Dispensing Thoughts & Opinions: Penn State vs. Ohio State
Sponsor: FTB’s Donors Club – the most direct way to support our efforts – is back for another year! (Sally Struthers voice) For $9.99 you can feed a starving blogger and get a cool FTB Koozie in return. JOIN HERE.
*Please remember to click the ‘Share My Address With For The Blogy’ box when checking out so we know where to mail your gift!
• Tweet Of The™ Game goes to Senior Editor of The™ Athletic (and apparent State College resident), Matt Brown, @MattBrownCFB: “Penn State Took The™ Lead With 9:26 Left And Is Losing By Multiple Possessions With 8:17 Left.” Unreal turn of events. Those not-niiiiice 69 seconds felt like suddenly awaking from the™ most beautiful dream only to find your house on fire, your wife banging the™ gardener, a telemarketer blowing up your phone, all while you try to flex/rub out a charley horse in your right calf.
• Upset of the™ Day: Absolutely NO qualms with James Franklin’s pre-game approach or in-game decisions. NONE. Unlike 2019, 2020 and 2021, when Franklin was content playing a superior Ohio State squad straight up…and in turn content to lose by a smidge more than a touchdown with no zero flirtation of pulling off the™ monumental upset, today Franklin rolled the™ dice, pushed the™ enveloped, colored outside the™ lines on occasion, and coached like a 15-point underdog. And, damn, it almost worked.
• Actually, wait, scratch that…we do have one nit to pick with the™ $85 million man: Interesting coaching conundrum during the dying breaths of the™ 2nd quarter…a conundrum I’m 99.9% sure James Franklin screwed up (surprise, surprise). On 3rd and 18, OSU QB C.J. Stroud scrambled for 11 yards, setting up 4th and 7 from the™ Penn State 43 yard line. At the™ end of the™ play there were 32 seconds left on the game clock. From my couch, 3rd breakfast beer in hand, I pleaded for James Franklin to call timeout in order to prevent a Hail Mary attempt. Instead, 11 seconds later, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day called timeout…suggesting he WASN’T going to go for it if Franklin had preserved enough time for Penn State to do something/anything on offense if the™ Buckeyes turned the™ ball over (hopefully that sentence makes sense). At 21 seconds (figure 17 or 16 seconds after an incomplete pass or sack or whatever) Day felt comfortable rolling the™ dice since there’d be no negative consequence for a failed try. Thankfully, John(ny) Dixon and Manny Diaz totally bailed Franklin out with that half-ending sack.
• If “World Famous Ohio State” (trademark pending, probably) becomes a thing I’m going to poke myself in the™ eye while simultaneously rupturing both eardrums with 2 Q-Tips. Upon typing that sentence, I realized pulling off that tripod of pain would be a logistical impossibility since I only have two hands, so don’t, “Well Actually…” me in the comments, OK? Like Bluto’s Big Speech from Animal House, ‘Forget it, I’m rolling.’ The™ Trans-Siberian Orchestra is world famous. The™ Harlem Globetrotters are world famous. Kentucky Fried Chicken is world famous. I can’t be certain — although I’d be willing to bet all $334 of my life savings on it — that wax-mustached Parisians sipping Noisette outside of a café aren’t currently discussing C.J. Stroud’s 354-yard passing performance. If they are, by all means, keep the slogan, Gus.
• We’ll fully unpack Mike Yurcich’s formational diversity when we pound out our 2,500-word digital tree-killing ‘Hindsight 2022’ piece later this week. But, as a tease, it was cool to see the second-year PSU playcaller dust off some oldiesbut goodies from his Oklahoma State days. Conversely, we’d loooove to see more options out of what’s becoming a very tired, very predictable T Formation set. We’ve yet to see Penn State throw out of this formation in 2022 (in 2021, PSU threw a TD to tight end Tyler Warren out of it on 4th down vs. Michigan…so it’s in the playbook.)
• Sentences we never though we’d type: ‘Man, Penn State sure missed Caedan Wallace as a pass protector today.’ Choosing to take Thumper’s advice to Bambi to heart, we’re not gonna comment on right tackle Bryce Effner’s performance vs. the™ Buckeyes. Instead, we’ll point out that Wallace has been a much better pass protector at home vs. the™ road this season, according to PFF, and probably would have been an upgrade over his underwhelming backup.
• Considering all that’s left to salvage from the rotting roadkill carcass that is the™ 2022 season are a couple of uninspiring consolation prizes – NY6 bowl, Top 3 finish in the B1G East – we’ll learn a whole helluva lot more about the™ state of James Franklin’s program and the™ character of the™ players he coaches in the™ final 4 games of the™ season than we did in the initial 8.
Leave a Comment