The 2018 Penn State Football season could not have opened in a less auspicious way. Opening day is a lot like Christmas morning. You dive into the present covered in brightly wrapped paper expecting a new game system, or a new iPhone, or whatever this year’s equivalent of a Cabbage Patch Doll is.
On Saturday the Nittany Lions opened a box containing . . . a sweater. Worse yet, a cardigan. It’s red. And it doesn’t fit. And we can’t return it.
I got socks, what did you get? I got a rock. Photo Courtesy of Richard the Lionhearted
The glass half full fans will look upon this and say a win is a win. And in their defense, a win is MUCH better than a loss. It was the first game of the season and we are without Joe Moorhead and Saquon Barkley, among others. Growing pains are to be expected. The weather held out. No serious injuries. Kum-ba-Yah. Kum-ba-yah!
The glass half empty crowd is now expecting gloom and doom the rest of the season, with perhaps Penn State not winning another game the rest of the way out–maybe not ever!–or at the least, not competing for a Big Ten title or anything beyond that. They are expecting more packages of socks, mittens (that don’t fit so we must acquit,) underwear (thongs) and boxes of sugar-free chocolates (you just don’t know what you’re going to get!)
So much disappointment in so little time.
But before we start cancelling our trips to Indianapolis and warm, fuzzy locations in January, let’s take a step back and look at what really happened.
The Appalachian State team that took the field in Beaver Stadium did not look like the 23 point underdog we were promised. Their team was well-coached and their players played hard. In fact, one might argue they played hard enough to win. They were not distracted by the crowd of over 105,000 loud fans.
By the way, I thought this crowd was as loud and intimidating as any white out crowd for Ohio State or Michigan. And despite our poor play at times, they supported the team until the bittersweet end. The student section eventually filled, even though it was a holiday weekend. Go fans!
I talked with some other fans afterwards and we were all thinking the same thing: at some point Penn State was going to pull away and Appalachian State would fold and head back to Boone, NC before the team buses were even ready to leave. But alas, that never happened. The Mountaineers were annoyingly tenacious. They just would not quit. I have to give them credit that they never gave up. And neither did the smattering of yellow clad flans throughout the stadium.
The outcome of the game was still in question in the last forty-two seconds of regulation with the score tied.
So many things could have gone wrong for Penn State.
Appalachian State could have gone for it on fourth down, made the conversion and ended up with a more makeable field goal to win it.
What if Moore had been tackled before he reached the end zone on their previous series? Appalachian State could have run the clock down and kicked a chip shot field goal to win by 3.
And then there was KJ Hamler’s amazing kick off return. Our kick off returns to that point were like a GIF looping endlessly. Their kicker kicks 8 yards deep in the end zone to #1, who doesn’t even have to move to receive it. Hamler looks like he’s thinking of running the return. But #20 comes over and blocks him and makes him take a knee. Over and over again. But finally, Hamler says enough of that and runs around Thomas. 52 yards later the Lions are set up nicely for the game tying drive. But what if he had been tackled at the 5?
We had to convert a fourth down to keep the drive alive. My heart can’t take this.
And on a day when the defense seemed unable to stop the Mountaineers, it was a defensive play that ended the game and sealed the PSU victory. It might have been the only bad pass Zac Thomas threw all day–and it wasn’t that bad; just well-defended. Trace threw several passes that were far worse, but he was spot on in the clutch when they needed him.
And about that D . . . throw out the stats. Seriously, this defense gave up only 3 points in 3 quarters. Seven points were gift wrapped on the first kick-off return, and not the defense’s fault. And it was a special teams gaffe–the unexpected, but should have been expected, on-sides kick. If Penn State recovers–I think it would have been a whole different outcome. Instead, our defense is suddenly back on the field and back on their heels. Momentum shifted abruptly on that play.
In the end, the best team prevailed. I wouldn’t be surprised if the myopic pollsters drop Penn State in the rankings, despite winning. Most of them probably didn’t watch the game and I think Appalachian State will vindicate us. Have you seen the rest of their schedule? Charlotte, Southern Miss, Gardner-Webb (wasn’t he a famous bowler,) South Alabama, Arkansas State, Louisiana (no tech or state, just Louisiana,) Georgia Southern, Coastal Carolina, Texas State, Georgia State and Troy. Can you see the team that played us on Saturday going undefeated the rest of the season? If not, I think you might need glasses. And I should know. I’m an ophthalmologist.
BY THE NUMBERS:
Penn State has not had that many fans attend an opening day since 2008. 105,232. There could have been five more but I couldn’t give my extra tickets away.
Penn State had ZERO turn overs. App State had one, a costly INT in OT.
Trace McSorley was sacked once.
The home game winning streak is now at 15 games.
INTANGIBLES:
I wore the wrong socks. They were blue, but not the PSU socks I normally wear on game day. I’m sorry. It’s my fault we barely won this game. Rest assured, it will not happen again!
The drum major stuck both flips.
We won the first coin toss. And elected to RECEIVE! Did Joe Paterno ever elect to take the ball first when he won a toss? I can’t recall it. Comment below and include the particular game if you can recall one. I’m pretty sure O’Brien did a few times. I like the aggressive attitude.
Lost the OT coin toss. Fortunately didn’t matter.
Great crowd. Large crowd. Enthusiastic crowd. Loud.
THE BIG (TEN) PICTURE:
The Buckeyes bruised and black-eyed the Beavers (77-31) without Zack Smith or Urban Meyer. But that’s okay–no kids (or sex toys) were involved.
Michigan State held on to defeat Utah State 38-31. I actually watched that game and was thinking to myself, how embarrassing to almost lose to Utah State. Karma is a bitch. But we held on as well, and I think App State would beat Utah State head to head.
Michigan (THEM–as in The- M) unveiled their secret weapon, Shea Patterson. Pffft. The Irish won that game 24-17 and will likely leap frog us in the polls. I know it’s better for our conference if Michigan wins, but watching Harbuagh lose never gets old. Any Harbaugh. It’s fun at every level.
The Cornhuskers and Scott Frost’s debut got rained out.
The Minnesota Gophers Carl Spacklered New Mexico State 48-10.
The Illini edged Kent state 31-24.
Indiana beat Florida International Airport 38-28.
Maryland had the best start, upsetting the 23rd ranked Longhorns 34-29.
Iowa beat Northern Illinoi 33-7.
In the only conference match-up, Northwestern beat Purdue 31-27.
Rutgers defeated Texas State 35-7 and the Badgers bested Western Kentucky 34-3.
LOOKING AHEAD:
Pitt.
Kickoff at Heinz Field is scheduled for 8 p.m. and the game will be on ABC.
The panthers thrilled their audience of seven fans to a decisive win over Albany 33-7. Albania. Albania. You border on the Adriatic. Your land is mostly mountainous, and your chief export is chrome. Oh wait. That’s Albania, not Albany. Sorry Coach.
The Lions are a 10.5 favorite over the panthers in Pittsburgh.
This is a rivalry game for them. It’s just another opportunity to lose rank points for us. They beat us, we make their season. We beat them, it’s just on to the next game.
While the players in this game weren’t around at the height of this rivalry in the 80’s, (when Pitt deep-sixed Paterno’s effort at an Eastern all sports conference, tore down their stadium, and started a coaching carousel of 10 coaches since 1982 not counting interim coaches) the Lions know that a loss in Pittsburgh two years ago likely cost them a spot in the play-off where a one-loss OSU team edged out a two loss conference champion that beat said one loss team head to head. I did not think I would ever be able to end that sentence.
Joe Paterno said that a team improves the most between the first and second games. Whether or not that is true, I do expect some improvement across the board.
GO STATE! BEAT PITT!
The Lion's Den 