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• Because Tulsa and Oklahoma State prolonged their in-state pillow fight past 3:30 p.m. with a string needless incomplete passes, FS1 joined the Penn State-Ball State broadcast seconds before kickoff, so those of us at home missed out on the pre-game Beaver Stadium ambiance, which sucked. But, for an out-of-conference, come-get-clobbered-for-a-fat-check schedule filler, the joint sounded louder than usual, didn’t it?
• Predictably, the unit Penn State fans chomped fingernails fretting over in the preseason – the Nittany Lions unproven defensive line – can’t be blocked, and the two offensive groups that were sure to be transcendent – the 5-deep RB corps and “the most talented tight end room in program history” – belong on the side of a milk carton.
• About those running backs…where’s the lightning to Noah Cain’s thunder? Yes, it was refreshing to finally see Keyvone Lee quit switching directions aimlessly like a vibrating electric football player with a faulty green base and rip off a handful of solid north-south runs after halftime. But spelling Cain with Lee, or Lee with Cain, feels like tossing away the Dasani and picking up an Aquafina. They’re redundant. What’s the deal with John Lovett? Where’s Caziah Holmes?