BSD Mailbag: Blue-White Game

Will the offense that we see in the B/W game be plain vanilla, vanilla bean, or French vanilla? RWreese

French vanilla- it will be rather plain compared to what we’ll see in September, but still entertaining as it is a Joe Moorhead-run offense, after all. However, this fall it will be Superman ice cream, with every bright color blended together into a beautiful swirl.

What is your over/under for combined snaps between McSorely and Barkley? and which do you take? Lion Born n’ Bred

I’ll predict nine plays between the two of them- with McSorley contributing all nine while Barkley cheers on from the sidelines. The nine plays will consist of two drives, both ending with touchdown passes by McSorley- one to Juwan Johnson and the other to DeAndre Thompkins.

How should we approach B/W Score? Should I be happy when White wins? Happy when Blue wins? Happy all the time because PSU always wins? Sad all the time because PSU always loses? I AM SO CONFLICTED LurkinLion

I am about as big of a Penn State Football fanatic that you will find, and I don’t think I can recall a single score of a previous Blue-White Game. Just feel glad as long as the game wraps up with no injuries and you got to enjoy some football, while keeping in mind that our annual “100 Days Until Penn State Football” countdown will begin next month.

Why is no one talking about Jake Cooper? Is he hurt….in the doghouse…..not that good? With the depth issues at LB shouldn’t he be an option? LionFanAllan

Cooper was impacted by the injury bug that ripped through the linebacker position in 2016, missing the final six games of the season and nine total. He is still in the process of recovering and has been limited throughout the spring. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of him on the field by the fall, however.

Is there any chance that BTN reduces the amount of Ohio State and Michigan related content in the near future? LarzLion

Unfortunately there is no way that BTN will ever decrease coverage of its two darlings, but there is a way for Penn State to increase its exposure- win the whole damn Big Ten again.

Now that baseball's back, what are acceptable toppings for a good ol' fashioned American hot dog? tFrench

The beauty of eating a hot dog is that there are limitless possibilities when it comes to toppings. Now, if you’re at a cook-out and your toppings are limited, I go with a little bit of everything- Ketchup, mustard, relish and chopped onions. When applying the ketchup and mustard, I do a row of each down both sides so you get some of each with every bite without the two touching and forming the red-yellow swirl, because for some reason that really weirds me out.

If I’m the one preparing them, I really enjoy gouda and saurkraut. And you can never go wrong with chili and cheddar cheese loaded with sliced onions. I’m also a fan on sliced avocado and a fried egg. which is really an excellent topping for any type of burger you may be throwing on the grill as well. It’s also important to get hot dogs from the butcher- they’re bigger and much tastier than Ballparks or whatever packages you pick up at the grocery store.

Excluding your favorite teams, what's the best logo/uniform combo in pro sports? IronCityLion

NFL- Daaaaaaa Bears. Unique and distinctive color combination, a simple ‘C’ on the helmet to pay tribute the city of Chicago, and it just has that look of a team that’s getting ready to play smashmouth football in the snow for three hours.

MLB- Boston Red Sox. I had a much harder time picking just one favorite, and I’m not even much of a baseball fan. I went back-and-forth between a few teams, but settled on Boston because of the navy and red combo and the distinctive font. Plus, I’m a sucker for traditional uniforms.

NBA- Orlando Magic. A really fantastic shade of electric blue that really pops off the screen, and the pinstripes are a great touch. I love the mixture of the modern and traditional look.

NHL- Toronto Maple Leafs. They’re blue and white- what’s not to like??

How did Troy Reeder fare this season at Delaware? Gerry Dincher

Reeder only appeared in three games in 2016 for the Blue Hens, and had seven tackles, two forced fumbles and an interception. I couldn’t find anything to suggest the DNPs were the result of an injury, and his appearances were in weeks one, three and 10. Reeder would have likely started for Penn State following Nyeem Wartman-White’s injury early in the season, and could have made a huge difference in the losses to Pitt and USC when the defense struggled with a lack of healthy bodies at linebacker. Ultimately, Reeder decided to head to Delaware and play with his brother, and you can’t fault him for that.

Edit: Apparently I looked up info for the wrong Reeder. Troy finished second on the team with 63 tackles, with 4.5 TFLs, two interceptions and two forced fumbles.

I still have the Rose Bowl unwatched on the DVR. Shouldn’t I feel up to watching it by now? Will letting it sit longer help anything out or should I just suck it up and suffer through it? JayMPSU

We’re in the same boat, my friend. I rarely re-watch a loss, but lately I’ve had a desire to sit down and watch this game. There were so many ridiculous plays, and the offense put on an absolute show in quarters two and three. I also want to see what exactly went wrong in the fourth quarter, although it may be a form of torture to keep seeing each missed opportunity that could have sealed the victory. Regardless, I think it will be worth the second viewing despite the heart-wrenching finale.