PSU 31 Akron 7

Welcome back, Joe

Well, I was going to watch the game which was supposedly DVR'd, but the TV listings provided by Verizon are inaccurate at best. What I got was the Iowa game. So this recap is based on misdirection and Guinness-soaked memories from a Juno Beach bar. And being a Philly fan, it's only pertinent I begin with the negatives*.

The body has a weird way of dealing with pain. One example of the brain's gating mechanism when confronted with severe pain is displayed in the House episode "Detox". House performs necessary masochism to erase the physical side effects of Vicodin withdrawal. He does this by taking a pestle and smashing it directly into his fingers, breaking them. Thus, House's brain only registered the pain coming from his hand, and not the soul-eating sensations of withdrawal. Crude, yes, but then again, it worked, didn't it? I laughed. Now come back to last Saturday's game.

PSU was supposed to have a bunch of glaring deficiencies. I saw a few of note; the kicker was inconsistent, both TEs were poor in blocking, etc. All of these can be worked on and corrected over the next scrimmage or two. Enter the pain analogy.

Nothing seemed more out of place then the running game. There were numerous occasions where the OL was whiffing on assignments, guards were late in pulling, and so forth. And that's not to place all blame on the men with no necks; Royster was making too many moves behind the LOS, and Green just couldn't get his timing down. I understand that new OLs take time to gel, but at times the unit just looked incompetent. The line looked more than adequate in pass protection, which I always presumed to be the tougher of the two options.

Akron had one of the worst rushing defenses in all D-I last year, and I highly doubt they get their shit together in the ten months or so from their last game. In their first game of the year. On the road. Against Penn State. Alarms are going off here.

So yeah, I care not about the little problems. It's that significant pain the rushing game that has my immediate attention.

Then again, it's just the first game; how much do we really know about a team after one game? I probably am overreacting, and we all know how House feels about this.

So yeah, game balls go to:

• Darryl Clark
• Derrick Moye
• Chaz Powell
• Every DT
• Stuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuper
• Devon Smith - because we all root for the little guy. It's the American way, you commie pimp.

*segue not included

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.

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.

Illinois Recap

Just some closing thoughts on the awesomeness from Saturday night:

On Offense:

+

+

+

=

(HT: BHGP)

On Defense: As my mother put it, "What's with your middle linebacker? He seemed lost" If my mother figured that out, I suggest we start looking into moving personnel around. Sorry Hull, but it looks like you are the odd man out. We all really want you to do well, but you are just not getting it done.

My final thought before moving on is that I don't believe we should be ranked that high yet (some have us as a top 5 team). We are still relatively untested on the road, and have OSU coming up in a few weeks. That, and we haven't beaten Michigan since the Clinton administration. We also have to play in Madison; although I do feel better about this since they bedshitted against Michigan.

My mood will remain as "cautiously optimistic" until said games are completed.

Movin' On: Purdue

On Thursday evening I leave for Purdue. Me, 16 friends, 2 RVs, 9 cases of Old German, and West Lafayette. I will be trying to blog with updates on this trip to show the rest of you why one should try and make it to at least one away game per year.

What do I expect out of PSU? I will be happy if we don't revert to the vanilla offense, and we come away with a victory. That is all. Low expectations, truthfully, but the past two trips were to Notre Dame (2006) and Michigan (2007). And now you understand why.

Final Thoughts, Week 1

Just some random thoughts while watching the DVR'd game:

• Moments before kickoff, the "WE ARE" chant was performed in fine fashion. There was one CC player on the sideline who was shaking his head, trying to convince himself that the sound wasn't affecting him (#83, I believe). I don't think he's a very good salesman.
• Good run stuffing up the middle. Odrick is a beast. Baker who?
• Gaines and Evans looked ready.
• DWill stays on his feet after contact. Ran a great WR screen. Me likey.
• Clark's first pass was a gem. So was the second. I'm not used to seeing on target passes and crisp decision making. Keep it up.
• Good playcalling. For all the guff I give JayPa, I have to say I was impressed by the job Jay and Galen did. Further, neither QB ran. While this is due to good OL play, but also due to the offensive stratagem of just keeping the QB in the pocket on purpose.
• Jerome Hayes came in and had a great first step. Good to see.
• Devlin has a sweet touch. However, I just thought that the offense moved better with Clarke.
• BANI-BANI-BANI.......OY-OY-OY! Other than that pick, I thought the LBs were a little soft in coverage.

Other wise, I was very happy with the results, considering we were playing a cupcake. No real injuries, everyone got a few plays, and both QBs looked solid. As expected the line and the running game was pimp. That being said, I fully expect Oregon to come into town next week and test the LB coverage. The back seven better be ready.

So far, off to a good start. Let's keep going.....

Indiana Wrappup

Figure 1-1: They aren't exactly who I thought they were

Before I sharpshoot this game in my "analysis", I first and foremost would like to say I was dead wrong about this Indiana team. Why? As I stated last week, I mailed it in. I didn't do my homework, so imagine the surprise when Indiana marched down the field and scored on their first drive. Other positives for Indiana include the 6-7" manchild, Jay Hardy, dismantling Justin King. Offensively, this team only lacks a good running back. The Hoosiers WILL be getting a bowl game, so bully to them.

The Good

• Anthony Morelli, the offensive line the running game. Jay and Galen have these guys firing on all cylinders, and the play calling still is refreshing. The only caveat here is the 3 FGs in the second half, all from the goal line. Do NOT make FGs a habit within the ten yard line. Look what happenned to the Eagles yesterday.
• We won a close game on the road. We have accomplished neither of those two this season.
  
• Maurice Evans. This guy is an absolute terror. And is a sophmore.

The Bad

• The rest of the d-line. No pressure from anywhere but Evans.
• Our defensive strategy. They passed 48 times. I would say 24 of them, we played the run. As a result, Indiana aired it out and torched us.
• Justin King. He got straight beaten. I understand that he was covering a 6-7" force of nature, and the QB had the brains to throw the jump ball (a la the Randy Moss method), but he is relying on just his presence near the receiver to discourage the pass attempt in his direction.

The Ugly

• We finally got the full-blown injury bug. Losing Hahn could be a devastating blow for the running game. Additionally, he is a senior, and he shredded his ACL. That is not the way for a guy who plays so hard to end his career. It just isn't fair.
• Losing Odrick with a broken ankle for the season. 6'5" DTs with ability are rare. Luckily, we have very competant reserves in Abe Koroma, McKeown, etc. Additionally, he will be back next season.
• The reffing. Or as all call it, "The Effing".

We got the win. The offense was good. The D was not. We lost 2 good starters. Indiana is a good team. There is now parity in the B10.

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.

PSU/Iowa Recap

So much went right this game, but there were still a few mistakes. As predicted (kinda), PSU played its most complete game of the season, defeating Iowa 27-7. Please note I got the total points scored right.

Notes from the first half:

• PSU comes out throwing downfield! Offense is churning, picking apart the Iowa D! Great drive!! Kinlaw fumbles... Enter Royster.
• Morelli looks good. His problem again is staring down receivers. It almost looks like he sees an open receiver, and his brain takes 2-3 seconds to coordinate his body. When he was trying to go through his progression, found an open receiver, and had to throw the ball with haste, he was inaccurate. Otherwise, he hit some receivers in stride, threw over the middle. The one play that killed me was a wide open Royster down the sideline on a screen. He was overthrown by 10 yards. On a screen.
• The defense absolutely owned the Iowa offense in every facet, holding them to 3 first downs.
• The most blessed drive was the last one of the 1rst half. About a minute left, PSU starting deep in its own territory. Morelli runs the no-huddle like Elway, and drives the team down into FG distance. Kelly splits the uprights from 53 yards. Absolute ecstasy. For one drive, everything clicked and PSU looked how i thought it should.
• Norwood flips the ball at the guy who tackled him. 15-yard unsportsmanlike. I still agree with the call-I think Norwood's intention was to just talk some ish to the defender, and made the mistake of flipping the ball near him. The defender walked into it, but still, you can't make these kinds of decisions when you are 0-2 in the B10.

Notes from the second half

• PSU still dominant. 20-0. Morelli is driving down the field and throws a pass to Williams on the sideline. Well thrown ball, and the Iowa safety makes an excellent play on the ball. Was Morelli at fault? Maybe. But it is a throw I can see most good QBs try to make.
• Iowa airs it out, and beats King downfield. Short drive, ending up in an Iowa TD. King is getting too complacent. 20-7. First nerves setting in.
• Next drive, Morelli gets flushed, and makes an unforgivable pass into triple coverage. Pick. Officially nervous. The PSU D comes up huge, reminding me why I should have faith in them.
• The offense, now featuring a more focused Kinlaw, goes right down the field and easily puts the ball in the endzone. Iowa is physically and mentally beaten. PSU wins, snapping a 5 game losing streak to Iowa.

Overall

First and foremost, the defense was stellar with the line blowing up the Iowa OL. The DTs were both studs-Iowa had no inside running game. Kudos to them. The LBs were left free to roam and finished up whatever the DL left over.

Derrick Williams officially has his confidence back. Bell should thank Williams for bailing him out after that drop in the endzone.

Morelli followed the same pattern as the Illinois game. Start competent, get confident, screw up in the second half. He did look improved in that he didn't give the game to Iowa, so bully for him.

Again, we need to platoon the RBs. Royster and Kinlaw make a very good combination. Royster just needs to stay healthy.

This game was a definite confidence booster to the OL. They did struggle at times in the passing game, but excelled in opening holes for both RBs.

Next week, we get Wisconsin at home. All players should be extremely motivated to beat a ranked team for homecoming.