BSD Mailbag 11.29.19

Am I the only one who is a little frustrated with the Penn State fanbase right now? I would’ve liked to have beat Ohio State too, but this is clearly their year. So be it. We have a shot at going to a NY6 bowl which would mark the 3rd time in 4 years. You have to go back to the mid 70’s to find a run like that. It didn’t happen even around the nattys in the 80s or in the 90s. This program is in better shape than any time since 1998.

Yet people think Franklin isn’t the guy.—PSU Mudder

You are definitely not the only one. We are in the midst of one of the best on-field stretches in program history, less than a decade away from what was supposed to be program-crippling sanctions. Our fan base has so many folks with illogical, unrealistic expectations and it is infuriating. I love Penn State and football and you fine folks, and I plan my falls around it—but it’s also not the be-all and end all of my life.

Is it ok to start feeling bad for Rutgers? I kinda feel bad for them, even though I want to kick them out of our club.—06Lion

I mean, you do you. But I definitely don’t feel bad for them, with how they reacted in 2013 when we played them the first time when they were in conference. Their leadership in the athletic department has reaped what they’ve sown. And I’ll also never gotten over the Rutgers wrestling fans who sat behind me in the 2016 NCAA wrestling finals who were openly rooting against the PSUers solely because of their University, and not because it benefited their university. Blech.

Why does it feel so crappy ending the season playing Rutgers? It’s not like a reward for playing a tough schedule, is it?—jiminore

Well, we do have the FBS’s toughest schedule headed into this week. But yeah, it’s anticlimactic. Even in 2016 when we played a very bad MSU team to finish the year, it didn’t feel this way because MSU has been traditionally decent and beaten us recently.

Does this sound like a program that belongs in the B1G? 22 varsity sports. Two are above .500. Rutgers is in 10th place or below in 14. Two-thirds of their teams are absolutely noncompetitive.

So I doubt you wander over to Ohio State sites because you are not weird like me, but if you have some time to kill there are some interesting nuggets, plus some OSU overconfidence to laugh at.

A few more samples to lure you over. Note the S&P numbers for 2019 are outdated now. We may have helped them, MSU may have set them right. It’s not a surprise to see the [edit: Insert most B1G schools here] treating RU like the functional equivalent of a lousy MAC team. That’s what they’ve been.

The 2014 Rutgers team finished 8-5, but was 75th in S&P+, behind Toledo, Northern Illinois, and Western Michigan. And that was by far and away the best team the Knights have fielded since joining the league.

In 2015, they were 101st in S&P+, behind eight MAC programs including a 3-9 UMass team. In 2016, they finished 117th out of 128 teams in S&P+, behind every MAC team except Buffalo. The 2017 team soared all the way up to 92nd in S&P+, behind only five MAC teams! They plunged back below the triple-digit threshold again in 2018, finishing 108th behind all but four teams from the MAC.

This year’s team is currently 107th, behind such national powers as Charlotte and Buffalo.—Former_DC_Buck

No. I mean, I do understand why they were added, but ultimately (especially when they won’t be full monetary members for years) it hasn’t been beneficial for either party.

Instead of replacing their head coach Nunzio Campanile...Why shouldn’t Rutgers instead bring in his brothers Vito, Nick, and Anthony as assistants, thereby guaranteeing the most Rutgers coaching staff in history?

Come on, that staff could make any 5* recruit in the country an offer they couldn’t refuse.—Paebr332

This is probably a poor idea for any team, but Revenge is a dish best served cold, after all.

Who would Rutgers have to hire for you to think, “Oh, crap. Maybe they’re going to become a problem”?

a) Herm Edwards

b) Matt Rhule

c) Urban Meyer

d) Trick question – Rutgers could never become a real problem—j-s-b

All three of those options are not realistic for Rutgers, but there absolutely is a realistic option that terrifies me: Lance Leipold. He’s done well at Buffalo since he got there, and was an icon at Wisconsin-Whitewater. What Rutgers needs to succeed is to install a different offensive system that opponents need to specifically spend time preparing for, and Leipold could do that. And recruit well enough for his system to make it work.

The major state universities or state related universities that do no have their name in their title, which state university did you not know was in a particular state until you were old enough that you should have known better?

Examples, Purdue, Rutgers, Auburn, Clemson.

Did you think that East Carolina must be a state because there is a football team for East Carolina, North Carolina, and South Carolina.?

I learned a good deal about geography, math, and universities by watching college football and being curious.—Gerry Dincher

What is also crazy is some universities that have their state’s names in them aren’t public, which throws me off even more! I think you hit the nail on the head for a lot of them, too.

So news is coming out of Tallahassee. . . that Willie Taggart never actually signed a contract. Is this FSU’s entry into buyout lawsuit purgatory, or just an excuse to point and laugh at Willie’s agent?—NittanyPUMA

This dispute is gonna be going on for a while. I think they’ll end up somewhere in the middle after prolonged negotiations, less than what was in the attempted language but more than what FSU would want to spend ($0).

How the hell is the season over ALREADY?! And why do they seem to go by faster every year:(—bearwithscarf

I know, dude! We’re getting old :(

Come March, who is starting at 149 and 197?—CaptBombs

Luke Gardner and Michael Beard, as much as it pains me because I do love Kyle Conel.

How many times would CJF have made the playoffs if PSU played in the Big 12, Pac-12, or ACC Coastal instead of the B1G East?—Paebr332

ACC Coastal, probably not too many because most years they wouldn’t put in multiple ACC teams and Clemson would have won the title game. But Big 12 or PAC 12, yeah, they’d be dominating.

If the Franklin family were the basis for a TV sitcom, who would you cast as James? Who would play C.J. Thorpe?—48-14

Anyone other that Keegan Michael Key for CJF is a waste. But for CJ, you need someone who can be nasty b also jovial who can pull off being made up by the coach’s daughters. I think Okieriete Onaodowan, who is unknown by many but was part of the original cast of Hamilton and in the tv show Station 19, would be perfect.

You are lost in the desert and find a PSU-themed lamp. When you rub it (as one does with a lamp they find in the desert), a genie emerges and grants you three 2020 Penn State football related wishes. What are those wishes?—kijana’s acl

1. Beat Ohio State by two scores
2. Beat UM in Ann Arbor, as the underdog
3. win the playoff finals

My wife and I have been together for 20 years. do I still have to pretend I like her green bean casserole on Thanksgiving?—Hate 710

I mean, that ultimately depends on your wife. I’d say be honest, but if she’s particularly sensitive in regards to or defensive of her cooking, then yeah, continue to placate her.

What, if anything, is a lamer Thanksgiving side dish than green bean casserole?—Paebr332

Tell us why we should NOT stop eating turkey for Thanksgiving. In Meat World™ there are a plethora of tastier options. Why do we tolerate the tyranny of this mediocre bird?—Paebr332

Why do people insist I will like THEIR pumpkin pie? I swear, every time I tell someone “No thanks, I don’t like pumpkin pie,” the reply is always “you need to try my pumpkin pie.” No, I don’t.

I am on a bit of a traditional-Thanksgiving-foods-that-actually-suck theme right now.—Paebr332

You really are, man! I like green bean casserole and turkey cooked perfectly. I also like pumpkin pie, though I prefer pecan.

But above all, I like when folks eat what they want to eat and aren’t forced into eating things they don’t like by family or friends. So go ahead, have a non-traditional Thanksgiving of steak and French fries if you want, just enjoy the meal with folks you may not see as often.

Why are Thanksgiving leftovers far superior to the actual Thanksgiving meal, and why is anyone who thinks over wise completely and possibly criminally wrong?—MJBPSU

I wouldn’t say far superior. I always think cranberry sauce is best when fresh, and same with sweet potatoes.

What is the best Thanksgiving dessert? What is the worst Thanksgiving dessert?—RWReese

Pecan pie is one of my favorites. I don’t understand all the folks who have a variation of jello, that’s just weird to me.

Could you eat 40 pizzas in 30 days? What kind of pizzas would you pick? You’re gonna have to eat pizza for 2 meals on some days, so how do you switch it up? After 30 days are up, how will you enact your revenge and your most hated rival? When do the garlic sweats start?—skarocksoi

I definitely could not do this. I typically go months without pizza very often, and I don’t miss it. But if you do do it, it’s not so difficult to have variations, like red sauce vs white pizza vs Alfredo sauce vs dessert pizza. But even 14 days is too many for me, I would probably be unreasonably irate after a few days.

What’s the best reason to move to Alaska?—WorldBFat

It is super beautiful up there. And also it has a better ratio of women to men, for me.

anyone know any breweries or distilleries I should visit in Spokane from the 6th to 12th of December—BMAN13

Putting this on here to open it up for recommendations, as I’ve only been to western Washington.

Why when interviewing, are you given overly generic projects that demonstrate nothing? I get wanting a skills/proficiency assessment of some sort, but the amount of hypothetical projects that would require information that’s not available to you to be remotely demonstrative of your capabilities is maddening. On the plus side, I think it helps to demonstrate employers that don’t actually understand what your job would be or what you’d need to be successful, so it helps on that front.—Succss With Honor Always

I’ve been the interviewer and interviewee, and these do not make sense to me. Questions should never be so generalized, and should be tailored not only to the organization but also to the position that is open.

Hallmark Christmas movie thoughts so far this year? What are you thoughts on the Christmas Hallmark movies so far this year? Any front-runners? Are you focusing more on the main channel or Movies & Mysteries? Are you using the app to track your progress? My better half has currently logged 55 of 96 on Hallmark and 48 of 80 on HM&M (this includes movies watched in past years, not just this year).—tadhg

I think overall they’ve been good (on both channels), but I am behind with all of the traveling i’ve done for my real job, so I really do need to catch up. But right now, my favorites are Write Before Christmas, Check Inn to Christmas, and A Merry Christmas Match. I’ve updated my app with all the previous years, as well as this year’s, because as you know, I am a huge nerd (hi to your wife and the boys, it’s been too long!!).

How come when you drop a goldfish cracker, you almost immediately step on it, and it ends up in 3 kazabajillion pieces?—Dbridi