Dispensing Thoughts & Opinions: Penn State vs. Villanova
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• Stands full of fans vs. Ball State: cathartic. The triumphant return of the Beaver Stadium Whiteout last Saturday: an invigorating revival. But today, when fans ducked out early in the 4th Quarter moments after Tyler Warren’s plodding touchdown put Penn State up five touchdowns YET still had plenty to bitch about amongst friends back at the tailgate…well, that felt normal.
• Actually, that’s not entirely fair. ‘Plenty’ is a stretch. Sean Clifford threw for 400+ yards – the first Penn State quarterback to do so on this side of the pond (Christian Hackenberg eclipsed the 400-yard mark while navigating the Slip N’ Slide Croke Park turf in Ireland seven years ago). Jahan Dotson was Jahan Dotson. Parker Washington flashed the type of big-play ability that had been MIA (from him, we’re saying) through three weeks. And Penn State’s two-deep defense shut down an inferior opponent. Overall, Penn State did more good than bad during this schedule-filling, revenue generator masquerading as a competitive athletic contest. It’s just that the bad was really, really, really BAD.
• At halftime, Penn State amassed 18 rushing yards on 17 carries. AGAINST VILLANOVA! On the same number of carries in the second half, Penn State rushed for 62 yards. So…progress, I guess. What’s most disheartening about the Nittany Lions anemic ground attack is that there doesn’t appear to be a quick fix. It’s not that ONE thing is wrong or malfunctioning. EVERYTHING is messed up. Zero push upfront. Slow-developing concepts. Tight ends whiffing on assignments. Lawnboyz incapable of finding open grass on their own. With typical, nasty Big Ten weather on the horizon, it’s got to get fixed. Doubt Penn State’s 2021 offensive production will ever balance 50-50, but the teeter-totter can’t be Kate Moss (the run game) on one end and King Kong (the pass game) on the other.
• Big Ten Network cameras caught the Nittany Lion mascot maniacally waving a leaf blower the air as Villanova’s offense broke the huddle on an early 3rd down. Artisan Troll Job (kisses fingers like a cartoon chef on a pizza box). I won’t pretend to know the financial state of Villanova’s football program, but with gas prices soaring, surely the Wildcats could have found cheaper ways to replicate the raucous Beaver Stadium crowd, right? Borrow some speakers, flip the volume knob to the right, and blast some Speed Metal. Heck, leaf blowers aren’t even that loud! According to a website that may or may not be reputable, when standing 50 feet away the sound of a leaf blower only reaches 68 to 74 decibels. PennLive reporters clocked Beaver Stadium at 107.7 decibels seven days ago.
However, if Villanova was dead-set on leaf blowers, a quick YouTube search offers up multiple hours-long, fuel-free white noise soundtracks:
BTW, I love the description on the second search result: Calm, Relax and to Sooth a Baby. What?!?!?! Any parent that uses the incessant whine of landscape equipment to comfort their infant better not act shocked when that same child is burning ants with a magnifying glass six years later.
• After the game, James Franklin told the media Noah Cain got “dinged up” last week vs. Auburn and sat out much of practice this week. If that were the case, why’d he play at all? Rest him.
• Jaquan Brisker grabbed at his shoulder a couple times today. He’ll never admit it publicly, but even SEC referee James Carter can see he’s not 100 percent…though you’d never know it from his All-American level performance thus far.
• Didn’t know Matt Millen got down like that. There’s a “former linebacker playing in a crowded box” joke we could make, but won’t, even though we just did, but didn’t.
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