Top Five True Freshman Seasons

I added some content to Black Shoe Diaries today on SBN.

I hope I am not violating the rules of their use by linking to it from here.

11/21/2015

Today we are going to try out an old Bill Simmons staple- the running diary. Hey, he isn’t writing anymore, I figure all his old things are up for grabs. And he hasn’t used this particular gag in years, first moving to the “retro diary” before completely forgetting it. In theory, twitter has replaced this particular type of writing, but let’s bring it back for PSU - Michigan, a matchup that sounds better than maybe it actually will be.

Most likely Michigan is too talented and experienced for this particular Penn State team. Penn State is coming off a bye, and it is Senior day - these things matter in college ball. So let’s see what happens…

12:07 - PSU gets the ball first, so we can probably go three and out right off the bat.

12:08 - Remember the name Chris Godwin, he will be a good possession receiver in the NFL. He makes tough yards, and in a better scheme, he would be open more often. And Michigan gifts PSU a first

12:10 - BOOOM- there goes Barkley all the way to the ten yard line, need to cash this in for the a TD immediately. So of course, PSU goes to the wildcat, and goes nowhere, ugh. (I would have liked it if it worked better)

12:12 - UGHhhh - three straight running plays into the teeth of the defense. And PSU only gets a field goal after an absolutely huge run. 3-0 PSU, decent start.

12:16 - Thankfully Julius is back to doing kickoffs, and in an absolutely amazing shocker- a holding call is made on the kickoff. I’m shocked. Also, Jim Harbaugh is still super annoying. I am sure we will see him four thousand times this game.

12:20  - It is still amazing how open receivers are against PSU’s defense and how covered PSU receivers are against every other defense. Michigan just got a first down to a guy wide open between zones.

12:22 - third and 9 - PSU gives up 39, awesome. Also, sack leader Carl Nassib wasn’t in for that play, which makes zero sense. And by sack leader - I mean the guy who leads the nation in sacks, not just the team. Yeah, let’s leave him out of the game an obvious pass play. (he may no longer lead the nation after the bye week, but he was a couple weeks ago)

12:26 - TD Michigan, the soft zone looks like garbage so far. Still no Nassib and no pass rush at all for the second string D-ends. Technically Sickels is a starter, but given who he plays next to, he is terrible. 7-3 Michigan

12:31 - First down throw to no one. Two receivers run crossing routes, somehow the throw is behind both of them.

12:32 - And there's a sack - the protection had Brent Wilkerson one on one with a defensive end, that's a tight end, not a tackle. Fuck me. then motion on the o-line, and Kyle carter can’t catch a pass so we punt. Kyle Carter needs to go away. He can’t do anything on a football field that can be construed as a positive for Penn State.  So the tight ends gave up a sack and then dropped a ball on that series.

12:36- Oh - Torrrence Brown just killed the QB. yikes that was a big hit. (Still no NAssib)

12:37 - And a pick for Brandon Bell with a tough run back after the catch. The Qb never saw him.

12:37 - Weird trick play, a wildcat reverse to have Hack throw it. Nice try for the big play after the turnover. But then a third down run, goes nowhere and PSU is three and out again. This offense is such a pile of garbage. Defense back on the field so quickly.

12:49 - Defense finally gets a third down stop to start the second quarter. Apparently NAssib isn’t going to play- ABC has no inclination to let us know what is going on there. Apparently they don’t care

12:51 - Brent Wilkerson with his second catch- Kyle Carter should take notes. Meanwhile, Hack has gotten Michigan to jump three times this game- interesting wrinkle to his game.

12:52 - Hamilton runs a terrible route for a deep ball. He was running towards the middle on a go route for some reason.

12:55 - Hack takes a terrible sack after Michigan gifts PSU a first down. He needs to throw the ball away more. UGH. Followed by a run up the middle. More garbage offense- 3 and 19 now.

12:57 - Wow, the punters are so bad for Penn State- they routinely have punts that go twenty yards, but when we only want a twenty yard punt, they boot that shit into the end zone. How’s that college education working out out?

1:00 - That sack took PSU out of field goal range, put the defense back on the field and PSU is still losing. The is fucking awesome.

1:08 - Michigan gifts PSU a third down stop with a drop on the conversion. Meaning we get more Hack time. So far, we are 0-2 on downfield throws. Hopefully we keep taking shots- those are the best shot to loosen up the defense.

1:12 - What the fuck- another third down run on a third and five or longer…. And its for a loss of yardage. Give me more garbage offense!!

1:16 - Michigan fumbles a snap for a three yard gain, haha. Even a screw up gains yardage. - John Donovan will have Hack run that play in the second half.

1:18 - Best series for the defense so far, getting a three out and the only three yards gained... AND A BLOCKED PUNT!! -LET’S GO!!

1:23 - TOUCHDOWN to Blacknall…. the d-back had no idea where the ball was on an underthrown pass. Nce 10-7 PSU

1:26 - Defense need to not give up points since Michigan gets the ball to start the second half.

1:27 - On third and long, PSU calls timeout while the clock was stopped. I have no idea why, but I am sure the terrible clock management is to blame.

1:29 - Of course Michigan converts. On a safety blitz, they go over the top. Seems to be a theme you get Shoop’s defense on. And a couple screen passes with some terrible tackling has Michigan almost guaranteed points.

1:32 - Now more soft zone and Michigan is in the red zone. God dammit.

1:32 - And touchdown Michigan because Penn State can’t sustain success at all. I think that PSU time out was straight fucking stupid for Franklin to call. There was no reason to let them call plays from the sideline on huge third down.. 14-10 Michigan

1:35 - And the garbage offense won’t try to score in the final fifty seconds. Fuck this. You should go coach soccer if you are scoring averse.  You basically gifted your opponent a second possession in a row AND then let them off hook from having to play defense. In a one possession game- you can’t give them away. Hopefully he learns that is a bullshit approach.

2:00 - Defense starts the second half where it left off, giving up easy completions and not tackling. Good thing we didn’t try and score.

2:03 - Michigan just grinding down the field, short completions and easy runs eating up chunks of yardage. Back D-line in the game, which won’t help the pass rush that isn’t getting home consistently.

2:05 - Captain Khaki thinks PSU should be penalized more as the defense finally holds after gving up field position. PSU will start at their own five. This has happened so often- i can predict what will happen. PSU is going to either go three and out, or only get one first down, then punt. Since the punting is so weak, Michigan will get the ball, at worst, at their own forty.

2:14 -Michigan ball at their own 33, after a penalty on the punt. Of course, Anthony Zettel gives it all back on a roughing the passer penalty and jumped into the QB. This is going to get him ejected. Incredibly stupid to do. That’s his last play in Beaver Stadium. Oh- he gets to stay, I honestly think he should have been ejected by the letter of the law. Anyway - Michigan now at the 50.

2:20 - Michigan punts to a shaky handed returner and gets the ball at the ten. Fuck. I hate those pays. You don’t even have to touch the ball and we get to keep it. Instead a freshman drops an unreturnable kick. SO dumb.

2:22 - TD michigan running it right at PSU’s defense, which can’t get a break from the field due to terrible offensive players. 21-10 Michigan.

2:23 - This lead feels insurmountable. PSU under Franklin has not come back from a double digit deficit that I can remember. Thankfully there isn’t a sure handed returner that can we can use on kicks where we would prefer to not let them down us inside the five. Instead its a freshman who doesn’t catch the ball consistently.

2:26- Oh, good, more Penn State offense. Let’s see what garbage offense we can dial up. ABC can’t seem to figure out how a microphone works, they’ve twice thrown it to the sideline reporter so we can have uncomfortable silence. Good stuff.

2:28 - Captain Khaki still not a fan of the officials. Back to back penalties have gotten PSU thirty yards. and now out to midfield.

2:31 - Hack gets whacked and is out of the game for a 3-20 . Trace McSorley throws a ball to the bench. garbage offense doing work. Hack took off his helmet, he knew there was no way they were converting. Ball game.

2:34 - ABC finally lets us know Nassib isn’t playing. Meanwhile, the soft zone is getting ate up again. Michigan is on the move to really salt this game away. Unless the defense gets a turnover, I don’t see the offense going 80 yards for points anytime soon…. AND they forced the fumble!! Brandon Bell again- strip and recover.

2:39 - PSU goes three plays for no yards, and can’t signal in a play for fourth down. Hack was flipping through his wristband in confusion before calling timeout.

2:40 - But they convert on a seam route that Hack stuck on Chris Godwin, who then did some big boy football shit to wrestle the ball all the way down to the five. Trust-  Chris Godwin will do something in the NFL. He isn’t Allen Robinson, but he can be Wes Welker.

2:46 - And PSU goes backwards to open the fourth quarter, and kicks another field goal. Barkley is playing like a freshman when the hole isn’t there, trying to do crap in the backfield rather than get up field. Of course, that’s just frustration speaking - the offensive line actively gets out of the way of defenders to let them into the backfield. We have so many pulling guards that open the holes for the defenders to pour through - its ridiculous. So it's an 8 point game, but maybe the defense got a breather after that fumble recovery.  21-13 Michigan.

2:52 - Captain Khaki, still displeased with the officials.

2:55 - Three and out for Michigan. And now Greg Garrity is back to receive, hmm. PSU with ok field position. Let’s do this. Probably need two scores still in order to win.

3:03 - Hack has run for the last two first downs… the offense has come to this. Ugh… LET’S GO!

3:09 - PSU inside the ten again. Need a TD here. Come on Lions!

3:11 - And incomplete pass from the 2… And settle for a field goal, not our best play…. Somehow the ball gets just high enough to clear the crossbar. 21-16 Michigan.

3:14 - PSU has had first and goal three times, resulting in 9 points. And piss poor tackling on the kick return gives Michigan great field position. PSU can’t sustain success.

3:16 - Immediately Michigan in the red zone after the special teams and young players play shitty football. Awesome. Now without a turnover, michigan gets the three points back

3:18 - ABC with more awkward silence from the sideline reporter. The best part is they apparently think it's working.

3:20 - Michigan is going to score, it's a no brainer, Shoop just lined up with no one to the wide side of the field, but somehow just gave up a run up the middle. That formation was designed to fail. Michigan on the one

3:21 - There it is - Michigan winning this game in the red zone. 28 - 16 Michigan.Fuck

3:27 - Yeah it’s over, this Hack is done. On first down he throws to a receiver who decides looking for the ball is beneath him. Hamilton is not very good at route running, catching, or generally doing anything to get open.

3:31 - Michigan is going to take a knee and ball game - 28 - 16 Michigan. Mother shit.

Deep breath - well PSU has lost twice in a row to ranked opponents. which is probably about right for this team. They are young and really struggle to execute on a play to play basis. They have hung tough with ranked opponents. The hard thing to look at is the step the back we will take at QB next year after Hack leaves.  Next week will be another loss probably, and we will do this again.

PANIC!! (At the...)

Well, frankly I don’t know where. I have refused to go over to my favorite site for the Penn State fans, in order to have some unadulterated thoughts on where Penn State is going. Currently 0-2, one terrible game that probably turned on just one play, and another game, dominated by the good guys for almost all that I saw, but still no wins to show for it.

My perspective may be slightly off, since I missed most of the fourth quarter due to having to go to a wedding.  I was thus forced to rely on text messages from my dad to track the fourth quarter.  Incidentally, receiving a text message that your team is lining up for a game winning field goal- after being disastrous all game in the kicking game- does not exactly make you feel all warm and fuzzy. When the inevitable text conveyed that the kick was missed came in, you don’t react. You shrug and try to get on with the day. Being at a wedding allows you to avoid TV’s until you’re too intoxicated (not quite the same warm and fuzzy feeling we wished we had early, but it works in pinch) to really watch highlights. So I also have to see the final plays, neither the drive by Virginia to win the game, nor the missed kick that drove the nail in the coffin.  Now let’s focus more on the panic.

I apologize in advance for perhaps stealing the Sports Guy’s shtick, but I am fully jumping all over the panic button. My team is 0-2, and what could be worse than a quirky offense coming in to Happy Valley looking to get their first win? Again, the Lions will be favored, but there is definitely a possibility of a loss on Saturday.  Defending the option requires discipline and patience. It is exactly how Joe Paterno wanted his defenses to play when the option was in vogue so many years ago. Teams that run it now are taking advantage of the general impatience and attacking style of the modern defense- you know, what Ted Roof wants to do.  So if Navy comes in and controls the clock, and is the beneficiary of the same key mistakes that have plagued the Lions this year, Penn State could walk off the field 0-3 and facing a historically bad season. We have seen historically bad before- it is how Penn State entered the millennium. Generally called the dark ages- the period from 2000-2004 had very few bright spots.

So if we have been here before- why panic? Well, I’ll tell you (it’s why you’re here hopefully). When you are trying to keep together a recruiting class that features five star talent, when you are about to begin a time where there will be less scholarships to go around, going 0-3 to start the season is a great way to chase said talent away. It’s generally said that, basically, until 2019, Penn State will have a lot less depth than the teams they will be competing against. With only 15 scholarships to go around each year, BOB is going to need the very best in talent to come play football in Happy Valley, knowing that they can start almost immediately to punch tickets to the NFL.  I feel the first class, the 2013 recruiting class, is the key. Currently, it has verbal commits from some very talented individuals. An 0-3 start, one that has featured a five star QB being moved to tight end, would not be the way to inspire more five star talent to come play in Beaver Stadium over the next four years.

Panic is not about this year alone- it is about the very precarious nature which the future of Penn State football is in.  What doesn’t help to attract the recruits discussed above? Tweeting angry things at a kicker having an atrocious day- also may be seen as a turn off. It’s especially a turn off when said recruits feel compelled to offer encouragement to someone they view as a potential teammate.  So as Penn State fans have spent the past ten months showing some impressive resolve, and players showing the testicular fortitude often reserved for great men, some fans have chosen to be as ugly as possible.  For full disclosure- I may have offered his scholarship to someone else, they apparently will be in short supply in the future.  In my defense, I earned my money to go to college by going to Iraq and Afghanistan. I suggest that if the money for college is earned in a particular way, i.e. kicking field goals, I think actually accomplishing that would go a long way to actually earning what you are being paid to do. (Yeah, I said it, college players are paid)

It would be lazy of me to solely blame an inept kicking game for what is most alarming about Penn State’s start. We have hired an offensive coach- who has yet to produce much offense. A lot has been laid at Ted Roof’s feet so far- but we have all seen the Patriots produce points at a thirty point a game clip. We did not expect to have ONLY thirty points at this juncture.   I have heard BOB claim that he needs to call better plays- well why is that not happening? There are execution issues- mainly a lack of ability to catch the ball on third down, but it seems to be more of the same from Penn State’s offense. I constantly see McGloin holding the ball, waiting for receivers to finish routes. I fully expected the ball to be leaving McGloin’s hands very early and getting into our playmakers hands very quickly.  This doesn’t happen nearly often enough. I’m not the most learned of football minds- but that was exactly what Ohio did when they kicked our ass up and down the field in the second half of the first game. This is the first shot across the bow; the ball is in McGloin’s hands too long. Please get it out quickly- I can’t identify the “Wes Welker” of the offense.

Not to pile on (yeah right, I am all about piling on), but the defense has given up two second half leads in the first two games. Typically, such things are rumored not to have happened in the former regime. That’s an untrue statement actually- if you look at every gut wrenching loss you can remember in the past half-decade- it’s a come from behind victory for the opponent.  However, it is happening at a very rapid rate- as in 2 for 2. It would be nice if the defense held a lead, especially if it’s by multiple possessions.

So panic is forming somewhere- definitely on this blog- and will be spreading from section EJ on Saturday. The offense is not scoring, the defense is not preventing scores, and the special teams have been a dumpster fire. Aside from hanging the “Help Wanted” sign on the kicker position, this team needs to focus on execution.  We fans need to focus on not chewing off finger nails off, putting on a happy face, and pretend that Navy is the first game of season on Saturday.  

The Beginning (Again)

Finally, it’s game week. I don’t think I have looked forward to a game as much as look as I look forward to the Penn State game this Saturday. Apparently, Ohio (the Bobcats, not the Buckeyes) is a good team. Not exactly a traditional MAC-rifice. I really want to just talk about football. Most Penn State fans just want to talk about football. We can’t, not yet.

On Saturday, we (get used to this, I say we like I am a part of the team) have a new coach, new offensive system, a new defensive system, and a new outlook on college football. For three hours we want to watch a football game. We want it to seem familiar.  Yet it will all seem very foreign.

The players will be familiar. There will be Matt McGloin, a “moxie” filled Irishman, will line up at QB. For the first time in his career, I hope he knows that all the PSU community is behind him. I privately hope he brings back the Irish mouthpiece. I loved the stone faced look he had during the players’ response to the sanctions. I don’t know why- but I saw exactly what I wanted to see.

I also think Michael Mauti will be out to hit as hard as possible- if only to release the frustrations that have been evident in his voice since the sanctions came down.  I think I understand where the frustration comes from. I hope it’s not from the actual need for the NCAA, but rather the environment that was created in the wake of the sanctions. I see a leader of a team trying his best to hold the pieces together.

Please do not misunderstand me. A lot of people have told me that the punishment by the NCAA is too harsh. It isn’t. A punishment had to be handed down. The NCAA had to do something. The day the sanctions were announced, I wrote the following on my Facebook wall:

Sometimes there are no words, no clever quotes to neatly sum up what's happened that day.
That jumped to mind when from a Criminal Minds episode- to ensure that credit is passed on to where due- and that it isn't my own original thought.

I have grown up as a Penn State fan- most people already know that. Today, and the future, I will still be a Penn State fan, I think. When you profess to do be doing things the right way, better than your peers, to be the incubation of some Grand Experiment, you don't hide behind "what is humane". This is not about who may have known what when, or what was done in some context of the law. Why hide behind these technical aspects to protect the moral slackness of supposedly great men?

 And maybe supposedly isn’t the right word- I hope I am never faced with a situation where someone I am close to or responsible for is a degenerate.

There are a bunch of tough words people have used, and blanket statements of what they would have done, and I can't make those. I think today's punishments are deserved. Just as coaches and presidents are responsible and credited with wins on the field that players earned, the players pay the price as well for their mistakes. No one is an island. Today everyone associated with Penn State is (faced with) punishment for the mistakes of few. It is deserved, we deserve it.

 There will be a football game at Beaver Stadium this fall. I think I will be there. I'll no longer think that we are doing better or cleaner than anyone else. It's just another game on another Saturday I am spending with my friends and family. WE ARE... because they were not.

I guess the only part I don’t want to stand by is how I wavered in thinking I would be still be a fan come Saturday.[1] Yet, the rest is true. To take it a step further, everyone wants to wash their hands of the responsibility; they want to say they weren’t at fault. They want their football team back. There are many groups still attempting to call foul. Every single time, I hear the same thing. I hear that the Freeh report was not valid. Who cares? Former football coach Jerry Sandusky operated at Penn State while molesting children. What part of that isn’t true? That sentence alone is enough to warrant the sanctions handed down. Stop whining and move on.

We are now operating in a known environment. Yes, players may transfer.  Yes, wins have been vacated. Yes, there is a post season ban and reduced scholarships. I am a fan of the football team at Penn State. I am also a fan of the University and all the good it does. The way forward can’t begin as long as groups continue to want to go backwards and not claim to be responsible.

For at least one group, the way forward has already begun. For the football team, it began when they showed up for camp. On Saturday, we can show up and support that group as best we can. They are the ones leading the way, while others tilt at windmills attempting to restore a tarnished legacy.  If they really want to say that we can do it cleaner and better than other schools, then on Saturday, we begin again.

In science the focus often not on the experiments that are successful, but rather the focus is directed to the ones that have failed. The grand experiment failed, and we must begin it anew.  

 

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[1] I was afraid I would be rooting for a post death penalty SMU team, in which case I would not be watching college football on Saturdays. I would have been a college football widower.