Things to ponder following 2OT loss to Oregon

WestSideLion

All-Conference
May 29, 2001
4,277
4,617
113
You are exactly right. The hype was based on a lucky appearance in the B1G championship game (loss), a cupcake run in the playoffs until ND (loss) and a bunch of returning offensive seniors that didn't really put up championship numbers last season but will still get drafted. Sutton was the closest thing to a superstar returning on the entire team.
If you look at last night's game Oregon had the better starters at almost every position on offense so PSU was without a doubt the underdog from a talent perspective. An early season whiteout atmosphere makes for a good story line which creates hype and great ratings. Oregon should have been ranked 3rd and PSU at best should have been 6th going into the game which makes more sense given the overall talent and performance from both teams leading up to the game.
It was a night of "upsets" with 3, 4, 5 and 8 all losing to lower ranked teams.
Rankings are useless this early. They’re a holdover from a the pre-portal era when returning starters meant something.

The portal really confuses team quality because there’s an ability to lose lots of starters and replace them with guys who are as good or better.

No way that poll voters can know that so these rankings mean nothing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hlstone

LB99

Heisman
Oct 27, 2021
7,976
10,802
113
Amazing, isn’t it?! Some might say Penn State was lucky to score 2 late TDs after literally doing nothing for 50 minutes.
Or, some could argue that Franklin is getting more out of lesser players that don’t quit on him? There’s a million different ways to look at it. We look at it from an “inside” perspective. The outside perspective may be different.
 

JWB389

All-Conference
May 16, 2017
972
1,182
93
I was there too. Totally agree with your points. Also, how ridiculous and embarrassing is it (for our University) to keep telling a screaming crowd of 110,000 at 120+ decibels to “Make Some Noise”? Give that a break or bury it. We know when and how to make noise.
Personally love loud music. At 58, I’m losing my hearing because I crank the volume. The “production” part of the game is far and away the worst part of the game experience. No pun intended, complaints about this fall on deaf ears. Has anybody ever heard a positive comment on the subject?
 

CDLionFL

All-Conference
Oct 25, 2021
1,647
2,490
113
Have you considered that's not "his doing" but what he's been told to do?
I have and there's certainly a little bit of that involved but he's also done a terrible job in his 3 years starting of throwing guys open as well as not locking on to the primary target. His TD throw was a gem. The throw to KLS vs WVU was a gem. The rainbow to Evans vs MSU at Ford Field was perfect. The sling into traffic vs Villanova is the stuff we like to see. But those are exceptions rather than norms. And yes, that's on coaching just as much as it is the player.
 

Moogy

All-Conference
Jul 28, 2017
3,023
2,049
113
Eh? They retuned nearly everyone from a top four team last year. Seems obvious. But also - obviously wrong.
Not obviously wrong ... this could be a wake-up call ... for everyone. They played lackluster through 3 early season easy wins. At least the offense played horribly the first 3 quarters last night ... things went from frustratingly at a stalemate, to being completely down in the dumps REAL fast. They didn't fold. The guys responded and came up huge. We ultimately fell, and that could have been the result of being worn out from carrying too much of the load early on ... but the kids all battled hard in the end.

This could be the kick in the *** everyone needs. OSU lost to friggin crappy Michigan at the end of last regular season. Everyone counted them out. Then they responded by running the table.

Let's see if this energizes the troops (and their generals). Or maybe they quickly slide into mediocrity, feeling sorry for themselves. TBD. I think they respond and whoop up on OSU.
 

KingLando

Senior
Nov 29, 2021
1,278
713
113
I have and there's certainly a little bit of that involved but he's also done a terrible job in his 3 years starting of throwing guys open as well as not locking on to the primary target. His TD throw was a gem. The throw to KLS vs WVU was a gem. The rainbow to Evans vs MSU at Ford Field was perfect. The sling into traffic vs Villanova is the stuff we like to see. But those are exceptions rather than norms. And yes, that's on coaching just as much as it is the player.
I understand the frustration with him given the picks (yesterday and ND) but look at scheme and how we're using him. He's not going to look great in this offense because it doesn't play to his strengths. When we stop the nonsense and gimmicks he's fine. He should NEVER run a zone read or read pitch...the fact those are in our playback is asinine.

I think it's 90% on the coaching limiting him and not putting him in position to succeed which is why I think he should have transferred if he was going to forego entering the draft.

I do think you're wrong about locking onto his primary target. He's one of the best I've seen at going through progressions but he rarely has time to do so.

The pass to Dinkins that went for 16 is what NFL scouts want. The throw he made when he slipped was something half of the NFL starters can't do. He's not a finished product because we aren't coaching him effectively.

Watch Josh Allen as a rookie with the Bills. They literally had to teach him basics. Drew isn't Allen but it's going to be the same think. He just needs a good OC and QB coach.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bid D from Philly

WaffleShopper

Junior
Sep 20, 2023
135
215
43
Allar was under severe pressure but I saw a few times where a WR had a step over the middle but he wouldn't pull the trigger. It seems to me that he was trying not to turn the ball over instead of attacking quickly.
That’s his MO and it’s been that way since he became the starter.

I see so many comments about how bad our WRs are and it does look like sometimes they aren’t going 100%, but it does have to be frustrating to constantly get a 1/2 step or 1 or 2 steps on a DB and the ball never gets thrown your way.
 

Nittering Nabob

All-Conference
Sep 17, 2024
1,671
1,337
113
I am also just sick and tired of every team holding us BLATANTLY right in front of the officials and they don't call it, seems like every team teaches there Oline to take advantage of BIG refs except PSU.

but this BIG officiating is just soooooo bad. I lost count of how many times DDS was just tackled
It's not incompetence.....it's by B1G design. In the eyes of the B1G, PSU is a Tier 4 conference stepchild and is on the receiving end of pre-orchestrated officiating especially when playing teams like OSU, Michigan, USC, Oregon etc (B1G favorites). Rutgers is a Tier 5 stepchild.
 
Last edited:

Mstan85

Sophomore
Nov 29, 2022
126
138
43
In the first OT, Oregon tried to set up a screen to their left, we had it covered so he scrambled a bit and threw to the right, for a big gain. A few OL were 5 yards downfield to block for the screen pass, should have been a penalty b there as well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SleepyLion

Erial_Lion

All-Conference
Nov 1, 2021
2,982
3,566
113
In the first OT, Oregon tried to set up a screen to their left, we had it covered so he scrambled a bit and threw to the right, for a big gain. A few OL were 5 yards downfield to block for the screen pass, should have been a penalty b there as well.
Just watched it. They had a lineman 1.5 to 2 yards downfield, and no one else was past the line. They were good.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SleepyLion

JakkL

Junior
Sep 19, 2001
276
308
43
My 2 takeaways are that Kotelnicki is not up to standard for a top 10 team. It's not just play calling it's schemes. Oregon OC was able to scheme easy 1st down plays every time on 4th down. AK? Uh. No. Last night we looked like a Joe team. The only misdirection was the jet sweeps. Almost all of the presnap motion vanished leaving a very vanilla offense.

I agree we should've ran in the 2nd OT, but Drew's throw was fine. It was just a beat late, which allowed the LB to get out there. It might've been a TD if he throws it on time. That's allar tho. He holds it a bit too long a lot.
 

JakkL

Junior
Sep 19, 2001
276
308
43
A few more things. It seemed like Dawkins got manhandled a lot last night. Hudson had a bad drop immediately followed by a lazy half assed block on a WR screen. Unacceptable.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DaytonRickster

Calabrin

All-Conference
Oct 16, 2022
1,356
1,527
113
I never understood the pre-season media hype about this year's squad. Don't see many difference makers and the transfers were meh. 2024 was the year and they just didn't get it done, which of course is Franklin's legacy in more ways than one.
It's because it's a senior-loaded team. The assumption is that an experienced team of upper classmen is going to push around the competition.
 

Calabrin

All-Conference
Oct 16, 2022
1,356
1,527
113
Has Singleton broken a single tackle in 2025? I am shocked by just how bad he has been. Allen is the clear rb1 at this point.
No, he stinks.

He goes down to initial contact constantly. No power. No elusiveness. He never displays any agility. Never makes cuts. Never seems to have any vision. Just takes the ball, runs the play exactly as it's designed, and goes down.

He had no business getting 11 carries in that game, and that very well could have been the difference.
 

Erial_Lion

All-Conference
Nov 1, 2021
2,982
3,566
113
My 2 takeaways are that Kotelnicki is not up to standard for a top 10 team. It's not just play calling it's schemes. Oregon OC was able to scheme easy 1st down plays every time on 4th down. AK? Uh. No.
FWIW, Oregon lined up for 8 4th downs last night and converted 5 of them (with one penalty then punt). We lined up for 3 and converted all 3.
 

WaffleShopper

Junior
Sep 20, 2023
135
215
43
Exactly what I would've done as an opposing HC.

I have to believe it's what anyone would've done.
It’s what Villanova, FIU, and Nevada did even though they were completely overmatched. It’s what every other team on the schedule will do unless they are stupid or if their secondary is trash (UCLA, MSU maybe).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Calabrin and Psu00

Alphalion75

All-Conference
Oct 24, 2001
14,477
3,377
113
Some interesting parallels of the PSU and Eagles games. Both were out gained by their opponents by wide margins. However, the Eagkes made the plays to win their game. I wonder why that was the case.
 

Erial_Lion

All-Conference
Nov 1, 2021
2,982
3,566
113
Some interesting parallels of the PSU and Eagles games. Both were out gained by their opponents by wide margins. However, the Eagkes made the plays to win their game. I wonder why that was the case.
They finished +2 on Turnovers and got a blocked punt for a Touchdown. Those are things that don't show up in the yardage but will greatly swing a game.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SleepyLion

Nitt1300

Heisman
Nov 2, 2008
6,056
11,288
113
I had a great day today- didn't read a single post here all day. Seems like a good plan for tomorrow too, and for the foreseeable future as well. Adios.
 

PSUFTG

All-Conference
Nov 1, 2021
1,710
2,755
113
A few more things. It seemed like Dawkins got manhandled a lot last night. Hudson had a bad drop immediately followed by a lazy half assed block on a WR screen. Unacceptable.
There is a reason Hudson was the #5 WR in the USC rotation last year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MacNit

BillDiehlNorstar

Freshman
Sep 9, 2018
82
72
18
I understand the frustration with him given the picks (yesterday and ND) but look at scheme and how we're using him. He's not going to look great in this offense because it doesn't play to his strengths. When we stop the nonsense and gimmicks he's fine. He should NEVER run a zone read or read pitch...the fact those are in our playback is asinine.

I think it's 90% on the coaching limiting him and not putting him in position to succeed which is why I think he should have transferred if he was going to forego entering the draft.

I do think you're wrong about locking onto his primary target. He's one of the best I've seen at going through progressions but he rarely has time to do so.

The pass to Dinkins that went for 16 is what NFL scouts want. The throw he made when he slipped was something half of the NFL starters can't do. He's not a finished product because we aren't coaching him effectively.

Watch Josh Allen as a rookie with the Bills. They literally had to teach him basics. Drew isn't Allen but it's going to be the same think. He just needs a good OC and QB coach.
U forgot the pick at end of big ten champ game. 2nd and one I think running it well forces into well covered spot. Thats him.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MacNit

MacNit

All-Conference
Oct 12, 2021
1,834
1,622
113
I agree. On offense, we really dont have a game breaker. Singleton show potential as a frosh ti be that guy. But he has regressed. I sometimes wonder if he has some underlying physical issue.
I agree. On offense, we really dont have a game breaker. Singleton show potential as a frosh ti be that guy. But he has regressed. I sometimes wonder if he has some underlying physical issue.
His vision and ability to be elusive is poor and he is tackled too easily.