Penn State lost to the Ole Miss Rebels 38-25 and the score could have been worse.
Somewhere, over the rainbow, memories roll. And the dreams that you dream of once in another bowl.
Penn State had the opportunity to be the FIRST and ONLY school to win at least one of each of the New Year’s Six Bowls, already having wins in the Orange, Rose, Cotton, Sugar, and Fiesta.
We can try to justify the result with various explanations (excuses.) Would the defense have had a measurable difference on the outcome if Chop Robinson had played? Perhaps. But not bloody likely.
Was the defense a disappointment? It became nauseating to hear the announcers repeat um, ad nauseum, about Penn State’s number one ranked defense as Ole Miss moved the ball with seemingly reckless abandon. Would the outcome have been measurably different if Manny Diaz were still on the sidelines?
Why do our cover guys NEVER look back for the ball??????
How is that play call sharing thing working out on offense? It reminds me of the era when Jay Paterno and Galen Hall shared play calling duties. I always pictured them up there in the booth playing rock-paper-scissors to determine who got to call the next play!
Yet, despite the feeling that we were offensively inept, we somehow managed to rack up 510 yards! Only 30 fewer than Ole Miss! How is that even possible?
The explanation though is hidden behind these stats. At the half, PSU trailed Ole Miss by only 3 points. And, we would get the ball first in the third quarter.
But something happened at half time.
All of our offensive drives in the THIRD QUARTER were three and outs. We managed FOURTEEN YARDS of offense on three 3-play drives.
They flashed a stat up: Penn State has outscored opponents something like 115-3 in the third quarter this season. NOT TODAY. We laid a goose egg on the scoreboard, while giving up 11 points to the Rebels in the third quarter. Our best quarter offensively (yardage, not scoring) was the FOURTH. About 200 of our 510 yards were in the final chapter, and a significant amount in “garbage time,” when the Ole Miss knew they had the game in hand.
Worse yet, our defense spent most of the third quarter on the field due to the quick 3-and-outs. It is very hard in this day and age to win games with defense alone. Modern offenses are too varied. Athletes are too talented. You need to be able to move the ball at least a little bit to give your defense a breather, and to help flip field position. We failed miserably in the third quarter.
It also didn’t help that we badly lost the turn-over battle, having a fumble and an INT while failing to force a turn-over that could survive booth replays–the alleged INT early in the game and the sack fumble but no his arm was going forward (because the rest of his body was being driven backward) were both reversed in the Rebel’s favor. And they should have been. I’m just turning sour grapes into whine. And I do believe it is in our Penn State Fan’s Handbook that we must complain about the officiating. Section 34, Article VII.
We got fooled by a trick play.
We allowed the Rebels to convert ALL THREE of their FOURTH DOWN attempts.
We didn’t complete a pass to a wide receiver until the FOURTH QUARTER!
And just what was up with the timeouts before the end of the first half????? That had to be the LONGEST SEVEN SECONDS–meaningless seconds–in the history of the game!
Coaches don’t make fumbles or throw interceptions. They can’t not jump off side or prevent a penalty. But when it appears that your opponent plays well after the half–and you don’t—that to me is COACHING.
And it’s not like we haven’t been down this yellow brick road before. James Franklin is cementing his reputation as the coach that can recruit, but then can’t win the big game. No. Cement isn’t the right word. STAINLESS STEEL. TITANIUM. He rules choke jobs with an IRON fist.
Is there hope?
Maybe.
New offensive and defensive coordinators will be on the sidelines next year.
12 team play-off next year. Maybe? Will the “new” Big Ten schedule help or hurt us?
To be honest, I am almost absolutely convinced we will be #13 at the end of next season. That is who we are. We are . . . what we are.
This past week, one of the PSU groups I joined on Facebook was counting down to the Peach Bowl with moments from past bowl games.
Greg Garrity’s catch in the Sugar Bowl–National Championship!
Pete Giftopoulos’s interception of Vinny Testaverde in the Fiesta Bowl–National Championship!
Gary Brown’s steal-n-score in the Holiday Bowl.
Ki-Jana Carter’s 83 yard touchdown run on the first offensive play of the Rose Bowl.
What will you remember about this bowl? What do you remember about last year’s bowl? Any Bowl in the Franklin Era? I remember we lost to USC in the Rose Bowl because we celebrated too early and let a victory slip away needlessly. That’s like recalling the goal line stand against Bama in the Sugar Bowl. It’s one of those moments you’d rather NOT remember.
Saquon Barkley had many highlight reel runs and touchdowns. Do you recall ONE in particular? Can you associate it with a signature win?
The most memorable play in the James Franklin era is probably the blocked field goal, scoop and score by Grant Haley against the Buckeyes–and is likely memorable since that is the ONLY time we have beaten Ohio State under James Franklin.
As the sand in Dorothy’s hourglass continues to fall, so does the separation of time from those great memories in Penn State history.
I, for one, would like to add a few new memories to those shining moments that are dimming with the passage of time. Hopefully, before I dim with the passage of time.