My cynical sense of football comes from having grown up a UCLA fan. Time and again I never assumed that a game was easy because UCLA gave me the privilege of making even the most routine wins nerve wracking and painful for me. So it was no surprise to me that after one of the biggest wins in the history of Penn State football we ended up………tied 17 to 17……to Purdue.
It was disgusting as it was painful. We were struggling against a 3-5 team that hadn’t beaten a top 25 team in over 4 years and has this as its mascot –
Come on.
The Bad:
Everything about the 1st half.
The Good:
Once the first half was done the team really started to click. I have to give a huge amount of credit to James Franklin and the coaching staff for that because it really shows you his true value as a coach. The defense adjusted to minimize the big plays Purdue was gaining off of perimeter runs and throws over the middle, and the offense started to dominate. Saqon Barkley did what Saqon Barkley is used to doing and racked up 207 rushing yards while Trace McSorely put in another solid game to the tune of 3 touchdown throws. The offensive line that was flat footed and off guard in the 1st half found its identity in the 2nd. McSorely had plenty of time to throw and the fact that 4 different running backs scored touchdowns for the Nittany Lions shows just how great the line was at opening up running lanes.
In fact the offense was playing so well offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead called his shot by telling head coach James Franklin ” After this touchdown do you want to take the extra point or go for 2 ?”. This happened on the next play.
All in all it was a great second half for the Nittany Lions. We are now officially bowl eligible and we have a lot of momentum heading into next week’s game versus Iowa. Although speaking of Iowa reminds me of something else.
The Future:
This week’s win was solid not just for the fact that we dominated in the 2nd half but also for the fact that we kept our momentum going from our big win over Ohio State last week. Now we are sitting in a great place at 6-2 with a very easy schedule ahead of us. But like I said earlier, don’t take it for granted. We could still easily lose a few of our upcoming games and turn what could be a great season into just another good one. Because of that it is imperative that we play well against Iowa next week and hopefully use the momentum from that win to carry us for the last games of the season. I hate to speculate, but if we can win out, which according to ESPN FPI rankings is likely to happen, we could achieve the incredible.
As you guys already know I grew up a UCLA fan. Our home games were at the Rose Bowl and some of the best moments of my life have been spent there. Yet year in and year out UCLA would never play in THE Rose Bowl game itself. Year after year I would see other teams from all over the West Coast and Midwest play on New Years Day in the Rose Bowl. I would see people dressed in the colors of the favorite teams walk the streets of Pasadena in anticipation for the game to come as they saundered around the city, enjoying all that the city has to offer. Yet I never saw anyone wearing the Bruins’ blue and gold.
To be honest, for a lifelong college football fan like myself I can’t tell you how happy I would be to see this Penn State team go to the Rose Bowl. For once in my life to be able to share in the pride and joy of the 90,000 people that go to the Rose Bowl game each year would be incredible for me. To be able to share that beautiful moment with my family in Los Angeles and the new friends I’ve made here in Happy Valley would be even more amazing.
So I’m asking the football team to do me a favor.
Send me home.
works cited:
espn.com
http://www.centredaily.com/sports/college/penn-state-university/psu-football/article111337232.html
Big Ten Network
youtube.com
www.pennlive.com
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61-e9oue38L._SL500_AA300_.jpg
www.flickr.com
How about the newest rankings that came out a few days ago ranking Penn State at #12? I would have never thought we’d even be ranked at the beginning of the year let alone be sitting at a potential top ten finish. Going to the Rose Bowl would be an incredible opportunity for the team. For it to happen, I’m pretty sure we would need Michigan to beat Ohio State and for Wisconsin to lose and drop below us in conference rankings. It’s definitely possible, but Penn State will have to keep this win streak alive for the rest of the season. Every Saturday from now on is a huge game no matter the opponent. Next up, Iowa.
I, unfortunately, missed the second half of the Purdue game this week, so it looks like I basically missed all of the good stuff. Oh, and I barely got to watch any of the first half because ABC kept switching back and forth from the Penn State game to the Virginia game. I’m still salty about that. Since I wasn’t able to watch the second half, I was, of course, checking the score online. When I saw that we ended up with 62 points, I was confused because that was not the team I saw in the first half, so kudos to the coaching staff (a phrase I don’t say that often, believe me) for making the needed adjustments at halftime. I’m pumped that Penn State is ranked 12th and bowl-eligible, and no matter what happens for the rest of the season, we beat Ohio State. The Rose Bowl would be amazing for Penn State to go to, and that definitely would be a game that I would try to get tickets to, but it’s not just going to take us winning out but a lot of help from other teams in the Big Ten.