- I like the speed of the defense. Season is still young so I think they will get better.
- Kicking game I viewed as decent. Punting was good and even though kickoffs were not in the end zone special teams did a nice job containing any long kickoff return, many before the 20 yard line.
- The targeting penalty needs to be reviewed especially the play dynamics leading up to a potential targeting penalty. There is a high percentage any time the ball handler is low to the ground you will have some helmet contact.
- The offensive line I felt pass blocked well but as you saw the running game still needs work. Did anyone notice in a couple of plays when our running backs were stopped a couple yards off the line of scrimmage but still on their feet and the O-line just stood there and watched! I don’t understand the game well enough but I thought the O-line is supposed to push the back forward until the play is whistle dead. I just didn’t sense any aggressiveness/meanness from the O-line.
- Clifford made some good throws. Clifford made some bad throws. WR dropped some good throws. I thought Clifford showed poise and confidence. He hit his mark of ~ 50% completion.
- Hey we lined up under center for that long QB sneak.
- D-line looks small to me. Not sure we witnessed the attack D advertised under Diaz but maybe that was the game plan to stop the pass and play prevent D at times. I’ll take 2 sacks; 5 would have been better!
- I think we have a good compliment of weapons to use on offense. I felt good about the play calling for the most part. Running plays were subpar. Team is young so I am optimistic.
- Good 2 min drill on the last drive.
- I like what I see in Allar so far. Big QB with a nice touch on the ball.
- Refs missed our WR getting tackled late in the 4th. Pass interference would of help, but in the end we won.
My Observations on the Game
- Thread starter PSUMichFan
- Start date
The lack of aggressiveness on the OL is annoying. Lee had an opening that if he breaks free of foot tackle he might make some yardage on... I suspect both Singleton and allen -- given the same cirucmstances -- are off to the races. But in the end, the OL play is a problem... yet again (caveat... I think Purdue is supposed to have a pretty good D, so jury is out).
Hardy made one of the bonehead plays of the night at the goal line when instead of just downing the ball he went all in for mister spectacular and cost us (not too much as they went 3/out). He'll learn from that. But he damned well better learn from the moment he got boned on the hitch and needed every bit of his speed, athleticism and luck to avoid a game clinching TD. He can learn from it.. if not, MSU, UM, and osu will punch that ticket repeatedly.
Lotsa of apparent athleticism and I think we'll get a lot better by Auburn. Did #33 play on D? And yes, we appeared kinda smallish on the DL. That will be an issue when we play big running teams, so here's hoping PJ is still not 100% and will keep getting better. I think that will happen.... it better.
I didn't like that I was able to predict the exact play all too often. But if our running game gets better, that should change, too.
Tough win against a pretty good team on the road... lotsa props all around... true team effort. As mentioned, holding a 72% passer to under 52% is pretty damned fine work.
Any injuries?
Hardy made one of the bonehead plays of the night at the goal line when instead of just downing the ball he went all in for mister spectacular and cost us (not too much as they went 3/out). He'll learn from that. But he damned well better learn from the moment he got boned on the hitch and needed every bit of his speed, athleticism and luck to avoid a game clinching TD. He can learn from it.. if not, MSU, UM, and osu will punch that ticket repeatedly.
Lotsa of apparent athleticism and I think we'll get a lot better by Auburn. Did #33 play on D? And yes, we appeared kinda smallish on the DL. That will be an issue when we play big running teams, so here's hoping PJ is still not 100% and will keep getting better. I think that will happen.... it better.
I didn't like that I was able to predict the exact play all too often. But if our running game gets better, that should change, too.
Tough win against a pretty good team on the road... lotsa props all around... true team effort. As mentioned, holding a 72% passer to under 52% is pretty damned fine work.
Any injuries?
Key to the game for me...we had 4 possessions that made it inside the Purdue 40, and came away with 28 points on them. Even if our offense stalled out for stretches, we really finished off drives when it mattered most.
They also let our DBs play very physically...I worry that we'll see some crews that call it a lot tighter where we'll get flagged a bunch and need to adapt.
Absolutely... I'm sure, coincidentally, whatever crews are working the OSU and Michigan games!!!
Good points but I think you are off on the Touchbacks. I saw at least 2 and one of them Nwosau put almost out of the end zone. But you are correct the coverage on both punts and KO's was excellent.
I know the Franklin Haters won't want to hear this but the difference in a game like this, in week 1, where we're facing a good team, on the road and at night, is coaching. Our staff had our boys prepared for the moment and when it came it wasn't too big for them. They knew what to do and they executed. Credit Franklin and the staff for having our boys ready lastnight.
boy, you'll be getting a lot of hate mail out of this!
- Where was Mustipher? I thought he was an elite DT. He was invisible all game. Stats show he had 1 tackle.
- I think Elsdon will be phased out as the season progresses. Fine young man. Hard worker. Smart. Not fast enough nor athletic enough to play at this level.
- The team has the potential to improve a lot as the season progresses. Many young, inexperienced but very talented players.
- This may be the best group of defensive backs that Penn State has ever had.
- The two freshmen RBs really look talented. They will be special as time goes on.
- This is a rebuilding year, except at QB - the most important position. That is a problem because next year we could be very solid except we will be rebuilding at QB. Franklin really has to play Allar a lot this year even if it means risking a loss or two.
Disagree. It’s the players. Purdue routinely fields recruiting classes ranked 70 or worse. They’ve had one class in the Top 30 the past five years (26) and two ranked 72. Others in the 50s. We should blow the doors off Purdue but coaching is why we don’t.
Agree to disagree. Talent can and has been swallowed up in environments like lastnight. It was ripe for the upset. Our team stayed within the gameplan and it paid off.
The fact that PJ saw any time at all in the first game is freaking amazing.
Did the O-line have any false start penalties? Looking for positives.
Don't think so. We had a hold, 2 DPIs, targeting, and one more I think.
Definitely none when Allar came in. That's 8000x improved year over year.
Yeah that’s right when the team loses it’s always Franklin’s fault but when they win it’s the players. I have asked his many critics to tell me what strategic decisions Franklin made that cost the team the losses to Michigan and Michigan State and have yet to get a response. A 60+ yard TD to a TE on a simple crossing pattern thrown 5 yards beyond the line of scrimmage and a game losing TD vs Michigan State on 3rd and 19. Some clown sportswriter claimed that Franklin blew the Michigan State game when he didn’t go for it on 4th down on his side of the field in snowy conditions on the first possession because this “led” to Michigan going 99 yards to make it 14-0 after the punt was downed on Michigan State’s 1 yard line.
Rebuilding year? Rebuild from what exactly?
this team will have more wins than the team last year.
That would be leadership. When they win it is the players. When they lose it is the coach. That is how leadership works. The psu football team as a whole pulled this one out.
Regarding Mustipher, DT's don't usually get a lot of tackles even if they play very well, unless they happen to get to the QB for sacks which most do not do. With it being the first game and the end of Summer the substitutions/rotations were such that Mustipher didn't get the snaps he likely will against Michigan and oh-high-ya. He will likely make more of an impact as the season goes along and he rounds into form.
When I watched Elsdon play (slowly....) it made me wonder how good King could be if he couldn't beat Elsdon out. I'm hoping that they put Carter at Mike and that by midseason he is PSU's starting Mike LB. We need a real thumper in the middle that sets the tone for the defense, not a weak (in quickness and tackling) player that can only make the basic plays. Carter looks the part even sitting on the bench trying to figure out why he got thrown out!!!
Last edited:
What year was it when we called a run play right at Godzilla incarnate Chase Young with the game on the line?
I’ll just enjoy the win and ride for now - but beating Purdue shouldn’t be cause for a ticker tape parade. Auburn will be a much better test for the team. Cheers!
I guess I'd be in that group after the Illinois game last year. I didn't stay up to watch so I watched yesterday afternoon. I agree that the coaches did well Thursday night. I especially liked the more aggressive defense after giving up the 3rd TD. In a pressure late game situation why allow the offense to get comfortable? D-Backs playing right up on the line of scrimmage at the snap. I loved it. I do think the offense needs to play more with the QB under center. It's the best way to establish a balanced offense which this team has been sorely lacking. There weren't any field goal attempts, but otherwise I was impressed with the kicking game. Bottom line: A good win on the road at night against a 9-win team from last year. And yes, Franklin deserves credit.
I did see #33 on the field and without a roster sheet, did not know who it was. DDS I assume?
Franklin laughs at coaching. A CEO can’t be bothered with coaching. Coaching is for the little people.
Penn State Football > Coaching Issues. I’d rather win than lose even if it means Franklin stays longer than I’d like. He has a 10 year contract - like the Keenan Thompson of coaching; we’re stuck with him.
or to one coach- how many times did Guman run up the middle in the '79 Sugar Bowl?
********. Basketball on grass is what Purdue is and they execute it well. It's the basketball version of Navy's wishbone from several years ago. You just have to hang on and execute against these types of offenses, especially on the road. They did what had to be done
Franklin can recruit - and it showed against Purdue. Execute and that’s not a close game - at all. Give Franklin credit for the players but he also picked Clifford over Levis and didn’t have a capable back up ready against Iowa. I’ll stop now because this kind of list can get rather long…
Good point but I'll counter that a win on the road against a (probably) good PU team should not have brought out all the hate I've seen the last 2 days, its so far over the top it drowns out the legit concerns.
I saw both good and bad.
I will be very happy to be back in the Beav next week. Lets see how the run game looks. We learned last year that even against Nova and Ball St. that there were massive problems with the OL and Run game.
Like you said Auburn will be a much better test.
Some good games on today should be fun. Man who do we root for in OSU and ND? The only saving grace (pardon the pun) for ND is I like Marcus Freeman.
Did you get to see any of the VT/ODU game last night? Nice win for Ricky R.
VT's got some talent problems.
Well, DTs generally aren’t going to make many tackles against a team that throws the ball as mush as Purdue did…
the OL played pretty clean from penalty standpoint. my expectations for their performance were probably too high at this point. I thought that we were going to smash mouth the Purdue DL and that really never happened. we will be seeing many more talented DL/front 7 than Purdue, so not being able to get running room was a surprising to me. the RT spot is unfortunately not solved. Tengwell also did not seem to have a good game. not sure what to expect from Ohio U, but Auburn will be tough test for this OL. 3 ypc run game won't work.
DL also got pushed around a little bit more than I thought by Purdue run game. Purdue was near the bottom of CFB in run game last year. Auburn will likely be a load for our DL. The two MAC schools might actually provide a test also. LB is a big issue but we are really don't have a pure NT other than PJ.
I'm just tired of the blame for a loss but no credit for a win game that is so prevalent here. It reeks of hypocrisy.
It felt like 72 times. I still remember this board that day. Ugly.
Get unlimited access today.