Sponsor: For The Blogy’s 2021 coverage is sponsored by FANATICS. Winter is coming. So whether you’re battling the late-seas0n cold inside Beaver Stadium or huddling up at home, gear up with our collection of Penn State sweatshirts, hoodies, jackets and more right HERE.

*Each FANATICS purchase you make helps support For The Blogy.

Introduction

There’s no sugarcoating it: As a fan, that absolutely sucked.

After a quarter of play it looked like Penn State would play the role of spoiler against the Wolverines. The Nittany Lions dominated total yards in the initial stanza to the tune of 145 to 15, drove deep in Michigan territory in each of their first two possessions while the defense ushered the winged helmets off the field with two 3-and-outs. But, despite that yardage discrepancy, Penn State could only muster 3 points, which allowed Michigan to keep doing Michigan things and not panic. The emotional rollercoaster that ensued proved far more stressful than entertaining as we watched Erick All effectively seal the deal with a 47-yard touchdown reception.

Continue reading

It has been difficult these past two autumns to know exactly which Penn State team you are watching at any given moment.

Is it the discombobulated, self-destructive group that went 0-5 to start 2020 and has dropped four of five in 2021? Or the explosive, gritty squad that won four straight to end last season and emerged triumphant from early-season heavyweight bouts against Wisconsin and Auburn? Is it overachieving? Is it underachieving? Is it all of those teams at once, or none of them at all?

I suppose it depends upon your perspective, whether you’re a glass-half-full or glass-half-empty type of person, whether you believe that talent or recruiting rankings should set the expectation bar or if you think that winning football is more about teamwork and desire and cohesion.

No matter what kind of team you thought Penn State was or what you thought it was supposed to be, though, Saturday’s loss to Michigan had to be five kinds of painful. A legitimate chance to beat a top-10 opponent, a hated rival and an easy-to-hate coach, plus the opportunity to add a signature win to a season that still didn’t have one and keep hopes alive for a big bowl. And, somehow, even after all the missed opportunities and sacks and footballs on the ground, it was in the Nittany Lions’ hands late in the fourth quarter.

Continue reading

Sponsor: Hey, it’s us! For The Blogy! Join our 2021 FTB Donors Club – the best way for you to show your support and keep this train rolling – and receive an exclusive FTB zipper bottle Koozie as a gift! Sign up 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!

Because life is the way it is, and because we try to work a week in advance when scouting Penn State’s opponents, 75 percent of what you’re about to read might be obsolete in 24 hours. The reason? Well, Michigan is pretty banged up.

As of Friday, the status of the following playmakers was still unknown: RB2 Blake Corum, RB3 Donovan Edwards, TE1 Erick All, breakout WR Andrel Anthony and WR AJ Henning.

Continue reading

Sponsor: Hey, it’s us! For The Blogy! Join our 2021 FTB Donors Club – the best way for you to show your support and keep this train rolling – and receive an exclusive FTB zipper bottle Koozie as a gift! Sign up 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!

Formations/Philosophy

The hiring of Mike Macdonald – a 34-year-old sporting a coaching resume with experience at every level of football (high school, college, NFL) despite never advancing to anything above a position coach at any of those levels – as Michigan’s new Defensive Coordinator was probably the most criticized move during Jim Harbaugh’s offseason re-shuffling of Titanic deckchairs…but, man, it’s worked out, huh?

Heading into this weekend’s showdown vs. Penn State, the Wolverines rank 6^th nationally in Scoring Defense and are graded as the 3^rd best Pass Rush, according the PFF.

So, how the heck has the relatively green, non-capitalized ‘D’ Macdonald, pulled this off?

Continue reading

Sponsor: Hey, it’s us! For The Blogy! Join our 2021 FTB Donors Club – the best way for you to show your support and keep this train rolling – and receive an exclusive FTB zipper bottle Koozie as a gift! Sign up 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!

Introduction

Penn State is back in the win column, which makes pounding out this piece way more fun than the previous three. So, hey, we’re off to a sunny start!

Now for the dark cloud…

Despite registering the 6^th W of the season, there remains concern about this instillation of Penn State ever becoming a complete team. The run game looked better, especially with respect to the performances of Noah Cain and Keyvone Lee. Jahan Dotson gave his usual superstar performance. The defense limited Maryland to a very low point total and the game was sealed with an interception by a former Lackawanna Falcons safety, Ji’Ayir Brown. With that established, the offense only gained 2.8 yards-per-rush; the defense surrendered more than 400 yards, which is too many, and though it felt like the Nittany Lions had complete control, and the game was still technically in doubt with under 10 minutes remaining. So, a win’s a win but there are still things to explore and issues to fix.

Continue reading

There are players who make plays, and then there are playmakers, the rare and oh-so-sought-after cats who have that instinctive ability to be in the right spot at the right time and the brains and balls to take advantage of it.

True playmakers can take a team from good to great (see Barkley, Saquon) or make a mediocre defense look formidable (see Parsons, Micah). They can breed confidence in their teammates and attract the attention of future playmakers. They’re the reason college coaches spend so much time and effort on recruiting and the reason the NFL keeps piling up the cash despite one public relations nightmare after another.

One of those playmakers won a game Penn State had little business winning on Saturday in sleepy College Park, Maryland.

Jahan Dotson was the best player on the field, which he’s been before, and on this day looked like he wouldn’t be an afterthought if the discussion were about the best player in the Big Ten. He shined so brightly that any of his teammates were going to seem dull by comparison and yet, that light also revealed why the Nittany Lions are pretty much an afterthought in early November after such a promising start.

Continue reading

Sponsor: Hey, it’s us! For The Blogy! Join our 2021 FTB Donors Club – the best way for you to show your support and keep this train rolling – and receive an exclusive FTB zipper bottle Koozie as a gift! Sign up 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!

Introduction

Welp, another postgame analytics write-up following a Penn State loss, although this one is a little less demoralizing than the previous two. The Nittany Lions hung with the heavily favored Buckeyes from first whistle to last whistle but just couldn’t finish the job. Offensively, two big turnovers directly led to 10 Buckeye points, which was ultimately the difference in the game. The defense played very well and held the best offense in the conference, if not the nation, in check except for a few backbreaking chunk plays. Once again, this game reaffirmed a couple of things: 1. Penn State remains Ohio State’s toughest competition within the Big Ten year in and year out. And 2., the gap between Ohio State and everyone else in the conference is really, really wide.

Continue reading