In this tumultuous, inconsistent 9-3 season for Penn State, one player stood out above the rest and consistently performed at an elite level. That player was senior defensive tackle Devon Still, a man who was arguably the best player on the field in every single game the Nittany Lions played until the season finale at Wisconsin.
Those efforts have not gone unnoticed. First, Still was named as a finalist for the Nagursky Trophy and Bednarik Award, given to the nation's top defensive player, and the Outland Trophy, given to the nation's best lineman. And now, he's been named the 2011 Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year, bringing home the Smith-Brown Award named after Penn State's Courtney Brown and Michigan State's Bubba Smith.
Still absolutely dominated this season and was without question the driving force behind Penn State's dominant defense. There is no question he was the team's best player, and his development into one of the nation's best defensive players puts another notch in Larry Johnson Sr.'s impressive coaching belt.
Every year, Johnson seems to have someone (or someones) who emerges to take the Big Ten by storm. This year it was Still, who joins Courtney Brown, Jimmy Kennedy, Tamba Hali and Jared Odrick as Penn Staters coached up by LJ to win Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year, and that's not even mentioning players like Anthony Adams, Michael Haynes, Jay Alford, Ed Johnson and Ollie Ogbu, to name a few. Larry Johnson Sr. is a treasure, and if anyone on this coaching staff can survive and stick around, I hope it's him.
Congrats to Still, who was an absolute stud this year.
Gerald Hodges was also named First Team All Big Ten by the coaches, while Silas Redd, Jack Crawford, Nick Sukay and Anthony Fera were named second team.
For a lot of people on this planet, their favorite time of year is summertime.
The end of summer is often met with trepidation: kids not ready to go back to school, adults dreading the winter months ahead, and vacation days getting all used up. But not me. No. I don't dread the end of summer days, because summer is not my favorite time of the year, as awesome as it is.
This, the ushering in of fall, this is my favorite time of the year. I know we're still several weeks away from the official start of fall, but in reality, once Labor Day comes and goes, summer is over for all intents and purposes. And frankly, I cannot wait.
The reason is simple: The end of summer means the start of football season. The weather is fantastic, with cool, comfortable nights and sunny days. Baseball heads into the home stretch, with the playoffs right around the corner. Hell, in a few short weeks the Flyers will begin lacing them up, and if there was no lockout, we'd even be talking about how underwhelming the Sixers look yet again. Fall is the culmination of sports fandom, with literally every major sport under the sun taking place.
But most important of all, football starts, meaning my weekends are no longer free. Honestly, there are few things in this world if anything at all that I enjoy more than laying on my couch from the moment I wake up until nightfall watching college football on Saturday and the NFL on Sunday. And tonight, it all begins, as 28 teams kick off the college football season tonight, highlighted here in Philadelphia with the annual Temple-Villanova battle at the Linc.
So with college football just a mere few hours away, now seems like the perfect time to preview my alma mater.
Coming off a disappointing 2010 that saw them finish 7-6, the Nittany Lions are looking to rebound in the new-look Big 10 (12). But honestly, this season brings on more questions than answers. Just looking at the depth chart Penn State released for the opener against Indiana State, you can see a roster filled with potential … and mystery.
The glaring and most obvious question comes under center. Will it be sophomore Rob Bolden or the former walk-on, junior Matt McGloin?
The depth chart does us no favors, as both are expected to play Saturday in what looks to be an audition. What we know about the two quarterbacks is that Bolden showed enough promise and poise last summer to be named as the first true freshman starting quarterback in game 1 under Joe Paterno, only to be supplanted by the fiery Matt McGloin after being injured. In his first few games, Bolden justified the confidence the coaching staff had in him. Even as Penn State got rolled down in Alabama, Bolden didn't look rattled or out of place in Tuscaloosa. But as the season wore on, Bolden's numbers got worse and the offense became stagnant.
And when Bolden went down, enter McGloin to ignite the offense. There is no disputing that with McGloin under center, the Nittany Lions seemed more alive on offense. The red-head clearly took command of the huddle and was a leader. And in the first few outings, he played really well. Then, he didn't. At all.
Without question, McGloin had better command of the team when he played last season, but the more he started, the more evident it became that he simply does not have the talent and physical tools of Bolden. Worse yet, he brought a gunslinger attitude that resulted in a flurry of horrendous interceptions. Honestly, in the bowl game, McGloin was the worst player on the field.
Yet where McGloin was allowed to fail, the coaching staff seemed to punish Bolden for those same mistakes. After he returned from injury, he was given only one chance to reclaim his spot, and it was only a half at that. From there, Penn State sunk or swam with McGloin, drowning miserably against Florida due to god-awful quarterback play. The most disappointing part to me was that as McGloin was literally giving that game away, Bolden just sat and watched from the sidelines, never having his number called.
That resulted in Bolden seeking yet ultimately being denied a transfer, and to be perfectly honest, I didn't blame him. Don't get me wrong, I wanted Bolden to stay and compete for the starting job this year, but I could hardly blame the kid. Here he was, the supposed starter in his developmental year, banished to the sideline as his backup struggled as much or more than he ever did last season.
Thankfully, Bolden did stay and recommit himself to the program. Now I'm hoping he gets the reigns as the starter in 2011. Bolden walked into a lion's den in Alabama and did reasonably well against one of the best teams in the nation. And while he struggled with the rest of the team before being supplanted, he showed that something is there. As well as McGloin played at first, he ended the season showing why he was a walk-on in the first place, tossing 8 interceptions in the last four games, including a comically bad 5 picks in the bowl game against Florida.
McGloin may be the better leader right now and the more confident guy, but he simply isn't as good. People tend to forget Bolden was a true freshman last year. He made true freshman mistakes. McGloin was a red-shirt sophomore who simply took too many chances, especially for a guy without a great arm. If I had my way, Bolden would be the starter from start to finish this year barring injury, because I think he's the better football player. The problem is I don't know that, and neither do the coaches right now, which is why both are listed as the No. 1 and 1A on the depth chart.
Saturday, we'll begin to find out, but with the most important position on the field unsettled, we have no idea how the Nittany Lions will fare in 2011.
Of course, the questions don't stop there.
Sure, we know Penn State has weapons all over the place on offense that will be at the disposal of whatever quarterback is under center. Derek Moye has established himself as one of the better wide receivers in the conference. Justin Brown put up excellent numbers when the ball was actually thrown his way last year, and I think he has a chance to be the best Penn State receiver since Bobby Engram if things shake out.
But Brown now has to go out and prove it. Then there is Shawney Kersey, a surprise starter in the a three-wideout set. Kersey is a burner who also has size, and his rise to the top of the depth chart means the coaches expect him to learn from Moye and take over as his replacement in 2012. But the red-shirt sophomore has not seen much playing time, so we don't know exactly what we're going to get.
The receiving corps also has the speedy Devon Smith, who will be used everywhere, and another versatile burner in Curtis Drake. Of course, we have no idea what to expect from the West Catholic grad coming off injuries the past two seasons and again this offseason. Chalk him up as another question mark.
Of course, the guy getting the most hype on the offense is sophomore running back Silas Redd, now the clear starter, especially with Stephfon Green's troubles.
Redd wowed and electrified Penn State fans every time he touched the ball last season, giving hope that he's the next great Penn State running back. He certainly has the tools and the talent. But now he's got to prove it. Last season, he was behind Penn State's all-time leading rusher Evan Royster, and split the backup duties with Green. He played more as the year wore on, often looking like the best back on the team. But now as the No. 1, we have to see what he can do to carry the load. I expect him to have a tremendous year, but again, you never quite know.
Then of course there is the much-maligned offensive line. The good news is there is not too much turnover on the line, meaning another season of cohesion should make for a better unit. The bad news is that a line that struggled to block the better defensive fronts it saw and that couldn't really get much push in the run game lost its best player, Stefen Wisniewski, who is currently on the Oakland Raiders.
No matter how much talent the offense has, and no matter who is under center, this team will only go as far as the line takes it. And frankly, we have no idea how this offensive line will fare.
The defense poses its own questions. The only thing we know for sure is that the secondary is the best unit on the entire team and perhaps the best unit in the Big 10. D'Anton Lynn can flat-out play. Stephon Morris has shown a ton of promise. And the depth is tremendous.
But even there, there are questions. Can Drew Astorino regain his form? The guy looked excellent two years ago, but last season he struggled, often getting run over by bigger, more physical players. Is Nick Sukay fully recovered and ready to go? Sukay is an excellent tackler, but if he's even a step slow, it could hurt the Lions. The good news is they have Malcolm Willis to back up either guy, a player who did a very nice job when Sukay went down last year.
Honestly, I expect Willis to get on the field a lot, maybe even finish as a starter.
Also, there is the question of Chaz Powell starting opposite Lynn. Powell had an up-and-down season after moving from receiver to DB. But he has the size and the tools to be a good corner, and by all accounts he's looked great this summer. That's a good thing, but even if Powell struggles, Morris is there to step in, and I expect him to rebound as well from a sophomore slump last season. Also, the immensely talented Derrick Thomas is waiting in the wings so long as he can stay out of the doghouse.
That may sound like a lot of questions for what's supposedly the best unit on the team, but even with that, damn near everyone expects Penn State's secondary to be as good as any in the conference. The real questions lie in the front 7.
Is Mike Mauti the next in line to carry on the tradition of Linebacker U? He certainly has shown the promise when healthy, but now he has to stay healthy. With the inexperienced Glenn Carson and Gerald Hodges also slated to start, Mauti must be the leader. The good news is, as always, the talent level at linebacker is insane. Carson has been so good that he's pushed Khairi Fortt, who saw plenty of playing time last year, to the backup role. That's good news because Fortt is a very good player, so Carson must have really shown the coaches something. Hodges is fast and strong and has good instincts. He's nowhere near as good as Navorro Bowman yet, but one day he may be. And waiting their turns are Mike Hull, one of the most recruited linebackers in the country, Fortt and Nate Stupar, an experienced player who has had his fair share of good games.
So linebacker is a question to a degree, but Penn State has too many good players there for it to be a weakness.
The defensive line may be another story. Jack Crawford came on like gangbusters as a freshman but has done nothing but regress since. He has to put it together for the defensive line to get pressure. Devon Still needs to become a force the way Jared Odrick was, or at least a leader like the departed Ollie Ogbu. Eric Latimore must show he has something else besides a speed rush. Without him and Crawford getting some pressure on opposing QBs and keeping contain against the run, not even the talented secondary can be expected to thrive.
Beyond that, Jordan Hill, James Terry, DaQuan Jones and Sean Stanley will all rotate to keep players fresh, and Larry Johnson Sr. always has his guys ready to play. But if everyone doesn't make significant strides from last season, this defense won't reach its full potential. Last year, Penn State really struggled to get consistent push and pressure from the front four, and playing a zone defense, that allowed opposing quarterbacks to pick them apart. That can't happen in 2011. If it does, the talented secondary will be wasted.
Honestly, I'd love to see Tom Bradley move more toward man coverage given the talent he has in the defensive backfiled, but I don't expect it. Lynn, Powell, Morris and Thomas are all guys who should be able to lock up receivers. Unfortunately, that's not how Penn State rolls. But if the defensive line can't get pressure, Bradley may have to go man so those soft spots in the zone aren't there and learn to live with the results.
When you put it all together, it's really hard to gauge where Penn State stands in big scheme of things, and that's without even mentioning the work-in-progress that is the special teams.
In all honesty, I can see this team losing as few as one game if things pan out for them or as many as five games if not. They have enough potential and talent in a down Big 10 to have a shot at making the inaugural Big 10 championship game, but there are enough question marks that could go the wrong way for them to finish in the middle of the pack.
Looking at the schedule, they absolutely should start the season 4-1 at worst. There's no way this team should lose to Indiana State, Temple, Eastern Michigan or Indiana, though I fully expect them to fall to Alabama at home in the second game of the season. The true measuring stick to me will be the Oct. 8 game against Iowa, Penn State's biggest thorn in their side the past decade. If they lose to Iowa, things could spiral out of control, especially with the murderer's row of Nebraska, at Ohio State and at Wisconsin to close out the season. Lose to Iowa and this team very well could finish 7-5 in the regular season, another spectacularly mediocre and disappointing season.
But if they beat Iowa and gain confidence, then roll through Purdue, Northwestern and Illinois before hosting Nebraska, they could be a dangerous team, perhaps finding a way to win two of those last three games or even all three.
Obviously, I have no idea how this all going to play out. Personally, if I had to guess, I'd say this team finishes the regular season at 9-3, losing to Alabama and then dropping two of those final three games. But you never know given the turmoil surrounding Ohio State, Nebraska's first foray into the Big 10 and Wisconsin never quite being the cream of the crop even when expected to be.
Still, I expect, as do the pollsters, that Nebraska and Wisconsin will be the best two teams in the conference, and unfortunately Penn State plays both of them. But hey, you never know what can happen once the players take the field.
What I do know is I can't wait for tonight and especially for Saturday.
For those of you looking for some Phillies commentary, this won't be it. I spent my Friday night traveling out west to State College with silver fox and then getting entirely too drunk, followed by the Penn State-Temple game Saturday and football all day yesterday. All I saw was the rain-delayed game from yesterday, and I really have nothing to add to that outing. This weekend was all football all the time.
We'll start with Saturday, which was easily the worst 31-6 victory in the history of 31-6 victories. No question. I should have known the day was not going to go well. For starters, we had stayed out entirely too late on Friday night, meeting up with first my roommate and then my sister and some of her friends. Then, when we returned to my cousin's apartment, NHL Network was replaying the Flyers-Maple Leafs 2004 playoff series, so of course, in our drunken state, we had to watch, sleeping be damned.
By the time we got to sleep, it was past 4 a.m. … and Saturday's game started at noon. God I hate noon games. Up before 8 a.m., we were running on no sleep but surprisingly feeling good. Must be something about that central PA air. We met up with some family who traveled out to the game for a mild tailgate before heading in for the kickoff about 20 minutes prior to game time.
For a short while, I thought perhaps we'd be awarded the pleasure of being without brokeback. Ten minutes before game time, still no sight of them. Five minutes, their seats two rows in front of us still empty. I was beginning to get excited. But of course I couldn't be that lucky. Literally a minute before kickoff, the ambiguously gay duo showed up.
Great. And that was just the beginning. No matter what any Penn State apologist might tell you, the No. 5 Nittany Lions played like complete dog shit on Saturday. And it started with the playcalling. For the first time all season, Penn State was having tremendous success running the football. The young offensive line was blowing the Owls off the ball on run plays, and Evan Royster was being his usual self, setting up his blockers and getting big chunks of yards.
Conversely, Penn State was struggling mightily in pass protection. Each time Daryll Clark dropped back to throw, he was getting decked. Temple clearly has some good athletes on the defense and some speed on that side of the ball, but size-wise the Owls couldn't compare. Thus, Penn State was dominating on the ground, averaging over 5 yards a clip, led by Evan Royster, who rushed for 134 yards on 19 carries along with a touchdown and who was head and shoulders the best player on the field Saturday.
Despite that, Penn State kept calling passing plays early and often in the first half, and Clark kept getting plastered by the Temple defense. I honestly didn't think Clark was going to make it out alive. Eventually, when the game was well in hand, Penn State started running more, but the excessive pass plays early on against an inferior opponent did nothing but put unnecessary hits on Clark.
And the passing game just wasn't clicking. With the offensive line struggling in pass protection, Clark was horrible throwing the football. He struggled to hit receivers all game long, routinely underthrowing his long ball and overthrowing open receivers on the short passes. All in all, it was a bad day for the senior quarterback and the passing attack. In fact, the only receiver who did anything was Andrew Quarless, who showed why he keeps getting chances despite his issues on and off the field. Hopefully Quarless can keep it up and make good on all his potential this season.
Defensively, the Lions looked good again against a terrible offensive team. The defensive line has the potential to be one of the best in the country. Jared Odrick is a bona fide All-American candidate and the best player on that defense. Ollie Ogbu had a tremendous game, and Jack Crawford simply looks like a stud. Then there are the linebackers, who have been excellent all season … and that's without Navorro Bowman. Sean Lee is absolutely 100 percent back. He looks bigger and faster than ever, and he's making his mark once again. And as much as I hate Josh Hull, and I absolutely do, the guy has now had back-to-back good games. It pains me to write that.
While the defense dominated and the offense did enough to get a big win, it was a sloppy game. Penn State allowed Temple to recover a pop-up onside kick, and they let the Owls stay in the game entirely too long. There weren't a ton of highlights, but you can check out the few that occurred here:
After the game, silver fox and I headed to Hooters for the sights and sounds. We watched Washington somehow upset USC — the same Washington that won 0 games last season. That was pretty sweet. Then we debated staying in State College and going out or heading back home to get some sleep. Considering we both almost fell asleep numerous times throughout the later games, we opted to head back to Philadelphia to enjoy the NFL in our homes on Sunday.
As far as the Eagles game is concerned, well, it was not their best performance. Once again, the Birds let their opponents come out and march down the field for a touchdown on the opening drive. Last week, it was a 70-yard drive by the Panthers. Yesterday, it was Drew Brees leading the Saints 74 yards on 8 plays to go up 7-0. Not good.
However, my mood quickly reversed when Kevin Kolb, in his first start in the NFL, hooked up with DeSean Jackson on a 71-yard strike. Mid-play, my doorbell rang with my pizza, as I was yelling, "FUCK YEAH, DESEAN! FUCK YEAH!" Once the play was over, I answered the door, and the delivery guy, wearing a throwback Randall Cunningham jersey, asked me what happened. He was pissed that it happened as soon as he got out of the car, but thankful for my telling him what had just occurred.
Sadly, the game would not continue on in a positive manner. Brees, who has become a great quarterback over the past few seasons, shredded the Eagles defense for 311 yards and three touchdowns. With the exception of Akeem Jordan's athletic interception, Brees was flawless, connecting on 73.5 percent of his passes. But for a while, the Eagles were right in this thing.
For as awful as Kevin Kolb was last season in his relief appearance against Baltimore, the Texan looked poised and polished in the first half yesterday. Right after Brees led the Saints on that opening touchdown drive, he hit DeSean to tie the game. Then, after Eagles surrendered a field goal, he answered again with a 15-play, 68 yards drive that stalled at the three. Kolb did almost throw an interception on the final play of that drive, and a touchdown would have been nice, but he got the team in position to tie it with a field goal, which David Akers did.
However, the game turned on a boneheaded play. With the game tied 10-10, the Saints faced a 3rd-and-24 at their own 16. It looked as though the Eagles were primed to get good field position with a chance to take the lead before the first 30 minutes came to a close. Then they gave up a 22-yard play on third down, moving the ball out, meaning the field position wouldn't be quite as good as expected. The defense still did the job and forced New Orleans to punt with 1:43 left in the half. And that's when things went wrong. For some unknown reason, DeSean Jackson decided to field said punt inside the 5-yard line. Every retard this side of Pittsburgh knows you rarely should ever even field a punt inside the 10, let alone the 5. The rule as far as fielding punts inside the 5 is pretty simple: NEVER FUCKING DO IT. EVER. FUCK. Why is DeSean Jackson so insanely stupid?
But no, DeSean decided to put his stupid hat on yet again and field it. Yes, he had a nice return, but there was not one but two block in the back penalties, resulting in the Eagles starting with the ball on their own 3 with 1:40 left. Speaking of penalties, what the hell is going on with the special teams? On almost every return or kick, it seemed like the Eagles were being flagged for something or other. That's not a good trend, and it definitely hurt them yesterday, not the least of which included those blocks in the back on that final Saints punt in the first half.
After two runs, the Saints used their final two timeouts, leaving a 3rd-and-5 at their own 8 with 1:33 left. Instead of running the ball and bringing the clock way, way down, the Eagles threw an incomplete pass to stop the clock, then punted. I wasn't happy with calling a pass, but to be fair, the play was there. All Kolb had to do was hit his receiver and the Eagles would have had a first down. Then they could have decided whether or not to go into half tied 10-10 or try to score to take the lead. Instead, Kolb threw way behind, failing to convert.
The Saints got the ball at their 46 and two plays later were in the end zone. 17-10 New Orleans. Instead of having a chance to go up 17-10 or 13-10 to close out the half, the Eagles let the Saints take the lead. Kolb did do a nice job getting the Eagles into field goal range before the half was over, cutting it to 17-13, but that's where the game changed forever. The Saints had all the momentum and never looked back. They scored 17 points in the third quarter and 14 more in the 4th, blowing out the Eagles.
Sean McDermott couldn't figure out any way to get pressure on Drew Brees, and the birthmarked one picked apart the Eagles with ease. There were Saints running free routinely, and Brees never felt hurried or rushed.
Offensively, the Eagles broke out the wildcat left and right in the first half, which seemed to work well, but when push came to shove, the offense couldn't keep pace with the Saints. Make no mistake, it was the defense that lost this game, but the second-half turnovers didn't help. Kolb was up and down, looking very good in the first half and not so much in the second. But then again, when you're one-dimensional due to a large deficit, you're much easier to defend.
My overall feeling of the game is that Kolb certainly didn't lose the game for Philadelphia and instilled a lot more confidence as the backup than he did prior to yesterday. However, for any moron who thinks the Eagles are better off without Donovan McNabb, yesterday made it abundantly clear that McNabb is a far superior quarterback than Kevin Kolb will ever be. Yes, the 391 yards and two touchdowns look nice, but Kolb threw three picks to a Saints defense that isn't very good. Hell, the Lions scored more points against New Orleans in week 1 than the Eagles did yesterday.
Really, it's hard to find any true positives in a 48-22 loss. Brent Celek had a nice game, but his damage was done while trailing. The defense looked awful, getting no pressure and leaving players wide open. Asante Samuel routinely got burned by Devery Henderson, and for some reason the Eagles insisted on playing Joselio Hanson on Marques Colston. That did not turn out well. Oh, and the Eagles linebackers stink. A lot. They can't cover or even tackle all that well, and Jeremy Shockey had himself a good game because, as I just said, the linebackers can't cover. It was just one game against an elite offense with a terrifyingly good quarterback, so maybe you shouldn't read too much into the defense's performance, but it is clear that Sean McDermott has his work cut out for him. Let's hope he's up for the task.
And please, Donny, get well soon. I need some sleep.
Coming back to work after a long weekend is a painful enough process, but coming back after an action-packed three-day weekend that felt more like seven days is even tougher.
It all began with the trip out to State College on Friday night. Arkansas Fred and I loaded up our gear and made the three-hour trek west on Route 80. Now I'm not sure if it's just the time of year, the need for more tickets to written to help supplement shrinking budgets or what, but we must have seen 6 or 7 people pulled over on our way to Penn State. Seriously, there were state police everywhere with their radar guns, not hesitating to pull over anyone exceeding the speed limit. Luckily, we were not one of them.
On the ride, I received a text message from Adam EatShit: "What's going on with Lee?" Seeing as I was in a car in the middle of Pennsylvania with no reception of the Phils game, I had no idea. But apparently, for the second straight start, Cliff Lee got rocked, and the Phils lost the series opener to the Astros. Not good, but my mind was elsewhere.
As we pulled in to town, I immediately longed for my days as a college student. There were loads of female college students dressed in some rather revealing clothing. The sights were plentiful. I called my cousin, who was kind enough to put Arkansas Fred and I up for the night, and he asked if I knew where the HUB was and if we could pick him up there. Funny story, I know exactly where the HUB is. I did go to school there for four years after all.
Anyway, Friday night we sort of took it easy, drank some drinks and prepared for the opener on Saturday. Noon games are so annoying. First of all, we barely got any sleep because there were deafening Penn State chants and raucous students doing what college students do all night. Either way, we made it to the game and were all set to go. Unfortunately, the cowboy hat-wearing douchebags made it as well. I fucking hate those guys.
As far as the game is concerned, it was roughly what could be expected. Penn State breezed through to a 31-7 victory, going up 31-0 at halftime. They looked really, really good in the first half, and the second half was a complete pile of dog shit. But Penn State looked pretty good overall.
I do, however, have a few things I took issue with. For starters, I was told Jerome Hayes would start.
He did not. In fact, he wasn't even in the first two defensive series. This made me very unhappy. Though when he did get in, he immediately recorded a tackle for a five-yard loss. Great to have you back, Jerome. Secondly, the starters were in entirely too long in that game. Daryll Clark stayed in until there were 4 minutes left in the game, with a 31-7 lead, for no good reason at all. Ditto Sean Lee. And plenty of other starters for that matter. Nothing good can come from them staying in. It was just asking for trouble. Thankfully, nothing bad happened, but it would be wise to sit guys like Lee and Clark down early when you can.
Finally, I was pissed that I had no idea Navorro Bowman got hurt at practice earlier in the week. After the first series, Bowman didn't take the field and I had no idea why. Arkansas Fred and I were searching the sidelines for him, seeing him sitting back on the bench all by himself. We were curious as to if he got suspended or hurt or what. Turns out he tweaked his groin during the week, so the coaches and Bowman were being cautious. Good idea. No reason to risk injury against Akron or Syracuse or Temple. Save him for that payback game against Iowa.
As for the game, the passing game did a fine job, as Derek Moye and Chaz Powell got open and made excellent catches, while the rest of the receiving corps did a fine job, save Brent Brackett. Brackett dropped a few balls and missed a ton of blocks. That was discouraging. But Clark, while not sharp (he underthrew his deep ball and routinely made inaccurate passes), got the job done, thanks to some fine catches by his receivers.
The passing game will be just fine. The running game, well, it was evident that the inexperienced offensive line has some work to do there. On pass protection, the new line was fantastic, rarely letting anyone near Clark. But on running downs, they got virtually no push, resulting in a struggle on the ground. Still, with Evan Royster, Stephfon Green and freshman lightning bolt Devon Smith, you'd think they'll get things going sooner or later.
Speaking of Smith, I was surprised to see him get so much playing time. Of course I heard about the speedy freshman tailback with the sub-4.3 speed, but I didn't figure he'd see much time on the field in 2009, especially with a tiny 5'7", 150-lb. frame. Yet there he was, out there to receive the opening kickoff. Out there on the first series. Regularly getting touches. The guy is tiny, but the coaches must be really high on him to see so much PT as a true freshman in his first game.
The true story of the game, however, was the Penn State defense. The defensive line was the best unit on the field, routinely getting in the backfield and wreaking havoc. Because of their dominance, Akron was limited to just 186 yards of offense, and just 28 of which came on the ground.
Jared Odrick was the best player on the field, bar none. He was overpowering the Akron line, and he freed up his teammates to make plays. That guy is surely primed to make himself an early first-round pick this season. Joining Odrick in the starring role was sophomore end Jack Crawford. The 6'5, 256-lber was a beast, making an immediate impact. The play of the line was the biggest plus for the Nittany Lions.
Of course, the linebackers had their say as well. Any doubts about whether or not Sean Lee has fully recovered should be gone. He wasn't asked to make many plays with the defensive line controlling things, but when he was, he made them all. And he made them all in impressive fashion. He looked like the same Sean Lee that was teaming up with Dan Connor and Paul Posluszny.
And with Navorro Bowman limited due to his injury, sophomore Nathan Stupar stepped in and impressed. Last year's best special teamer, Stupar came in and flew around the field, showing Linebacker U is in good hands. He made some very nice plays and looked like a guy who belonged. Given the ho-hum game by Josh Hull, don't be surprised if we see a linebacking corps of Sean Lee, Navorro Bowman and Nate Stupar down the road.
The downside of the game was Collin Wagner, the junior kicker. After booming the opening kickoff nearly out of the end zone, Wagner struggled. He missed a 28-yard field goal and later a 49-yarder, and his kickoffs got progressively shorter and lower. Perhaps freshman Anthony Fera could do a little better.
Still, not much to complain about with the opener. Penn State handled Akron easily, as they should. They certainly looked a lot better than Ohio State and Iowa.
After the game, Arkansas Fred and I headed back to the Philadelphia area, where we proceeded to see a ton more cops with radar guns pulling people over. It was pretty crazy. I finally got back to my house in Philadelphia in time to watch the Phillies along with the Oklahoma-BYU game and Alabama-Virginia Tech game. I wish I didn't bother with the Phils.
After battling back in the 8th inning to grab a 4-3 lead, Brad Lidge came in and blew his freakin 10th save of the season to drop the second straight game to the Astros.
I'm sorry, but this isn't 2008 anymore. It's 2009, and Brad Lidge is just plain awful. He needs to be demoted pronto. Brett Myers made his return and looked damn good this weekend. Closer good. Time to make the move. Because Lidge blows. Donkey balls. Sweaty donkey balls.
At least Sam Bradford got hurt. That was kind of cool, though it sucks for Bradford and Oklahoma. It was nice to see BYU pull off the upset and get everyone off the Big 12's nuts for a change, and Bama looked damn good against Va. Tech. Mark Ingram was a beast, and I know I would not look forward to tackling any Alabama running back.
Those games were pretty sweet, but they couldn't compare to last night's epic battle between Miami and Florida State. After the Phils shit the bed again Sunday and then yesterday to suffer a 4-game sweep to the hands of the God damn Astros, the Phils still have a 6-game lead, but if anyone should know how important it is to bury the opposition, it's this team. They were the beneficiaries of back-to-back late-season collapses. They know firsthand how important winning is this time of year.
Though it seems they should lock up this division, it's no gimme. Getting swept by Houston doesn't exactly instill confidence. If this team simply had a reliable closer and focused down the stretch, they could easily be 15 games up. As it stands, it's still a six-game lead, but they better not get too complacent. Just ask the Mets how that worked out for them.
But back to the Florida State-Miami game. Man, was that an awesome capper to a long first weekend of college football.
You couldn't have asked for a better game by two hated rivals. The Hurricanes and Seminoles have been a bit down the past few years, but if last night's game was any indication, these two programs are back on the rise. It was a coming out party for the two quarterbacks, as Christian Ponder looked incredible in the first half for Florida State and Jacory Harris played incredibly in the second half for Miami.
I mean, both guys were insanely impressive. Harris had the best game of his young career, throwing for 386 yards on 61.8 percent passing, while Ponder got 294 yards of his own, not to mention 28 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Graig Jones looked like a frighteningly talented athlete for the Canes, and it's evident both teams are loaded with studs. It was a great game with great implications for college football. This storied rivalry came down to the final play, and best of all, it saw Miami come out on top. Take that, Bowden.
This weekend really whiped me out. Between the trip to Happy Valley, the crappiness of the Phils and the full plate of college football, I barely even found time to drink, though I did on Sunday night. Couldn't have asked for more out of the first weekend of the football season. Except for maybe making that long three-day weekend even a little bit longer.
