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.

B10 Trap Game of the Week

This weeks trap game in the B10 belongs to the Purdue Michigan matchup. Why? Because i need a flimsy premace to issue the seal of Admiral Akbar.

Bring on the Illini

It's sink or swim time. Let's look at what Chief Illi.....oops. What crappy mascot have the pc nazis deemed appropriate again?

Figure 1-1: Another great mascot castrated

Anyhoo-on to the Illini. Since Ron Zook took over, this team has become downright scary. The talent waiting on this team will insure a competitive squad for years, starting with the offensive threats of Juice Williams and Mendenhall in the backfield. Look for the option early and often.

As far as passing goes, I still don't see them as that much of a threat. Even tho' they have top recruit Arrelious Benn waiting, they still need to find a way to get the ball to him. Wait, that sounds disturbingly familiar.

As far as defenses go, PSU will be facing a faster, more competent defense than Michigan's. By the way, MGoblog really had some great insight into Michigan's defense from last week. In a nutshell, they really didn't do anything impressive, outside of the play of the DTs. It really came down to Morelli, the O-line whiffing on blocks, and Scott. Basically a "wait until they f-up" kind of defense. Hey, it worked. We got beat. Let's move on.

On defense, I expect Illinois to rush us early and often. Keep Morelli hemmed in, and make him force throws. Although Morelli didn't throw any picks last week, it seems that tacopants reared his ugly, invisible head more than once. This is assuming that Zook watches the game film, which we all know he will.

On offense, look for an option attack a la Michael Robinson, but with less throwing. Say what you want, but the PSU d held Hart to under 4 yards per carry last week.

For PSU, you know what to expect on offense. If we run up the gut on the first play, i think i will have to punch someone/thing. Probably a hobo. 'Cause they don't count. For once, I would just love to see play action on first down. And for the love of God, do not hand the ball off to Scott when we are driving.

On defense, more of the same last week with emphasis on making plays outside the hashmarks. PSUs DTs i looked pretty solid last week, IMO.

Final prediction? PSU, 14-10.