Game Recap

Figure 1-1: Rodney Kinlaw, coming through!

It's 7 am on Sunday morning, and I actually feel fine. The victory was so sweet it almost feels like i got laid last night. Almost.

To start, I watched the game down in Arlington at CarPool. Always a pleasant environment. Even though the game was televised, a decent PSU crowd emerged from their holes to bare witness to the event. Especially the table full of really cute broads sitting next to us. Very friendly.

Note to the Carpool staff-start switching the game on 5 minutes before kickoff. The game started, and was only on one TV across the bar. Lusty mobs descended to the bar full of powerfull drink, demanding their beloved football. Almost a level-4 riot ensuing.

Addendum to above note-about an hour before the game began, a friend of mine asked if they could allocate one television for her to watch the Kentucky/LSU glory. She was denied with the explanation that all TVs will be displaying sweet PSU bliss. To me, that was some weapons-grade balonium. She left, the games began, and they still showed other games on the smaller TVs.

Carpool, you almost officially buggered this even for me. Even the girl with the comically-exposed thong at the bar couldn't undo the damage...

On to the game. Thanks to the lovely homemade TiVo my roomate created, I am able to watch this game again on this lovely October morn.

First Half

• PJ Hill fumbles on the first run of the game. Kind of foreshadowing. Unfortunately, the above listed technology started recording late, so we are starting with the fullback draw on the goal line. That's twice now I've missed the fumble due to human folley.
  
• TD!!! Matt Hahn dives over the middle, and takes a shot in the process. Ya know, a few years ago I would have expected this play call on 1rst and goal, every time. Good to see we have been mixing it up, so when we used it again, it caught me by surprise. Sun Tzu says, "If your enemy knows you as orthodox, be unorthodox. If you are known as unorthodox, be orthodox." Due to expanded playcalling in the last few games, the orthodox worked. PSU, 7-0, 13:39 left.
  
• PJ Hill runs well up the gut. Usually drags 3 or 4 defenders. The only prob is, he can't run outside the tackles due to injury. Hopefully we realize this and adjust, which I am pretty sure will happen. Yup.
  
• 12:15, espn displays Wisconsin keys to the game. "Get the lead". OOPS.
  
• 11:00, 1rst quarter. Lineman and LBs stand Hill up. Great tackling by Ogbu and Lee. Adjustment made. Wiscy punt, DWill making one too many moves, short return.
  
• Shots of homecoming parade. Franco looks good. God, I miss college.
  
• Morelli is going to Golden early and often. Hits him perfectly in stride. Morelli to Butler. Another perfect pass. Morelli to golden- Set up by Morelli staring down DWill, drawing 2 defenders, and hitting Golden in single coverage.
  
• 7:01, 1rst, 3rd and long on the wiscy 11. Busted screen, Morelli recognizes, and throws the ball away. Great job, Morelli. Kelly FG good, PSU 10, Wisc 0.
  
• Wiscy offense comes in, and throws a scary longball. Good coverage in that the ball had to be perfectly throws for that to be caught.
  
• 6:00, 1rst quarter, third and short. Wiscy on their own 30, Donovan finds his man 4 yards downfield, 1rst down Wiscy. Just want to point out that we are continually bringing LBs from both sides of the line. Donovan is about 1/2 second ahead of us at this point. At this point. Bradley will make the adjustments.
  
• 5:45, 1rst quarter. Wiscy has some ugly cheerleaders.
  
• 5:26-Donovan throws to a wide-open tacopants.
  
• 5:16-32 yard pass play to Jefferson. Connor missed jumping the route, and left King to make the tackle. Well thown ball. Then Wiscy false starts on the next play. Thanks, student section!
  
• 4:30-PJ Hill takes the pile downfield for a nice run to the PSU 17. King gets tossed aside in the process. I know he is a CB, but he should know how to tackle.
  
• 3:10-PSU brings the outside heat with the LBs again, with the same result as above. Donovan is standing tall in the pocket, and throws a strike to Beckum down to the PSU 2. Ugh, I do not want to see these two get in any kind of rhythm. Interesting; the replay shows King got a bit of a pick over the middle, leaving Beckum wide open. Eh, could be construed as incidental. NAAAAAA. CHEATERS! Sergent makes textbook tackle.
  
• 2:42, Hill runs up the middle for the TD. PSU, 10-7. We have to face this guy for how many more years?
  
• 2:35, Morelli to Golden. God, that looks so natural. 1rst down, PSU on their own 36. Kinlaw just got baptized on a 6 yard pickup off right tackle, but holds onto the ball.
  
• Quarless drops one over the middle. Well thrown ball, first mistake by a receiver. Quarless, WTF? That was a first down and a momentum sustainer.
  
• :15, Donovan makes a great cut, Connor overpursues. Actually, this is kind of what he is supposed to be doing to force the runner back inside. However, this is a QB, and Connor missed the tackle. End of 1rst quarter.
  
• 15:00 2nd, badgers on their 28. Connor and Lee are officially getting pissed. Somebody splashed them with blood. McGuire, states, "That man has no neck". Solemnly nodding in approval.
  
• The line gets their first real pressure on Donovan. Donovan scrambles and throws the ball away. 14:14, 2nd.
  
• 14:10-Lydell Sergent shows uber concentration, and catches a tipped ball. Interception! If memory serves, beer just went flying out of my nose. Newcastle Ale, if you were interested.

• 13:12. Royster is in, and looks strong.
  
• 13:00. I can't believe what i just saw. PSU on the badger 28, Morelli drops back, PUMP FAKES LEFT, AND HITS A WIDE OPEN BUTLER FOR THE TD!!!!! No...Words....Should....Have.....Sent....A......Poet. PSU, 17-7!
  
• Side note: the PSU offensive line is providing great coverage for Morelli et al. today. Butler also made a great inside-out cut to beat the defender on the route.
  
• 14 points off turnovers.
• (comment redacted)

• 11:22, and I just noticed that PSU gives the shade of the stadium to the visitors. Not many teams do that. Good sportsmanship, I guess. Wiat, not so much in cold weather.
  
• 11:06, the badger drive loses steam with a holding penalty.
  
• 10:41-Sergent makes a beautiful play by breaking up the longball.
  
• 10:33-Wisconsin runs a perfect screen, and Connor saves the defense by shedding a block. The announcers recognize this, so promotions all around.
  
• 9:47-Dwill gets leveled on the PR, and can't handle the ball. At first glance, Jones smacked Williams before the ball got there, which is a no-no. Upon review, that was one helluva lot closer than I thought. We might have just gotten our first call of the game. I still believe karmacally we are owed much more, but I'll take it. PSU takes over with good field position (PSU 37)
  
• 9:07-Morelli flushed, and throws the ball away. Well done. 7/10, 120 yards, 1 TD.
  
• 9:00-Mickey Shuler makes a great grab over the middle and wrestles the ball away from the defender. 1rst down!
  
• 8:30-Morelli hits an open Butler for 23 yards. Badger D is close to collapsing.
  
• 7:11-4th and 1 on the Badger 18. Crowd is pleading for them to go for it. Na, take the points......And PSU is going for it. George Takei says, "O my".
  
• Royster kicks it into gear and blows past every defender for the TD!!! PSU 24-7
  
• Notes on the TD run: Hahn and Lucian both make excellent blocks and seal the running lane for Royster. Beauty, eh?
  
• I miss listening to Steve Jones and Jack Hamm on the radio.
  
• 6:26-Donovan makes a great pass to Jefferson for 30+ yards. I hate soft zone at the end of the half.
  
• 5:58-Donovan forces a pass deep over the middle. That is a huge mistake, as Sciorotto makes a great play on the ball, coming down with an interception.
  
• 5:52-OL opens a huge hole for Kinlaw who busts a 16 yarder.
  
• 5:26-Play action, Morelli rolls out and hits a wide open Schuler for 10 yards. Note the generous spot.
  
• 5:17-Morelli goes through his progression perfectly and strikes Butler over the middle.
  
• 4:43-Kinlaw goes off left tackle for 13 yards. He should be buying his OL many steaks tonight.
  
• Morelli on first down, 9/10. Excellent in-game stat.
  
• The drive stall on the badger 25. 42 yard FG by Kelly is no good. It has been said that there is wind in the stadium, but the flags on the uprights are barely moving. Some things never change, i guess. PSU still leading 24-7; 4 minutes left.
  
• 3:00-Wiscy is still trying to run up the middle. Lee says no.
  
• 2:16-Evans destroys Donovan in the backfield-Donovan still gets off the high wobbler. Getting closer......
  
• 1:52-King and Davis both jump the out rout, and one of them should have gone for 6. Instead, they both collide and break up the pass. Call that one a push.
  
• 1:46-Lee charges into the backfield. TFL.
  
• 1:41-Dan Connor sacks Donovan. Was only a matter of time. And there still is another half to make Donovan hurt.
  
• 1:37-The commentaters let the PSU faithfull be heard. We might not have invented the "WE ARE" chant, but we do it like none other.
  
• 1:25-Williams comes flying up the middle on the punt return only to fumble it. That would have officially killed Wisconsin. Now they have a shot at putting points up before half time.
  
• 1:18-Holding penalty, declined due to an Evans sack. Sweet JoePa's prostate, I love this defense.
  
• :55-Hill takes the pass down to the PSU 34. Lee makes a nice tackle. That gives him 10 for the half. Penn State oozes LB talent. Wisconsin punts? They have less faith in their kicker than we do. Kind of reassuring. End of the most complete half of PSU football I have seen in 2 years.

Second Half

• 14:54-Kick return by Wallace to the 25. Decent return.
  
• 14:47-Kinlaw showing effort in bouncing to the outside for a 5 yard gain. Takes the ball on the next play for 4 yards. Morelli picks up the remainder on a QB sneak.
  
• 13:35-We have to stop doing the DWill end around. Everyone knows we do this at least once a game.
  
• 13:26-Morelli to Golden for 19 yards. Looking sweet. Overshoots Norwood deep on the next play. Otherwise known as the Sex Cannon.....

• 13:11-21 yard run by Kinlaw on a perfect inside draw.
  
• In-game note. Morelli is running the play fake extremely well today.
  
• 12:39-Kinlaw runs left for 10 yards. The badger LBs must be getting tired of chasing him.

• 11:34-Throwing to Brackett in the endzone? What a novel idea. Brackett saves the play, but is moot due to cheating on the DB. Still, we are introducing Brackett into the red zone offense, which is nice.
  
• 11:31-1rst and goal on the Badger 2. TD Kinlaw!!!!Shame he isn't 2-3 inches taller-he is looking like draft-material right now. PSU 31-7. Again, Hahn gets credit for making a textbook block.
  
• 10:07-Odrick and Evans force a 3 and out when they sack Donovan. Odrick used his OL as a turnstile.
  
• 9:18-Williams is still dancing too much on the punt return. PSU incurs its first penalty of the day. Penalty is on Josh Ganter. Just thought you'd want to know.

• 9:11-Royster cuts back for a 17 yard gain on first down. And finishes the run nicely by hitting the closing LB.
  
• Royster is 6-1? Hoo-boy.
  
• 7:07-Donovan scrambles away again, eluding 3 would-be sackers.
  
• 6:35, 1rst and 10 for the badgers on their own 33. Sargent makes a great pass breakup on Beckum. Sargent makes the tackle on the next play.
  
• 6:00, Hill has been taken out of the game. Redemption for our D and their struggles last year against him.
  
• 4:47-Donovan is literally scrambling for his life now. PSU forces the punt, and take over at their own 9. Time to grind the clock.
  
• The commentators state that Williams and Quarless haven't touched the ball today. Maybe its because they are being closely guarded/doubled up, leading to the other receivers being open. Just sayin'.
  
• Everyone Jump on Kinlaw's back, he will carry us for the rest of the game. Corso pointed this out in the preseason.
  
• 2:41-DWill takes a nice swing pass for 8 yards to the 28.
  
• 1:14-Wisconsin almost fumbles the ball away on the punt return. Jerome Hayes is down, holding his knee. This is not what I wanted to see. Am saying a silent prayer for him. O God, his knee looked like it just disintigrated on him when he was slowing down.
  
• :44-Hill is inserted back into the game and has a good 15 yard run up the middle. I am kind of offended Connor missed the tackle. Didn't miss the tackle on the next play. End of the 3rd quarter. PSU 31-7
  
• 15:00, 4rth quarger. On the PSU 33, the Badger line picks up the PSU blitz. Donovan hits a wide open Jefferson for 21 yards.
  
• 14:46. Maurice Evans almost just introduced Donovan to the Lord. Great sack, second of the day for Evans, loss of seven yards for the Badgers. Evans is starting to remind me of Anthony Spencer. Same build, same speed. Maybe the Eagles won't pass up on him with the 26th pick, and then hand him over to Dallas. Just sayin'.
  
• 13:20-Evans sniffs out the end around and drops the reciever for an 8 yard loss. Zombie Nation erupts. Good to see that the students are still involved.
  
• 12:44-Missed 37 yard-ish FG. Maybe that's why they punted away in the 1rst half.

• Grind-Grind-Grind-Grind-Grind
  
• 10:38-Norwood gets involved, nabbing an 11 yard pass and comes down at the Wisconsin 48. Wouldn't have been difficult if he was taller. They should be putting in Clarke soon.
  
• 9:16-Morelli gets sacked for the first time.
  
• 8:06-Lee sacks Donovan with about 6 other PSU defenders in tow.
  
• 6:57-Defense comes up big and stops Wisconsin on 4th and 1. Darryl Clark comes in.
  
• McGuire just made his 100th streotypical Italian-Morelli quip. Not a single one was funny or entertaining.
  
• Royster is now in for mopup duty.
  
• 5:15-Clark runs a 17 yard QB draw to the 1 yard line. Preview of the offense next year.
  
• The recording just ended, so to summarize the last five minutes, Darryl Clark scores. PSU 38-7.
  

Highlights, lowlights, game balls, and final thoughts tomorrow.