Dispensing Thoughts & Opinions – Penn State vs. Auburn

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• Hang Manny Diaz’s gameplan in the freakin’ Lourve, Frenchie. Move over, Mona. Later, Leonardo. Behold you Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys (Groundskeeper Willie’s words, not ours). Make room for this masterpiece and stick it behind a few strands of velvet rope for safety. When all the damage was done, and all the Van Heusen-clad, three-named, thick-banged Southern Dandy students had filed out of Jordan-Hare, Penn State snuck out of The Plains with 4 takeaways, 6 sacks, 11 TFLs, all while grounding Auburn’s mauling run game to an unremarkable 3.3 yards per carry. Beyond the stats, Penn State’s D dominated in the trenches, clamped down at the second and third levels of the defense, and was in such total control that all James Franklin had to do on offense was not screw things up.

• The nonsensical 4^th Quarter ramblings of CBS color analyst Gary Danielson offered us the perfect mental off-ramp from the game…or what was left of it. It also got us thinking: What’s the best historical parallel for this game? Note: Please don’t go all Mother Dunn on us, Mortimer, OK? According to Vegas, this was a slightly-weighted coinflip that Penn State turned into an entertaining clown show for those wearing white and a complete waste of a sunny afternoon for those wearing orange. Not sure Michigan 2017 fits in this bucket considering Penn State entered as a 8 -to 9-point favorite. The ONE game that does compare (in our eyes, anyway) is Wisconsin 2008….road game, big-time opponent, thorough behind-whooping. 1999 Arizona works, too. Any others come to mind?

• Has there been a true freshman class more impressive out of the gate than James Franklin’s 2022 haul of recruits? Hard to say. What we’re sure of, though, is that there’s never been a more MATURE class of prospects during James Franklin’s tenure. Unlike fellow bluechip backs Ricky Slade and Miles Sanders, ‘Quick & The Fatman’ (Nick Singleton & Kaytron Allen) haven’t been a liability in pass protection, don’t color too far outside the lines of the play design (mostly), and haven’t been loose with the football. Abdul Carter – when he’s not exiting games after a single play – looks further along than Micah Parsons did in his third game in Blue and White. Not saying he’s better than Micah Parsons…he’s just more developed at this stage (which makes sense since Parsons was learning a new position). And Drew Allar, well…you know.

• Now that this fun two-year rendezvous with SEC sinking ship Auburn is in the books, the most disturbing stat (of many) if you’re a War Tiger Battle Eagles fan has to be the fact that Sean Clifford – a guy whose many flaws often bubble to surface when the stakes are highest and lights are brightest – threw 9 incompletions combined in both contests. NINE. In 2021, Clifford connected on 87.5% of his 32 total tosses. In 2022, Clifford connected on 73.7% of his 19 tosses.

• Not sure why we’re even throwing this out in the universe – because there’s no way James Franklin will EVER do this, despite the cryptic hints he’s dropped at press conferences – but today’s showing convinced us starting Drew Allar next week vs. Central Michigan and for the remainder of the season provides Penn State a higher ceiling a(nd lower floor) than just sticking with Clifford. Despite posting impressive point totals each week in 2022, Penn State’s offensive capacity feels too limited to keep pace with Michigan and Ohio State. With Clifford, Penn State is a 10-win team, 9 wins with an unexpected toe-stub. Not sure we see a path to 11 wins with Clifford.

• Grab a hacksaw, cut the game ball into five deflated pieces and hand them to Olu Fashanu, Juice Scruggs, Landon Tengwall, Caedan Wallace, Hunter Nourzad and Sal Wormley. Everyone knows Auburn’s offense is a front-lawn Pinto on cinderblocks, but Auburn’s defense was supposed to be strong enough to at least get these troubled Tigers from Point A to Point B-irmingham Bowl this season. Not today, though. Penn State pushed those guys around in the trenches.

• Pleasant surprises 3 games in: PJ Mustipher’s play post-injiry, John(ny) Dixon emerging as a viable 2A or 2B corner, the lack of a learning curve required for players to grasp Diaz’s complex defensive concepts, punting game remains stout (pardon the pun), Olu Fashanu’s pass protection.

• Slight disappointments 3 games in: Where’s the vertical passing game?!?! Inconsistent use of tempo, The vanilla use of Parker Washington, Keyvone Lee’s inability to take his game to the next level, limited snaps for DDS and spring-ball darling Zane Durant, right tackle.

• In case you were wondering, the average January temperature in Inglewood, California is 66 degrees. Oh, and the parking lots at Sofi Stadium open 6 hours before kickoff.