The Story: Zook Gets Desperate
by Kevin HD on Oct 2, 2009 8:30 AM EDT
in Game Previews
25 comments
But real quick: There's something called the Mumme Poll, run by two very excellent OMG-SEC bloggers, and you're going to like it because mathematically it works quite different than the typical. The short and sweet of it is this: voters (lots of voters, and that's why they need you) pick teams in batches. No pretending to have a reason to rank the 11th team ahead of the 12th, or getting fishy with unprovoked drops of team #2 down below the one loss mid-majors.
It's a really neat concept, and, again: something both different and reasonable. Register over at the new home and let's have some fun with it. But remember, you have to vote this week.
A story of Old Money.
What happened to Good Juice? He was never one to show up every week, but these first three games have been downright awful. Zero passing touchdowns, three picks, and ypc average a full yard lower than last year...the rest of it is bad, bad, bad. He actually improved statistically in 2008 compared to the Rose Bowl season, so why the slow start in 2009?
Do you remember. Illinois quarterback Isiah Williams? ESPN doesn't.
Movers and shakers. Vegas put out 'games of the year' odds during the summer and Penn State was favored by just one point. That line opened this week at 6. I was terrified; a very large group of other people believe it's way too low:
That's the second time this season Penn State has been (based on these numbers) the most bet-on team in college football. The line has since moved close to 8, but none of this is comforting.
Denial, I've been there. But it's never been this bad:
"Little things, a play here or there and we're in that game," defensive tackle Josh Brent said. "Whether media or fans think so, we're in that game with a couple of plays going a different way. ... It was just small things."
Reality can be a tough pill to swallow, but nothing says "yeah we really never had a chance" like getting beat 30-0 against a team that didn't complete a pass in the first half and then decided they simply didn't need to in the second.
Nature of the beast. I liked it better when everyone was healthy:
Coach Joe Paterno said Thursday on his weekly radio show that he doesn't think Lee will be able to play. Sophomore Nathan Stupar will most likely start.
Paterno says the Nittany Lions will also be without freshman wide receiver and kick returner Devon Smith, who suffered a concussion in last week's game and won't make the trip. Wide receiver Chaz Powell, who also returns kickoffs, has been ill this week.
The Hullstache Grows. Thanks HnB:
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Smith and Powell
Does this mean we’ll see more Justin Brown?
has he been in a game?
If not I wonder about a RS, since we have seen Drake when I thought we would see Brown in games.
"How many things do you do where you are involved with 110,000 other people on the same page? Unless you're in an English class cheating with 30 other guys."
by psu on Oct 2, 2009 9:28 AM EDT up reply actions
Yes, Justin Brown has played.
He was in for a few plays against Syracuse or Temple. Didn’t do anything except block.
--
"Not everybody is the perfect person in the world. Everyone does - kills people, murders people, steals from you, steals from me." -- Terrelle Pryor
by Run Up The Score on Oct 2, 2009 9:33 AM EDT up reply actions
Speaking of receivers...
the local TV here in Hampton Roads had a feature on Chris Bell (formerly Stabby McStabensteen) of Norfolk State after his 9 catch 200+ yd day on saturday. In addition to the numbers, it sounds like Bell has also exponentially raised his maturity level – unfortunately for us, way too late.
One man doing the work of 100's for the good of 1000's
Sack up and stab me
"For me the game wasn’t grounded in reality. It was about the uniform you put on that turned you into a warrior. It was about the mythology of the battle, the victory, the defeat, the struggle." - Mike Reid, PSU '69
Accuweather is predicting we may have another weather challenge
Winds 15-20 MPH with potentially high winds.
Temp should be in lower 60’s but feel 10 degrees cooler!
Rain overnight but none for the game.
I would like a game on a nice dry field, little or no wind, comfortable football temps and all our Linebackers healthy!
Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.
Vince Lombardi
Nice dry field, little or no wind, comfortable football temps....
You must be talking about
EEEESSSS EEEEEEE SSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
How could Nixon know so little about Watergate and so much about football ?
I'll be somewhere in the Colorado mountains on Saturday
Hope everyone enjoys the game. I’ll be at a wedding with some rather hardcore Nebraska fans, trying to get score updates on the iPhone.
Hoping for the best, kind of expecting the worst. From the game, not the wedding.
--
"Not everybody is the perfect person in the world. Everyone does - kills people, murders people, steals from you, steals from me." -- Terrelle Pryor
by Run Up The Score on Oct 2, 2009 9:36 AM EDT reply actions
Best time of the year to go.
Autumn in the high country of Colorado is severely underrated. I’ll actually be at the Iowa State-Kansas State game, which the local radio stations are calling “Farmageddon at Arrowhead.” The game shall be DVR’ed.
Not having Lee is concerning me.
You lose so much quick read ability and the defense does not seem to do as good of job when he is not in the game.
I am Laura Nichols and I like Bacon.
BSD is an addiction, and this is the first step.
Agree.
You have Lee and Bowman on the outside and I don’t know how much damage anyone can running to the outside. I guess we’re going to just sit and hope Stupar has been cured of his whiffpox.
BSD
by Kevin HD on Oct 2, 2009 10:16 AM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
Rec'd for "whiffpox".
Easiest decision I’ve made all week.
--
"Not everybody is the perfect person in the world. Everyone does - kills people, murders people, steals from you, steals from me." -- Terrelle Pryor
by Run Up The Score on Oct 2, 2009 10:25 AM EDT up reply actions
I am beginning
to fear that we will not have Lee for a lot longer than they are letting on. All I hear are sort of unfounded rumors so nothing worth reporting, but as each week sort of ticks to a close I am getting more and more concerned. I completely agree that he is an integral part of the defense and they look worlds better with him on the field.
We are not normal. We are legends.
by NittanyAlum02 on Oct 2, 2009 12:04 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree
This isn’t the NFL, so they don’t need to tell us every medical prognosis they receive. My guess is he sprained some ligament in his knee that takes a month to recover from, but we’re alway stold he’s “day to day” or some crap like that.
More than anything I’m saddened we won’t get to watch him and Bowman flying around the field together until later this month.
"We hugged as grown men do. It was a great moment. Then, it was business as usual." -- LJ Sr.
We're 0-4 against the spread this year
I feel like the line had to open low (though I was surprised to see it at six, too). I wish I would have gotten it at 6 or 6.5, because I’m not laying more than a touchdown on this team’s first conference road game.
I wouldn't trust old rooster me neither.
we are 2-2 on first half spreads
should be 4-0. The goaline defense of Cuse cost us that cover and the safety cost us the Iowa cover. I’m not sure if that half time line has come out for this weekend but may be worth a look.
How could Nixon know so little about Watergate and so much about football ?
With that Mummie poll
it says voting doesnt start until week 6, so why do you say we have to vote this week?
They want to do a dry run. I can’t pretend to understand this, but for some reason email addresses have to register now, and if you have to vote this week to validate.
BSD
That seems like a really neat idea.
I like to imagine a world where independent types of polls pop up all over and start to cramp the old school poll’s styles. A la blogistan against the MSM.
Black Shoes. Basic Blues. No Name. All Game.
"Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the mouth."
Agreed
I love this idea. It’s such a radical concept, try to fix something that we know is broken.
It never gets to be easy
by chitownhawkeye on Oct 3, 2009 1:40 AM EDT up reply actions
The rain scares me
more than our OL, or the eventual re-appearance of Good Juice. We don’t seem to deal well with rain…
by Tailgate Shogun on Oct 2, 2009 12:30 PM EDT reply actions
At first I was like
what? Then pondered a sec and have to agree. Weather is the first tinge of adversity that begins to adversely affect DC17. It’s the sparkplug of his own personal head swirl. A little rain, a little cold, a little panic. Next, bad things ensue.
Does this make our Senior Captain Clark a sissy? /shudders
/and, yet, continues to hope
"For me the game wasn’t grounded in reality. It was about the uniform you put on that turned you into a warrior. It was about the mythology of the battle, the victory, the defeat, the struggle." - Mike Reid, PSU '69
+1 for this line
Reality can be a tough pill to swallow, but nothing says “yeah we really never had a chance” like getting beat 30-0 against a team that didn’t complete a pass in the first half and then decided they simply didn’t need to in the second.
"For me the game wasn’t grounded in reality. It was about the uniform you put on that turned you into a warrior. It was about the mythology of the battle, the victory, the defeat, the struggle." - Mike Reid, PSU '69
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