Luck Be a Lion 

While We Celebrate Barry White Driving the Snakes Out of Springfield By Drinking Cheap Domestic Beer and Playing Irish Folk Music Like House of Pain on Loop, Let’s Examine Instances Where Good Fortune (and Misfortune) Shone Down on Penn State Football

Friends of the Blog know we absolutely SALAVATE when anniversaries/holidays pop up because it gives us an excuse to crank out a list no one asked for.

Oh, it’s Flag Day? Let’s rank the worst penalties ever called against Penn State.

Independence Day? Top moments in program history from 1887 to 1992.

Fungal Disease Awareness Week? Simple. Nittany Lion playmakers with the sickest feet ever.

Well, as your annoying green-clad coworkers might have told you, today is St. Patrick’s Day, so there’s no better time for us to think back and whip up a collection of Lucky and Unlucky plays from Penn State’s recent past. Our simple criteria: Lucky plays had to occur during significant Penn State wins and factor heavily in that win (so plays like Chris Godwin’s lucky juggling circus catch in the Rose Bowl didn’t make it). Unlucky plays, the exact opposite — bad breaks that happened during losses…mostly (we made an exception at the end).  

After you read, let us know what plays we missed in the comments section or on our Twitter @fortheblogy. Heck, we might do this again next year.

LUCKY PLAYS

2016 OSU – John Reid’s Dropped INT

Considering our niche as a site thus far is writing 3,000 words per post about a 4-5 football team, it won’t surprise you to learn that ‘easy’ is a four-letter word here at FTB. Therefore, we purposely thumbed our nose at the iconic Marcus Allen/Grant Haley tag-team blocked FG touchdown – fruit hanging low enough for Gary Coleman’s ghost to pluck – in search of a fortuitous but perhaps forgotten moment from this magical evening. 

Thankfully, all we had to do was rewind the tape 45 seconds or so. 

Because if John Reid makes a play on the play before THE PLAY then there is no play. 

It’s 3rd and 7. The Buckeyes initially show an empty look. Penn State has an extra DB on the field and shows man. What’s interesting upon second glance is it appears Ohio State QB J.T. Barrett is a millisecond away from snapping the ball when 2-Dontre Wilson motions for Barrett to look at the sideline – either to change the play, change the protection, or both. Frantically, Barrett communicates the audible to the O-Line as the play clock ticks closer to zero. 

Barrett eyeballs 83-Terry McLaurin. Thanks to what looks like a subtle tug when McLaurin cuts, Reid slingshots ahead of the Buckeyes receiver and absolutely beats him to the spot. As you’ll see on replay, McLaurin doesn’t get a fingertip on the pass, and doesn’t appear to disrupt Reid’s vision. For a player like Reid – a guy sure-handed enough to return punts as a sophomore – this is an interception 99 times out of 100. 

Luckily – well, luckily in hindsight — he dropped it. And the rest is history. 

HAD Reid intercepted this pass, it’s tough to gauge where Penn State would have started its potential game-winning drive. Judging from the standard sideline TV angle, Reid should have hauled this pass in at the 5-yard-line – kind of dangerous, No Man’s Land area. Reid’s momentum does push him into the end zone, but man that’s a long runway to assume the refs are going to be cool with taking a knee for a touchback.  Also, if you remember, this was a gross, cold night complete with a light, spitting rain that made the field slick. So, really, every scenario from a safety to a long return – heck maybe even a Pick 6 if Reid slips past McLaurin and Penn State forms a wall of blockers — would have been in play here. 

1994 Michigan – Ki-Jana’s “Fumble”

Rivaling the Drum Major’s flips and hammering nails into tree stumps at tailgates, bitching about Big Ten officiating – particularly when the Good Guys venture inside The Big House – is a longstanding Penn State football tradition. 

But, as we’re sure many of you won’t remember, this Hate-Hate relationship wasn’t always so contentious. Not at all. In fact, during Penn State’s first trip to Michigan Stadium – a 31-24 last-minute triumph that vaulted the Nittany Lions to No. 1 in the polls – the zebras did the conference newcomers a solid.   

Let’s set the stage: 

Tie game, 24-24, after future NFL bust Tim Biakabutuka scored on a 4th down plunge with 11:37 left in the 4th Quarter. Then, Kerry Collins hit metro Detroit native Freddie Scott for 20-ish yards to move Penn State near midfield. Ki-Jana Carter carries for five yards, then he gets the ball again when this happens: 

Yeah, this is a fumble. Who knows whether Michigan safety Chuck Winters gains full possession of the football prior to Carter’s knee touching but, even in Standard Definition, it’s obvious Carter isn’t in possession of it, either. Loose ball.  

In 1994, the Big Ten was still a decade away from implementing booth replay stoppages, so fortunately for Penn State fans this sequence quickly ends after an irate Gary Moeller finishes testing the limits of the extension cord hooked up to his headset.

Now, to clarify, this missed called did not occur on the drive Bobby Engram capped with that pretty 16-yard touchdown catch to take the lead for good. Penn State eventually punted here, pinning Michigan deep. Michigan went 3-and-Out and punted back to Penn State’s 48. Penn State went 3-and-out and punted….Michigan went 3-and-out and punted back to Penn State’s own 44 – the starting spot of the game-winning drive.

Because possession ping-ponged back and forth, we debated whether to include Carter’s non-fumble fumble on this list. Ultimately, the missed call stayed because, at the very least, it provided Penn State advantageous field position throughout the 4th quarter even though Michigan had two drives to flip the field.

1997 Minnesota – Thomas Hamner’s Gift

Just your classic seven-day hangover.

The previous Saturday, according to the Associated Press, 3,000 Penn State students tried to storm Beaver Stadium and tear down the goalposts after the No. 2 Nittany Lions hung on 31-27 vs. Ohio State AND LSU upset No. 1 Florida in Death Valley later that evening. Campus police pepper-sprayed three “revelers” who tried to scale the stadium gates. Defeated, the joyous mob “finally swept over to the practice fields and tore down a goalpost and tossed it in the flower gardens,” the article read.

 Pfft, talk about settling.

Like those JV property destroyers, the Penn State football team also went through the motions the next week vs. Minnesota. With less than six minutes remaining, and trailing 15-10, Penn State surrendered the ball back to the Golden Gophers after Mike McQueary’s 4th down pass sailed way over the head of tight end Brad Scioli. Minnesota ran the ball twice, setting up a makeable 3rd and 2 deep in their own territory. Wisely, suit-and-tie coach Glen Mason called for his QB to pitch the ball to Thomas Hamner, who rushed for a game-high 154 yards.

Perfect pitch. Hard to tell from this ancient footage but it seems like Hamner sort of grabs at the ball twice, almost like he had it but didn’t HAVE it on the initial gathering and wanted to adjust. As the ball starts to fall there’s not really a free Penn State defender in the picture, giving Hamner a decent shot at recovering his monumental mess-up. Fortunately for Penn State, Hamner’s momentum causes him to lose his footing, which allows Chris Snyder to pounce on the lucky break. 

Next play, Curtis Enis scores and Penn State survives.    

2005 Northwestern – M-Rob Gets a Second Chance

Before diving into this play, remember how awesome the old ‘Penn State Football Story’ show was back in the day? We ask because that’s the only source we could find on YouTube of this lucky play. If you never saw it, we highly recommend you watch the full summary of the 2005 Northwestern game at the bottom of this blurb and seek out other episodes floating around the web. Man, it was so over-the-top melodramatic but sooo damn cool. Editors turned shows around in less than a day because it aired on Sunday mornings. Somehow the producers cleared the rights to use contemporary Top 40 songs like ‘Bulls on Parade’ from Rage Against The Machine, which sounded sweet over sharp montages – no clue how they afforded that. And the narrator’s voice…elite.

Anyway, here’s the play:

Some context: We believe this sack-fumble-offensive-recovery occurred on the first play of Penn State’s game-winning drive. Could have been the second play. Definitely wasn’t the third play, and it definitely happened before Michael Robinson’s pivotal 4th and 15 conversion to tight end Isaac Smolko. A few plays later, Robinson found Derrick Williams open deep for the true freshman’s first touchdown as a Nittany Lion. Penn State went on to capture Joe Paterno’s second Big Ten crown and finish 11-1. 

Though the angle stinks, what’s interesting about this view of the fumble recovery is that there appear to be three other Penn State offensive linemen —  59-Charles Rush, 68-John Wilson, 74-Tyler Reed – closer to the ball than the guy who ultimately recovers it, 77-E.Z. Smith.

Enjoy the Penn State Football Story:

2012 Northwestern – McGloin Gets a Second Chance

Another fumble recovery vs. Northwestern…this one seven years later than the last. About a month ago, we released a FTB Throwback Video highlighting Matt McGloin’s funky-looking (to be polite) game-winning touchdown dive back in 2012 that’s since become a popular gif on Penn State message boards. 

Because the video was already 10-plus minutes long, we chose to leave an important nugget about McGloin’s flying TD on the cutting room floor – the fact that on the play before the gif there was a giant gaffe:

Northwestern rushes four. Wildcats DE 97-Tyler Scott pushes hard upfield. PSU OT 78-Mike Farrell overcommits to what he thinks is an outside speed rush. Scott counters with a spin inside, leaving Farrell completely off balance. McGloin tries to escape but Scott chases him down and forces the ball free. Luckily, the ball sort of sticks to the turf and McGloin falls right on top of it. Here’s McGloin talking about the play from our interview:

UNLUCKY PLAYS

1999 Minnesota – Hail Minny

These aren’t pleasant to revisit, so let’s just hold our nose and get through the next couple of paragraphs. 

Despite entering this game 9-0 and ranked No. 2 in the country, the 1999 Penn State squad flirted with disaster seemingly all season. The Lions escaped with a 3-point win at home vs. Pitt, needed a Chafie Fields 80-yard bomb to barely clip Miami, and benefited from two defensive touchdowns to beat Purdue by less than a TD. Eventually, Penn State’s good fortune flipped.

Leading Minnesota 23-21 late, and the Gophers facing 4th and Forever, this happened:

Heck, the announcer is so shocked he mistakenly says, “First down, Penn State!” Our source video left out the replay, and it looks questionable on the initial shot, but Arland Bruce definitely caught this 27-yard ricochet and a few plays later kicker Dan Nystrom spoiled Penn State’s perfect season with a short field goal.   

2008 Iowa – Missed Intentional Grounding

Those Penn State fans who haven’t yet repressed dark memories from the end of the 2008 Iowa loss deep in their subconscious probably can’t shake Anthony Scirrotto’s ill-advised DPI on 3rd and 15 giving the Hawkeyes new life on that final soul-crushing drive. 

But what’s seldom discussed is a fairly obvious missed Intentional Grounding penalty Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi got away with a few plays later on 1st and 10 from the Penn State 40.

For starters, how is this not an illegal formation? Iowa’s right tackle – lined up across from speed-rush dynamo Aaron Maybin– is two-plus yards off the line of scrimmage. Even battling against that extreme stance, Maybin and fellow DE Maurice Evans both get to Stanzi. The Iowa quarterback retreats back but doesn’t come close to leaving the original tackle box. He chucks the ball away. There’s no eligible receiver in sight. The pass also does not cross the line of scrimmage. We double-checked and the grounding guidelines – outside of tackle box & beyond LOS, or an eligible receiver in the area — were the same in 2008 as they are today. 

What’s really baffling about this sequence is how none of the Penn State players lobby for Intentional Grounding, which would have made it 2nd and 21 instead of 2nd and 10. Iowa completed a pass for 11 yards on the next play and eventually kicked the winning FG.   

1994 Indiana – Trinity of Misfortune

Rather than picking the last-second Indiana Hail Mary that trimmed the final margin of the 1994 game to six points and ultimately dropped Penn State from No. 1 to No. 2 in the Coaches Poll (Penn State inexplicably fell from 1 to 2 in the AP Poll a week earlier after beating Ohio State 63-14), we wanted to see what plays could have prevented all that crap from happening.  

We found three:

As you see, it’s late in the 4th Quarter and Penn State is comfortably ahead 35-14 – a score that probably wouldn’t have added style points to the Lions resume, but also wouldn’t have raised many eyebrows in a negative way the next morning.

On 3rd down, both Kim Herring and Brian Miller step in front of Chris Dittoe’s poor pass but violently collide before either defender can corral the interception. Bad break, but at least it’s 4th down. 

Next play: 

Pretty weak facemask penalty. Another bad break. The flag erases the score and gives Indiana a second shot. This time, the Hoosiers find the end zone. 35-21. 

Penn State punts the ball back to Indiana with less than a minute remaining. On 3rd and 10, Dittoe avoids Scioli’s rush and flings a prayer across his body. Of course, it’s caught and positions the Hoosiers in range to hit the final Hail Mary. Because they’re jerks, Indiana went for 2 and the game ended 35-29.