Dispensing Thoughts & Opinions: Penn State vs. Ball State

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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?

• Until Penn State’s offensive line proves it can properly pass off stunts and handle twists, defensive coordinators are gonna keep calling them. Jim Leonhard laid the blueprint last week and the plan of attack won’t change until Phil Trautwein fixes things up front.

• Has anyone ever seen Mike Yurcich and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the same room at the same time?

• Penn State athletics sent out a LAST CHANCE TO PICK UP YOUR 2020 CARDBOARD CUTOUT email earlier this week. I’m good, thanks. Who the heck wants a souvenir from such sorrow?

•Anyone else concerned about all those defensive series irreplaceable safety Jaquan Brisker spent on the sidelines today? Because we are. Brisker went MIA in the second quarter and didn’t return, even though the game wasn’t close to being out of reach. Late in the third quarter, when Ji’Ayir Brown nearly picked off Ball State QB Drew Plitt’s luftballon toward the Nittany Lions sideline, TV cameras spotted Brisker bouncing around and smiling – albeit without a helmet. Still, that’s a good sign. Hopefully it’s nothing.

• Wait, so the tickets are digital but the parking passes are printed?!?!?

• Sean Clifford has not thrown an interception in his last 115 throws (insert fingers crossed emoji)