Black Shoe Diaries - Penn State (4-4) at Indiana (3-5)DOMINATE THE STATEhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47529/blackshoediaries_fave.png2014-11-11T08:20:43-05:00http://www.blackshoediaries.com/rss/stream/69238282014-11-11T08:20:43-05:002014-11-11T08:20:43-05:00BSD MVP – Indiana: Bill Belton
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<figcaption>Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Bill Belton had the longest touchdown run in Penn State history on Saturday, which means this year's offense is responsible for the longest touchdown run in Penn State history. Yes, this year's offense!</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/c--4b9DCBW4?rel=0" height="225" width="400"></iframe></p>
<p>While this almost entirely based upon one play,<a href="http://www.blackshoediaries.com/2014/11/8/7178099/bill-belton-new-penn-state-record-holder"> it’s a historic play</a>, one that in 128 years of Penn State football had never previously occurred, and that makes it kind of a big deal. Sure, Blair Thomas had run for 92-yards once, but he didn't score on the play. There was also a 92-yard touchdown pass from Bob Higgins to Bill Hess back in 1919, however the longest run for a score prior was a 90-yard Bill Suter scamper in 1894. Belton's run was also the longest rushing touchdown in Memorial Stadium history. To put in perspective how shocking this play was, he ended the first half with <i>91 yards total</i>, a half that included his record-breaking burst.</p>
<p><span>Bill Belton</span> stepped up precisely when Penn State needed an offensive spark, immediately following Mark Murphy's interception return for a touchdown to give the Hoosiers the lead and guaranteed Penn State's defense would not need to score themselves. He ended the day with 137 yards, to be the first Nittany Lion to eclipse the century mark on ground in a game this season. He could have easily caused issues for an offense that has already shown to have more than enough this season, especially after being supplanted as the primary running back by <span>Akeel Lynch</span>, but he continues to grind and make the best of his opportunities and display the leadership you'd expect from a senior.</p>
<p><b><i>Honorable Mentions:</i></b></p>
<p><b>Bob Shoop -</b> Stop me if you have heard this before, but this guy is good. No one on the defense really stood out over the others, but as a unit put in yet another thoroughly dominant performance. They held Indiana to 120 yards below their season rushing average total, kept <span>Tevin Coleman</span> to just 71 yards, and prevented him from another 43+yard carry as he had in every other game this year, except one. All this without significant injuries, despite Indiana creatively "blocking" during the game, or rather holding/targeting knees.</p>
<p><b>Freshmen -</b> All of them, too many to list, all over the field on both sides of the ball. If you're looking for positives going forward this season, start there.</p>
https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2014/11/11/7192437/bsd-mvp-indiana-penn-state-football-bill-belton-bob-shoopNick Blonde2014-11-09T11:14:00-05:002014-11-09T11:14:00-05:00Hey, Wha Happen? Penn State 13, Indiana 7
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<p>For the first time in 49 days, Penn State won a football game</p> <p>As Devin so aptly put it in his post game recap yesterday, <a href="http://www.blackshoediaries.com/2014/11/8/7178433/technically-that-was-football-penn-state-13-indiana-7">technically that was football</a>. There were 20 punts between the two teams, a whopping 7 third down conversions (out of 34 chances), a pick 6, a blocked field goal, 17 penalties, and 4 turnovers. And the Nittany Lions found a way to get a win for the first time in 7 weeks.</p>
<p>14 points came in about as crazy a 20 second sequence as you'll find in football. <span>Mark Murphy</span> jumped a wide receiver screen pass from <span>Christian Hackenberg</span>, and returned in 47 yards for what would be the Hoosiers' only score of the day. On the ensuing kickoff, <span>Grant Haley</span> opted for a return out of the end zone, and was brought down at the 8. Apparently, that was exactly what PSU was looking for. On the first play from scrimmage, <span>Bill Belton</span> took a delayed hand off out of the shotgun, and went 92 yards for the longest touchdown run in Penn State's storied football history. Football is a weird game.</p>
<p>Those three plays are really the highlights of the game. PSU had a first and goal at the one that resulted in two failed runs, a curious quarterback draw, and Sam Ficken's third blocked field goal of the season, which resulted from the left side of the line totally collapsing. If you're keeping score at home, Ficken's three misses have all come on blocks.</p>
<p>The story of the day was again Bob Shoop's defense. <span>Tevin Coleman</span>, who entered the day with 1,300 yards on the ground was held to just 71 (on 20 carries). Hoosier QB Zander Diamont did most of his damage with his legs, again struggling through the air. All told, PSU had 9 TFLs, including 1 sack, and probably could have had more if Dave Witvoet and Co. were familiar with the penalty of holding.</p>
<h3>Three Random, Probably Completely Useless Thoughts</h3>
<p>1. You have to feel pretty good for Bill Belton making a huge play yesterday. He is of course one of those seniors who have been through everything at PSU in the last 4 years, and has struggled behind the offensive line all season. Etching your name into the record books with the longest touchdown run in program history is but a small consolation prize for a senior that we should all thank for their dedication to Penn State.</p>
<p>2. <span>Mike Hull</span> took an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Yes, that Mike Hull. This may help explain why he was a little ticked off:</p>
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<p>We all remember Indiana as the team that, ahem, "cut blocked" Mike Mauti and ended his Penn State career two years ago. Fortunately the senior linebacker was OK after the late, low hit yesterday.</p>
<p>3. I really have no idea what to expect the next three weeks. Temple and Illinois are very winnable games, especially with this defense, but the offensive struggles will make everything interesting. At this point, just get another win or two, get to a bowl game, make great use of 15 practices, and give this senior class a proper send off. And hey, maybe the 2004 similarities will continue with a surprise offensive explosion against Sparty in Beaver Stadium in 20 days.</p>
https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2014/11/9/7181067/penn-state-indiana-recap-belton-hackenberg-franklin-colemanMatt de Bear2014-11-08T20:53:07-05:002014-11-08T20:53:07-05:00BSD Postgame Show: Indiana
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<figcaption>Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>AKA The Jordan Lucas Variety Poop-Fart Hour</p> <p>Hey, we won again! Join Dan, Bill, Devon and Nick as we talk about the football game that took place in Bloomington earlier today where <a target="_blank" href="http://www.blackshoediaries.com/2014/11/8/7178433/technically-that-was-football-penn-state-13-indiana-7">Penn State took down Indiana by a 13-7 score</a>. We'll talk about BOB SHOOP THA GAWD, where Christian Hackenberg's head is at and why the offense is our offense.</p>
<p>We'll start around 9pm. Listen/watch in the link above, and if you really want, feel free to send us questions on Twitter (to the <a href="https://twitter.com/BSDtweet" target="_blank">@BSDtweet</a> account with the hashtag #poopfart). You can even comment and ask questions. We'd love to hear from you.</p>
<p>Of course, if you don't know where the name comes from, thank <span>Jordan Lucas</span>:</p>
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<p>Asked Lucas how he decided to attack Pohl or stay in coverage: "I didn't want to hesitate. I didn't want to be between the fart & the poop."</p>
— <span>Travis Johnson</span> (@bytravisjohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/bytravisjohnson/status/508362888529317888">September 6, 2014</a>
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<p>We'll see you guys soon.</p>
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https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2014/11/8/7179431/penn-state-indiana-postgame-show-defense-hackenberg-belton-john-donovanDan VecellioBill DiFilippoNick Polakdevon20122014-11-08T15:38:22-05:002014-11-08T15:38:22-05:00Technically, That Was Football: PSU 13, IU 7
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<figcaption>Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Football is supposed to be entertainment, but this game may well have been a new experiment in the Ludovico technique.</p> <p>I have previously called other games, games earlier this season and games from years before, sloppy, ugly, painful to watch. That was only because I did not have this one as a frame of reference. If those other games were messy affairs, this was the sloppiest, the ugliest, the puntingest, even, at times, the stupidest. The least logical. By the second quarter, this game transcended football to become performance art. To call this football is to call <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzdRQCnDBlw">Too Many Cooks</a> a credits sequence: Technically true, but only by the slimmest of margins.</p>
<p>A personal note: I was watching this on my computer, via the BTN2go website. The site refused to let me log in until midway through the first quarter. The feed cut out about every five minutes, and both coming into and out of every commercial break. Perhaps the machines have gained sentience, and the first emotion they've chosen to display is empathy.</p>
<p>During his postgame interview on the Big Ten Network, James Franklin repeated called this the prettiest win he's ever seen. I'm not sure if it was lampshading or straight-up trolling, but it needed to be said, if only to relieve the tension. By then, we were able to laugh it off.</p>
<p>It makes very little sense that Tevin Coleman, who came into this game a darkhorse Heisman trophy candidate and the consensus best-player-you've-never-heard-of, would be outrushed by Bill Belton, and, until the fourth quarter, by Zander Diamont. It makes very little sense that Penn State would have, on the same series, three separate first-and-goal opportunities, but somehow more that they'd walk away from that with no points. It makes little sense that Zander Diamont would twice elude the grasp of Mike Hull in the backfield, and slightly more that Mark Murphy's bubble-screen-interception-touchdown would only be the first Hackenberg's thrown this year, despite the predictability of a play-call practically begging for it.</p>
<p>I<span>t makes not a lick of sense that this 2014 Penn State team--a team that, coming into the game, ranked 122nd in the country in rushing--would set a new Nittany Lion record for the longest touchdown run in program history. It makes even less that the over/under for this matchup was set at 45.</span></p>
<p>Then again, it makes perfect sense that Bob Shoop's defense would pitch a shutout against an Indiana offense that has been unable to move the ball since Zander Diamont ascended to the starting role. At this point, it's not surprising that Christian Hackenberg completed 41% of his passes for no touchdowns and two interceptions--though, to be fair, one was off the hands of Bill Belton and not entirely his fault. The completion percentage, though, belies no such caveat.</p>
<p>That a nosediving Penn State team beat a torpedoing Indiana team isn't particularly shocking, either, and from the beginning, we knew this would be the exact sort of punt-filled afternoon it turned out to be. Not everything was entirely illogical, and that may be the worst part: games like this are the norm, now, and we have to hope that we can avoid out-sucking Temple and Illinois in what are certain to be low-scoring, turnover-filled, defensive "battles" only in the sense that the offenses sometimes need help sabotaging themselves. Given that Indiana came in to this game as the second-to-worst team in the Big Ten in both scoring and total defense, it's clear that John Donovan--and, yes, Christian Hackenberg--have taken it upon them to carry most of the weight themselves. They're increasingly fortunate, week to week, that the genius of Bob Shoop, and the play of his defense, in all facets, has cancelled their ineptitude out almost exactly.</p>
<p>But hey, the losing streak is over, and we're just one game away from bowl eligibility. Detroit awaits, fellas.</p>
<p>Oh! Miles Dieffenbach came back, also. Maybe if Donovan Smith can recover from his concussion before the end of the year, we'll have an offensive line that's only bad and not incomprehensibly terrible!</p>
https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2014/11/8/7178433/technically-that-was-football-penn-state-13-indiana-7devon20122014-11-08T14:43:01-05:002014-11-08T14:43:01-05:00Penn State-Indiana Fourth Quarter Open Thread
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<figcaption>Matthew O'Haren-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>FIGHT ON STATE!!</p>
https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2014/11/8/7173003/penn-state-indiana-fourth-quarter-open-threadJared Slanina2014-11-08T13:46:02-05:002014-11-08T13:46:02-05:00Penn State-Indiana Third Quarter Open Thread
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<figcaption>Miss you, Allen. | Rich Barnes-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
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<p>WE ARE...</p>
https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2014/11/8/7172995/penn-state-indiana-third-quarter-open-threadJared Slanina2014-11-08T12:53:02-05:002014-11-08T12:53:02-05:00Penn State-Indiana Second Quarter Open Thread
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<figcaption>Rich Barnes-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
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<p>BEAT THE HOOSIERS!!</p>
https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2014/11/8/7172923/penn-state-indiana-second-quarter-open-threadJared Slanina2014-11-08T12:00:03-05:002014-11-08T12:00:03-05:00Penn State-Indiana First Quarter Open Thread
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<figcaption>Pat Lovell-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Does the streak end today? We can only hope...</p>
<p>LET'S GO STATE!!</p>
https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2014/11/8/7172911/penn-state-indiana-first-quarter-open-threadJared Slanina