven forbid) gets hurt tomorrow? Godwin (who was better than Dotson at the same stage of college) left early to be a 3rd Round draft pick and has emerged as a Top 10-15 NFL receiver. Guess how much money he’s made? $3.2 million. Guess how much of that contract was guaranteed? $792,164. If Dotson builds off what he did in 2020, I don’t think it’s inconceivable No. 5 sneaks in the end of the 1st Round. For the sake of argument, let’s say he’s got an opportunity to be the final pick of the 1st Round. In 2020, that draft slot paid $10.9 million — $8 million guaranteed.

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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. 

FTB CHARTING – BOX SCORE

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. 

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FTB’s Rapid Reaction/Stream of Consciousness Following Penn State’s Final Home Game of the Season…Maybe. 

• This better have been Senior Day for the Cardboard Cutouts, too. #107kStrong next September. Make it happen, Pfizer.  Stick that goo right in my arm, doc.

• Kinda glad Penn State trailed by double digits at halftime so that James Franklin/Kirk Ciarrocca had no choice but let the offense bowl without the bumpers during the 3rd quarter and competitive moments of the 4th quarter. (We’ve used water wings and training wheels before, so bowling bumpers is all we got left). On this unseasonably pleasant day — the opposite of last week’s Rutgers weather — it was maddening to watch Penn State play restrictor-plate football in the first half.

• Credit where credit is due: Penn State is 1 of 3 Big Ten to play a full 8-game schedule. In our post-Maryland DISPENSING, we hinted the Nittany Lions’ disappointing 0-3 start could be the catalyst for game cancellations. But that didn’t happen. Shows maturity. So kudos to the players, coaches and staff who gave us 8 Saturday distractions from reality.

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Sure Took Long Enough, But That’s Now Back-to-Back Weeks Penn State’s Defense Played Penn State Defense 

FTB CHARTING – BOX SCORE

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.  

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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.  

FTB CHARTING – BOX SCORE

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. 

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