Iowa (quickly)

Iowa 7
PSU 31

It's close early. PSU pulls away in the second half. Royster, Green, and Clark combine for 250 on the ground.

Today's preview is brought to you to courtesy of my brothers of ME-TAL

Let us drink to the power

Drink to the sound

Thunder and metal

Are shaking the ground

J Leman trembles in awe and ecstasy of such powerful lyrics.

PHILLS WIN!!!

I don't remember the '83 NBA championship, although I do remember the players. I vaguely remember the 1980 World Series. Believe it or not, I wasn't alive for the Flyers' Stanley Cup win in '75. I will always remember and cherish this. And now the spending spree.

And for those PSU alums who were also Pittsburgh fans at the end of the bar, I heard your boos and was immune. You graduated. Grow the fuck up.

For the Mets fan (not Adam, but thanks anyway) who turned around to congratulate me, thank you. Way to humbly represent your fan base. The savages mentioned above could learn a thing or three on how to keep one's dignity.

Back to football.....

Thoughts for the Bye Week

This bye week for PSU could not come at a better time. The month of October represented the harshest month in the schedule for the Lions. These past 4 wins have taken its toll physically and mentally on the players and fans. If there was to be a "letdown" game for the Lions, surely it was to come the week after a win in Columbus. Especially if they had to play the surprisingly dangerous Iowa squad.

Personally, I needed the week off. I am going to watch some non-PSU football and relax. On Sunday I will start dealing with Iowa, and not before. I would hope that is what the players are doing as well.

Mahalo.

PSU 13, OSU 6

What...A...Game. I wrote after the Michigan game that "Some say that this only makes us stronger. I say bullshit-adversity is faced against good teams in dire situations. When this kind of adversity is overcome, the team gets confidence. " Saturday night is exactly what I was talking about.

So there I sat on the evening before gametime. I had a dual TV setup (went with the PSU game on the HD), my laptop humming along so I could drunkenly post on BSD, and a whole motley of remote controls to various electronic means for enteratainment. I'm pretty sure it was a sin. But I don't care. Nothing was ruining this for me. No distractions. I was watching this game on my terms. And I would do it all over again, provided I did not have tickets to the actual game. Selfish? Definately, but I did not want inferior viewing of the game at a bar, lines etc.

Wow. After I typed the above, I noticed something. That is freakin' weak.

Onto the recap...

PSU Notes

• Both lines were immune from penalties. No, wait, let's try that again. PSU had a few non-calls (Royster on a screen in the 2nd-I think Ohrnberger got away with one there), but the OSU OL was straight mugging the PSU DL. Examples-Odrick was held thrice, the third most frustrating because he had Pryor in his sites. I'm not saying he would have caught Pryor, but the forcefull hand placed inside Odrick's shoulder pads spun him sideways. And when you twist a 6'5" DT sideways with one hand, it looks pretty damning. The second person to get 'jobbed was Maybin; he was forcing Pryor's decision making all night, and at the crucial moment (which lead to the INT, and ultimately the game), Maybin was tackled while rushing. If that play went otherwise, you could bet there would be a new Dick Honig All-Star nominee.
• ZUG? ZUG. ZUG. ZUG. ZUG. ZUG. ZUG.
• Did anyone notice Shipley diagnosing Clark's concussed status with his fingers? After Clark's initial frustration, he quickly reverted to a leader and cheered his team on. Leader's do not do the former, but the latter. Call it a push.
• Bowman>>>>>>>Laurinitis.
• All night long, the defense was flocking to the ball. Know when the run defense is doing its job? When the RB isn't falling forward for the extra yard. Wells always had one person in front of him to make the stop, and 2-3 others to drive him backward.
• Royster made some weird decisions. In the second quarter, with PSU in the redzone, a middle screen was called. He followed his blockers to the second level, where it appeared to me that he would have more than enough leverage for the first. He had 600-700 lbs. of PSU OL grade beef trucking downfield to block, but he elected to go laterally. Bad move. He as he tried to turn the corner, he was blindsided. This could have lead to a fumble. It didn't, but you catch my drift.
• From the opening whistle, Rubin was everywhere. His defensive prowess can be exemplified thussly:
I love the "Noooooooooooooooo" in the background. That being said, Rubin's forced fumble was followed by the smartest football play by an individual I have seen since Westbrook knelt down on the one last year. Tyrell Sales was prone, and the fumbled ball was bouncing near him:

He knew that Pryor or another OSU player would prob get the ball before he could get to it. Instead of trying for possession, he batted the ball further away.

Bowman came up with the ball, and you know the rest.

PSU played brilliantly on defense, and the offense made some plays. Tresselball? Nope, Paternoball. And it worked.

I would be remiss if I didn't give OSU some props. They played one hell of a game.

OSU Notes

• Terrelle Pryor is going to be everything that was expected of him. We wanted him to throw. Pryor, with the help of some motivated receivers, made some very spectacular plays. He finished with 226 yards, a personal best. I would not criticize him for trying to bounce outside and making a play. He took the weight of all OSU hopes on his shoulders and almost single-handed beat the #3 team in the nation. As an 18-year-old.
• OSU has some damn fine corners (when they weren't getting flagged), and their DL put pressure on Clark all night. Especially Gibson. The one time they let Clark breathe, the Clark to Zug combo burned them.

Quote of the Game:

"I looked at Ohrnberger in the fourth quarter and he looked back at me. And we said, 'We're not losing this game.' " - A.Q. Shipley (seen below)

Other than the above, all I have left to say is that I am extremely proud to be a PSU fan. And so help them God, if these kids get in trouble "relaxing" in their bye-week, the backlash will be hell-sent.

The Ohio State Has Their Buckeyes...

Crikey. At the beginning of the year, most of us had the Lions with a loss at this point in the season. Now we roll into Columbus for a night game at the 'Shoe, ranked #3 with national championship aspirations. I don't even play for either team, and am incredibly nervous already. I can only imagine how the starters feel. But hey, that's why OSU players get payed the big bucks (ed-bad puns and hate already flowing), eh?

Reasons why we can win in Columbus:
1) Pryor can't pass the ball. Yet.
2) Bradley has scouted Pryor for the past 3 years in Jeannette, and was the lead recruiter on him.
3) When the PSU run is stopped, we can pass. If the pass isn't working, we can run.
4) While the OSU defense is arguably the best in the Big10 11(especially their corners), they are VERY soft over the middle.
5) Tressel cannot vary his offensive strategy too much on a game-to-game basis.

Reasons we can lose:
1) PSU comes out flat, like they have in the past few games.
2) PSU rushes 4 the entire game. We did this last year and got picked apart (not likely, given #1 under why we win). Same with Michigan last week.
3) Hull and Sales start and remain in the game.

So its very simple (kinda); on defense, rush 5-6 on every play, keep Wells and Pryor contained. I don't even care if we get burned by Pryor in the air on a few plays. He will f up. For proof, look how Wisconsin played him. Granted, Pryor finally broke through at the end, but the lessen should have been learned from tape of said game.

On offense, go deep early, and crack the secondary. Clark cannot fumble the ball. Our most consistent running play for the year is off right tackle. Keep pounding it there.

Actually, that was the game plan for PSU going into Madison.

Music I'm using to get my head right before game:

I'm old. let's go old school with some MAARS. Because MAARS needs women.

The enginerd in me just squealed a little. Hell, might as well keep going with that late 80's/early 90's goodness. That's Eric B and Rakim, bitches.....

...and then Big Daddy Kane. Yes, the "Juice" soundtrack was one of the best ever. So was "Purple Rain". What of it?

And yes, I am aware that I might be the whitest man ever.

PSU 27
OSU 20

Michigan Recap

The Good(for the entire game)

• Evan Royster: 17 car, 174 yds, 1 TD
• Deon Butler: 8 rec, 105 yds
• Jeremy Boone: 3 punts, 134 yds, 44.7 ypp

The Bad

• There was nobody who played bad overall for PSU. There was just....

The Ugly

The above pic is a metaphor for the way PSU came out, and that's just because I couldn't find a picture of the first snap sailing over Clark's head. We come out flat, let the other team hang around, and then started playing. Some say that this only makes us stronger. I say bullshit-adversity is faced against good teams in dire situations. When this kind of adversity is overcome, the team gets confidence.

We (the royal we), however, created our own problems by taking 1.5 quarters of vacation. This trend is unsettling, and has happened in too many games played this year.

Other than the offensive miscues (pun intended), WTF was going on with the defense? Every running play, and thus 95% of all plays which were executed by the Michigan offense, were inside the tackles. Yet we backed off, made horrible reads, were pushed around by the Michigan OL, and provided no pressure in the backfield. Early in the first quarter, with Michigan going for it on 4th and short, Bowman had a guy in the backfield (eerily similar to the play he made last week against PJ Hill). He made the hit, and then inexplicably let the guy go. Upon review, it looked like Odrick might have swept his feet out while he was making contact, but still.

It seemed like once we subbed out Hull and Sales, the problems kind of disappeared. We played the run correctly, and figured out that Threet is no threat downfield. After that, we just had to make a play every 3 downs or so and watch Michigan destroy itself. The offense relied on Butler and Royster, which turned out to get the job done without any Spread HD playcalling. It is noted that Hull and Sales were inserted back in the lineup with more positive results.

My insane theory on what the gameplan against Michigan was?

• Michigan is having a down year. Joe knows this. As with Purdue/Wisconsin weeks, PSU is going against a relatively easy team (Michigan) and then a perceived difficult night game on the road (OSU).
• In Purdue we looked bland, but still won. This theory applies in that there was no flashy playcalling against Michigan, just marginal playcalling.
• The slow offensive start in Madison aside, this theory again holds water in that Wisconsin never knew what hit them for 4 quarters of football due to the lack of traditional PSU-style conservatism. And that unheralded innovation is going to be unleashed in Columbus on Saturday night.

Other Notes

• PSU should have rushed more than 4 in the first half of the game. It just seemd that the DL couldn't find their game until the backup LBs came in.
• Odrick is still a manchild
• Congratulations to Kevin Kelly!
• Maybin was still strong.
• Nate Stupar defied emporer Zoltan by stepping in the way of His regal punt. Zoltan ordered Stupar's immediate liquidation, but Stupar had already been carried off to the safety of the underground resistance. DEATH TO SPACE TYRANT ZOLTAN!!!!!
• Norwood dropped a few passes. Weird.
• What streak?

Movin' On

OSU on Saturday night. They are ranked #9, and we are #3. The setting represents past failure, and the last large obstacle to PSU football salvation.

In keeping with my insane theory, I pray PSU will come out with something OSU has never seen before in a PSU defense. Hopefully, it is something along the lines of a 3-4, with Maybin mirroring Pryor. This is similar to what the Eagles do against mobile QBs. Pryor has proved himself as a talented running QB, but not really a passing one. Yet.

The trick is, how do you contain Wells?

Lastly, if we come to Columbus with the execution seen in the first 25 minutes of last game, we will get smoked.

One Last Post...

Because I am bored, and need to flex my imagination....

Know Your Lions

As previously stated, it's very easy to watch PSU football, get lost in the game, and merely look at our players as athletic pawns in a college system. This cannot happen. These boys that lock it up for our entertainment every weekend are real kids. They have back stories and personalities far more diverse than the humble jerseys they don. Thus, it is the object of these posts to provide the reader with a glimpse of what these guys are really like.

In staying with the defensive line, the next badass to be exposed herein is #91, Jared Odrick.

Or, as the opposition skill players call him, "Oshitpleasegodno". Don't know how this is extrapolated from "Odrick", but football players are a funny bunch.

Anyhoo, the following was a list of questions posed* to Jared via questionnaire, and his written responses follow.

Q: What do you feel gives you the advantage at your position?

A: Size, strength and speed in combination with technique. Also, coach Johnson gave me a wristband to be activated during the game that cuts off the flow of blood to my hand on passing downs. Makes it bigger. Quarterbacks hate that.

Q: What do you eat before the game to keep your strength up?

A: Eat? No sir. I drink only the purest Venom (ed-the following illustration was actually provided by Jared**. Note the above-mentioned apparatus).

Q: What music do you listen to on game day?

A: Coach Johnson made me a mix of sounds he recorded in a Kansas City slaughterhouse interwoven with the Notre Dame Fight Song. It gives me the blood-fever. After 45 minutes of exposure, I'm ready for the game.

Q: Favorite JoePa memory?

A: Joe came to visit me my senior year in high school on a recruiting trip. I didn't think much of him until he challenged me to a Rochambeau. He even let me go first. I lost after a 20 minute struggle, but Joe promised if I came to PSU and graduated I would get a rematch.

Q: What is best?

A: To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the cheerleaders.

*hypothetically

**not provided

Up North, the Wolverines

It's been awhile-work tends to pile up when you are away on road trips. And slack off. And have unlimited computer access at work and are easily distracted by shiny objects and a Phillies' playoff run. So yeah, I've been busy. Moving on....



So this week the Wolverines (2.0) come into town. They bring with them baggage and failure, which is fine with me. The problem is, as a whole, I just can't hate Michigan. I don't know why; maybe it's because they are traditional rivals to Notre Dame. Or their fans were incredibly nice to us on our road trip last year.

What I do not like about Michigan is the little things. Let's start with the stadium:

1)Michigan Stadium

• Their seats are small for most of our American fatasses. Not mine tho', which comes in handy when your chubby friends sit in your row, but I digress. Thus, the traditional nomenclature of the "Big House" has been attached to said stadium since they can compress more fans into the bleachers. And here comes the PSU inferiority complex:
  

• It's quiet, even when at capacity. You can literally feel the sound being sucked up into the void.
• Their student section blows. Jingle your keys all you want, but it's gay.
• The visitor's section is at the top of the stadium, and wraps around the corner of the endzone. That's just rude.

2) Dick Honig

• 2002. Johnson was clearly in, asshat.
• 2005, 2 seconds.
• 2005, Avant was out.
• 2005, Hart fumbled.
• F#$king DICK HONIG

Other than that, I really don't have a problem with their fans, except for item #2 above. I have never noticed the arrogance theory other blogs ascribe to.

That being said, I hope we stomp them new mudholes this year. Eleven years is a tough run for any team. Trust me, I have a vested interest in Philadelphia sports.

PSU On Defense

Michigan is in a transition year offensively. They have no QB to run RichRod's spread attack, new RBs, and an entire set of inexperienced WRs (which is going to look somewhat familiar to us next year). I fully expect Michigan to come in and run the offense we saw vs. Notre Dame last year, or Wiscy last week. Nothing flashy, just short passes and vanilla running to avoid potential screw-ups. I fully expect PSU to rush 5 or 6, with blitzing LBs providing different looks. Maybin will again act thussly:

PSU On Offense

Michigan does not have a bad defense. In fact, they have a very underrated defensive front seven. What frightens me, and consequently could be the only thing keeping Michigan in this game, is forced turnovers. I take solace in our starters' past few games performance. Clark has shown almost preternatural decision making and accuracy. Royster knows Lawlor and the O-Line will provide the running lane needed, and the starting WRs all have veteran experience.

PSU Special Teams

We have Williams and Kelly, the latter being an asset this year. Emporer Zoltan might be one of the best punters in the universe, but he doesn't kick field goals or act as a return man. Provided Boone is marginal, PSU maintains a clear advantage. Unless Williams loses a fumble.

All signs point to PSU blowing out this Michigan team. How can Michigan possibly win?

• We go into offensive "sphincter mode". I don't see this happening at home against a team that is down.
• Royster's hand injury flares up and he fumbles the ball more than once.
• PSU has an eleven year flashback/panic attack.
• We play "bend don't break". I don't like defenses tired late in the game because they were on the field too much in the first half.
• Michigan is within 14 by the fourth. WE CANNOT LET THIS MICHIGAN TEAM HANG AROUND.

All the above seem improbable. Still, I will not signal victory until the clock runs down.

Final Thoughts

We should have won last year but failed. We better win this year, because Michigan will not be down for long.

Michigan: 6
PSU: 51

EDIT: Most PSU and Michigan blogs have that fateful final play in the 2005 game. That clip will never be posted here. EVER. I can't look at that clip without that feeling of despair and loathing over what could have been. If I were to post it, I would most likely blackout and wake up in a prison cell covered in blood and confusion.