Game 12 Recap: Penn State 49, Michigan State 18

We got up at 6 AM to start cooking a turkey for the tailgate. It was cold as shit then, and it didn't get any better all day. But it was a great tailgate followed by an even better game. Penn State looked like they did earlier in the season, when they would score at will and play suffocating D. It was an excellent performance all around, and the Lions are now Big11Ten champions. And of course there's this:


It feels pretty good. Onto the recap...

1st Quarter

Penn State got the ball to start the game, and after they go three-and-out, we started wondering if this was going to be another slow start for the offense.

Luckily, we started feeling better when Maybin planted Ringer in the backfield for a loss of 2 on MSU's first offensive play. After a false start, Hoyer completed two passes to pick up a first down, but after a 4-yard loss by Ringer, an incompletion, another false start and a sack by Abe Koroma, Michigan State actually lost yardage on the drive and had to punt.

On the next play, those feelings about a slow start began to fade. Clark hit Norwood on a post for 49 yards and it was first and goal at the MSU 10.


Clark hit Williams for no gain and Royster rushed for 5, setting up a third down. On third down, Clark scrambled and waited until the absolute last second before hitting Graham Zug just inside the pylon. Great play by Clark to buy some time.

7-0

The Spartans came out on the next drive and had a third and 4 after a short run and a 5-yard completion to Ringer. But Hoyer was sacked again on third down, this time by Ollie Ogbu and had to punt. Penn State's ensuing drive stalled after five plays and they punted back. But the Lions' D was locked in early, and forced another three-and-out. Great start by the D, especially the line, as Ringer still had negative rushing yards up to this point.

Williams fielded the punt and got to his own 24, but a penalty moved the offense back to the 14. The Lions got four plays in before the end of the quarter.

2nd Quarter

Clark hit Royster on a screen for a 19-yard gain to start the second. After an incompletion and a short run, Clark found Norwood for a huge 26-yard pickup on third and 7. Royster then carried one for 14 yards and after a Clark run went nowhere, Dan Lawlor pounded it in from 4 yards out. 12 plays, 86 yards. Nice drive.

14-0

Michigan State was looking to get something started on their next drive, and early on, they did. The Spartans moved the ball well and picked up three first downs after 4 runs from Ringer and a couple completions by Hoyer. But on first and 10 from the PSU 46, Mo Evans got to Hoyer for an 11-yard loss. MSU couldn't recover from there and were forced to punt again.

That was bad news for Spartan fans, because the Lions weren't going to be stopped. It was looking a little bleak at first, after Stephfon Green was stuffed for a loss of 4 and Clark was sacked for a loss of 3 (both by Greg Jones), but Clark hit Green on a screen that went for 37 yards (and probably would've gone for a score if Green hadn't run into A.Q. Shipley).

After a pass interference penalty, a short run and an incompletion, it was third and 11 at the MSU 29, and Clark stepped up again on third down, hitting Zug for a huge 28 yard gain. Clark took it in for 6 on the next play.

Did you see him stare down the ref after that play?

21-0

Michigan State was probably feeling the urgency at this point. If they didn't score soon, the game could get out of hand. Hoyer came out and completed his first three passes of the ensuing drive. The only problem was that the third one went to Scirrotto. Whoops.

Clark wasted no time and hit Williams for a 32-yard touchdown.

We are lazy photoshoppers.

28-0

Michigan State doesn't quit though (as we would find out more about later), and they took the ball on a 14-play, 76-yard ride for a touchdown before the half.

28-7

Penn State may have held the Spartans to a field goal if it weren't for a ridiculous pass interference call on Scirrotto, but we barely cared. After that first half, we weren't too worried about the Spartans coming back.

-Halftime-

3rd Quarter

Michigan State got the ball to start the third quarter and couldn't get anything going. They converted a first down but then were set back by a false start penalty. A few short plays later and it was punt time.

The Lions fared no better as they went three-and-out.

Not to be outdone, the Spartans went three-and-out.

On the Lions' second possession of the half, things changed.

The offense started on their own 30, but Royster and Norwood quickly ate up 56 yards of grass and put the Lions deep in Michigan State territory. Around this time, one of the broadcasters mentioned that they had not heard anything from Butler this game.

The words were barely out of their mouth when Clark hit Butler on a four yard slant.

35-7

The Lion's weren't stopping, and the Spartans didn't seem to even put up a fight.

On the next drive, the Spartans got a quick first down and then went for blood on the ensuing first down. The Spartans ran a poorly executed trick play to try and jump-start things, but it all fell apart. It was a bold call but Lydell Sargeant was back there and he has a knack for picking off the deep ball -- don't ya, Lydell?

Yes sir.

The play was reviewed because the lateral was forward, the Lions declined the penalty and got the ball at their own four, and Hoyer was left dead on the field. He didn't look injured until he realized the ball had been picked off.

Getting the ball back must have ignited the offense as they ran four plays and got 2 first downs. On the fifth play of the drive it was all Butler.

Clark stepped back, put the ball in the air, the camera panned to the right and what did we see?

Butler in space. 70 yards.
That's six.

42-7

MSU got the ball back and ran five plays before punting.
Somewhere, Michael Moore was taking off that Michigan State hat.

4th Quarter

Devlin started the fourth quarter for the Lion's and we expected a bunch of hand-offs. Instead, they let the guy pass it.

On his fourth attempt, he caught Michigan State excercising their new "stop Deon Butler" scheme.

He was pretty open.

49-7

After that score, PSU went into shutdown mode whenever they had the ball and MSU got 11 meaningless points. We wish they wouldn't have let them get that 2-pt conversion and on-side kick, but we don't even know what guys were on the field when that happened.

So yeah, 49-18.

The big story though was MSU using two timeouts back-to-back with 9 seconds left. We're not sure what they were trying to accomplish but some guy on the post game show was saying the MSU staffers and players were taunting the crowd. We're not sure that actually happened because there was nothing they could taunt us for. I mean, they were losing 49-18. Did this really happen? Did anyone in the stadium see this? Does anyone in the stadium read this?

If it did, they were probably just pissed that there were Roses on the PSU sideline sometime during the third quarter. We wish they had waited until the game ended because it does come off as a bit cocky. Celebrate after the game, guys.

Anyway, what a way to end the season. The fan-base owes a LOT to the guys pictured below. They committed to this school when it was at its worst, and now they have 2 Big11Ten trophies to show for their efforts.

Game.
49-18

3 Big Stat Lines

• Daryll Clark: 16-26, 341 yds, 5 TD (1 rushing)
  
• Senior Receivers: 12 rec., 311 yds, 4 TD
  
• Penn State D: held MSU to 35 yards rushing
  

Our Quick Thoughts On The Game:

• Outstanding play on both sides of the ball by Penn State
• What a game by Daryll Clark. Good to see him close out the season on a positive note.
• Deon Butler is extremely efficient: 3 catches, 3 touchdowns.
• Awesome game from the big three senior receivers overall.
• Maybe we should've predicted this type of game. MSU got crushed by Ohio State and barely beat Wisconsin. They had a nice year, but they didn't beat any great teams.
• Damn, it was cold out there.
• Two Big11Ten titles in four years for these seniors. Not too shabby.
• Doesn't look like Joe is goin' anywhere.
• Five and a half damn weeks until Jan. 1.
  

Penn State Player of the Game: Daryll Clark/Senior Receivers
You can't say enough about the performance of these four. Clark looked relaxed from the start, going through his reads, making solid throws and buying time with his feet. The first touchdown was all his doing. He had a huge day from there on out, and his stats show it. As for the receivers, what a way to go out. Williams made a great catch for a touchdown, Norwood was his old sneaky, speedy self and got into space a number of times and every time Butler touched the football, it went for a touchdown. The offense closed out the season in style, thanks in large part to these guys.

Michigan State Player of the Game: LB Greg Jones
Jones racked up 15 tackles, including 3.5 for loss and a sack. He seemed like pretty much the only Spartan defender that could do anything against the PSU offense. He is a beast for sure.

And finally, give the man some roses:

Game 11 Recap: Penn State 34, Indiana 7

It was a rainy day in Happy Valley. We braved the storm to head down to the Sports Cafe. LaVar Arrington showed up. Penn State won. The sun came out after the game. Hot sausage sandwiches all around. It was a solid day.

Apparently Dick Vermeil was in the house.
We suspect his constant crying may have caused the rain.

Onto the recap...

1st Quarter

Indiana got the ball to start the game. We were looking forward to some domination after last week.

Indiana was able to move the ball just past midfield before the Lion's defense was able to put the brakes on them. We thought that might be bad because on a day like Saturday, with the sloppy weather, you knew field position would be huge.

Walking downtown a lot of our talk was about how much Royster was going to get the ball during this game because of the bad weather. On the first PSU drive, Clark came out passing, then ran for nine before Royster got his first touch and was stuffed on third and 1. Bad news.

Indiana was quick to match the PSU 3-and-out with one of their own, and the ball was back in Clark's hands.

By now it was really raining so we thought that a heavy dose of Royster is what we should expect, but we couldn't have been more wrong. Clark threw on 8 of 10 plays as PSU marched out from their own 11 before being forced to punt inside Indiana territory.

Special teams are important on days like today when the weather plays such a big part in the game, and they were able to get the punt downed at the Indiana 2 yard line.

Indiana rushed for two then threw an incompletion.
On third down they attemped another pass but Mark Rubin stepped up and snatched it out of the air.

There were 15 people in the Sports Cafe and they all went nuts.

After the pick you knew the TD was coming. Instead, Clark ran the ball five yards before having it stripped. Indiana recovered the fumble and we were crushed. We know we're probably looking too far into things but we wonder how Clark's head is right now.

We don't think he's feeling that concussion, because he wouldn't be playing if he were, but what's his confidence level at this point in the game? After a down game against Iowa and then coming out and turning it over right away, you have to wonder. Of course, if you're reading this then you know how the game turns out and what Clark does, but right now, as the first quarter is ending, what kind of confidence does the kid have in his game?

2nd Quarter

Anyway, Indiana was pinned deep again and forced to punt after a few plays. Williams fielded the punt at around midfield and PSU was really starting to win the field position game. All they needed was one big play.

On third down, that big play came. Clark and Williams hooked up on a 39 yard pass.

7-0

After seeing what PSU did to bad teams earlier in the season, we were feeling pretty confident after the score.

Indiana had other plays, however. On their second play after the kickoff, Marcus Thigpen took the ball and ran 57 yards for the touchdown.

7-7

You might have gone to the bathroom with PSU up 7-0 and came back to see the score 7-7.

If you ate at the Cafe like we did, you might have gone to the bathroom with the score 7-0 and came back to see the score 34-7.

After the score, PSU marched down the field to the Indiana 23. The drive was going well as Clark dished out a few medium range passes, but an 11 yard loss on a sack set up a 2nd and 21. Royster got 16 of them back on the next down but they couldn't get the last 5.

Kevin Kelly trotted out to the field but he channelled January 06 and couldn't bang it through.


Despite the miss, you have to be pleased with Kevin Kelly's career. He's knocking down records and he's been about as consistent as you could ask a kicker to be at the collegiate level.

After that, neither team could really put anything together. Both teams had drives of seven or eight plays but couldn't get deep enough into the opposition's territory to put points up.
After one of the drives ended, Indiana found themselves pinned at their own one.
The special teams guys were playing huge.

With little time left and the whole field to go, Indiana probably wanted to just play it safe and get the punt away. The Lion's forced a fourth down and Indiana was forced to punt.

Nate Stupar found his way into the backfield and got a hand on the ball, blocking the punt. The ball got past the line and ended up being downed at the Indiana 20, but it was still a huge play as it put the Lion's in position to score before the half ended.

So far the special teams had accounted for a blocked punt and on several occasions, had pinned the Hoosiers deep inside their own territory.

On a day like saturday when the weather is crap, you need that.

Unfortunately, they couldn't move the ball quickly enough and were forced to bring Kelly back out onto the field.

10-7

This time he got it down, and the Lions went into the half up by a field goal.

-Halftime-

LaVar enters Sports Cafe by jumping over 5 full grown men.

No really he was there. He looks like Predator.

3rd Quarter

As close as the first half was, we never really felt like this game was in doubt. And the Lions reinforced that notion by coming out and putting together a nice drive to start the second half.

After a 4-yard run by Royster and a completion from Clark to Williams, Williams added 12 yards on a carry. After a short run and an incompletion, Clark hit Mickey Shuler for 18 and a big third down conversion.

Go Mickey!

One play later, Royster broke 100 tackles on his way to the house.

Blue Royster Cult.

17-7

Indiana came out on their first drive determined to go three and out. And they did. The Lions took over at their own 41. The drive looked promising after a 16-yard strike to Butler and a 17-yarder to Norwood, but it stalled at the Indiana 19. This time, Kevin Kelly was money.

20-7

The Hoosiers thought that three plays weren't enough last time out, so this time they gave six a try. Josh Hull sacked Lewis on a third and five to force the punt.

However, Clark thought Indiana deserved another chance, so he tossed one up into double coverage on the first play of the ensuing drive and it was picked off by Brandon Mosley.

Not to worry, however, because a 2-yard rush by Ray Fisher was sandwiched in between two incompletions by Lewis and PSU had the ball back again. It was obvious that the defense was locked in for the second half.

After a 3-yard carry by Green and an incompletion, Clark converted a third and 7 by scrambling for 17 yards and the first. It was first and goal from the Indiana 9, and after a short run and an incompletion, Clark hit Butler on the slant for 6.

27-7

Another three and out by Indiana, and that was the end of the 3rd. Excellent quarter on both sides of the ball.

4th Quarter

Penn State came out in the 4th looking to extend the lead. But on a third and 10, Clark fumbled for the second time, and the ball was recovered by Indiana. However, satisfied with the trend they started in the 3rd, the Hoosiers went three and out... again.

On the next PSU drive, it was the Stephfon Green show, which is cool, because he can fly.

Green carried the ball 5 times (but only for 9 yards) and had a 13-yard reception. But on a third a seven on the Indiana 36, D-Will tells Green, "It's my turn, freshman." Hand-off to Williams, and he. is. gone.

Dude on the left is pumped.

34-7

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the game. Each team had two more drives, and no one did anything. If you're counting, Indiana had exactly one (1) first down in the second half.

Game.
34-7

3 Big Stat Lines

• Derrick Williams: 4 carries, 61 yards, 1 TD (rushing); 4 rec, 62 yards, 1 TD (receiving). Now that's consistent.
  
• Daryll Clark: 20-36, 240 yards, 2 TD (passing); 8 carries, 43 yards (rushing)
  
• LaVar Arrington: 1 appearance at the Sports Cafe.
  

Our Quick Thoughts On The Game:

• Maybe one of the more boring games we've ever witnessed involving a 10-1 team.
• Did the walk to the bar from the RV lot suck? Yes.
  
• Were we glad we weren't in the stadium? Double yes.
• Not a huge day for Royster, but a solid touchdown run.
  
• Fumbles on the opposing team's 2 won't fly against good teams.
  
• Nice catch by Williams on the touchdown pass with the defender flying by; the ball wasn't thrown all that well.
• We're extremely glad this game is over.
• Overall Clark played pretty decent, but he did make some mistakes. Still needs to tighten the screws against the Spartans.
  

Penn State Player of the Game: Derrick Williams
It's official: Derrick Williams is really good. We've knocked him in the past for not living up to the hype, but how much of that wasn't his fault? How many times in the last two years had he seen the ball as much as he has in the last two games? He's finally been given the reigns, so to speak, and he's stepping up big-time. It's great to watch. Another rushing/receiving touchdown day for him.

Indiana Player of the Game: Marcus Thigpen
His 57-yard touchdown scamper was the highlight of the day on offense for the Hoosiers.

Game 10 Recap: Iowa 24, Penn State 23

There are a lot of things to say about this game, and we'll never get all our thoughts in one recap. Or we could, but we doubt anyone would read it. And of course, there are countless ways this game could've been won, but in the end, this one came down to an issue that has plagued PSU in years past: not scoring touchdowns from the red zone.

If you said to us before the season that the team would be 9-1 after 10 games and in great position to go the Rose Bowl, we probably would've been happy as hell. But no one wants to hear that now. Onto the recap...

1st Quarter

This game had an eerie feeling from the start, and as Penn State received the kickoff and got ready for the opening drive, Bob Griese alerted us that the Lions would be facing 25-30 mph wind gusts. So of course, three pass plays were called. On the third, Clark fumbled and somehow recovered at his own 1.

We're not sure if Clark really had the ball, or how he wasn't ruled down in the end zone, but Boone was able to put from the back of his own end zone. With the wind in his face, Boone only got it out the PSU 25. Two Shonn Greene runs later, and Iowa was on the board.

0-7

Not a good start.

As Galen and JayPa decided it was probably a bad idea to throw into 30 mph winds, six of the first seven plays on the ensuing Penn State drive were runs. The Lions moved the ball steadily, and eventually got down to the Iowa 8, after a nice 12-yard scamper by Stephfon Green.

Derrick Williams took a handoff for 5 yards on first down, but Royster lost 4 on the next play. Clark tried to hook up with Zug over the middle for the touchdown on third and goal, but defensive pass interference is called. Here came a sequence of plays that would kill the team later in the game.

Royster rushed for no gain on first down, Clark was hurried and threw an incompletion on second, and Royster was manhandled for a loss of five. Kelly came on for the field goal.

3-7.

After a rough start, having the ball on a first and goal at the 2 and not getting six is generally not a good thing. And by our calculations, Clark was 2-8 at this point in the passing game.

The D stepped up on Iowa's next drive and held Shonn Greene to 7 yards on the first two plays. Josh Hull got some pressure on Ricky Stanzi and forced an incompletion, and it was three-and-out for the Hawkeyes.

Penn State got the ball at their own 38 after a pretty horrible punt. They rushed five times, including two for Williams, to start the drive. It was obvious early on that Williams was going to be a large part of the offensive game plan, something that probably should've been implemented about 3 years ago. Better late than never, though.

"Hey, maybe we should give this guy the ball!"

The quarter ended with a first down at the Iowa 39.

2nd Quarter

Clark scrambled for 13 yards to open the quarter, then followed it up with a hand-off for two yards and an incompletion. On third and 8, he found Deon Butler for a first down, and a holding penalty on Iowa on the next play gave PSU a first and goal from the 7. This time the Lions would not be denied, as Williams carried one for 5 yards and Royster punched it in on the next play.

10-7

There had been an awful lot of the ground game up until this point, and with the crazy wind, that wasn't changing anytime soon. Iowa gave the ball to Greene four straight times to begin their drive. He picked up 10 yards on the first two carries, and 8 on the second two. On third and 2, Jared Odrick slapped the ball out of Stanzi's hand. Iowa recovered but would have to punt.

Penn State got the ball back and went started running again. After a bunch of rushes and back to back completions to Williams and Butler, the Lions had a first down at the Iowa 14. After a 1-yard run by Williams, Dennis Landolt took a backbreaking holding penalty. Clark tried in vain to make up the ground, but a third down pass to Green only got back to the original line of scrimmage. Kelly added the field goal.

13-7

Iowa came out and threatened a bit, but after some poor clock management, Stanzi was sacked at the PSU 40 to end the half.

-Halftime-

Halftime notes:

• 3 trips to the red zone: 1 touchdown.
• A whole lot of wind = A whole lot of running.
• The Iowa D-line was making life miserable for Clark, who in turn was making life miserable for us.
  

3rd Quarter

We weren't feel particularly confident going into the third, but we did have that, "alright PSU has dominated second halves of games so they should be able to cap this off," feeling.
We understand that's a really long feeling, but that describes what we felt.

So, hoping to get things going, Iowa trotted out the offense and had them walk back off a few plays later after Stanzi threw a pick to Tyrell Sales.

With this excellent field position, the best PSU could come up with was another field goal, and that ended up being the story of the night. So close to the end zone, but never able to punch it in.

At least Kevin Kelly remains consistent.

16-7

Upon getting the ball back, Iowa dished out a healthy dose of Shonn Greene. He is a beast, arguably the best back we've seen this year.

"PJ Hill ran for 58 yards against you, is that not good enough?" - PJ Hill

We thought this drive ended on three separate occasions, and in the later stages of the game, that became another theme.

So far we have two themes:
1. Inability to punch it in from the red zone
2. Inability to stop Iowa on 3rd and 5+.

Iowa faced three 3rd downs on this drive, the final being at the PSU 27 yard line.

On third and thirteen, the secondary forgot how to play the game for a second. Scirrotto and Lydell Sargeant are left in the dust while Derrell Johnson-Koulianos stands wide open and hauls in the TD pass.

We don't think there's been a play this bad for the secondary all year, but they really got burned on this one. Bad coverage, nobody home to cover up over the top. Touchdown.

16-14

After that, the Lions offense came out and quickly found themselves at 3rd and six.
A pass falls incomplete, and it's time to punt.

Feeling the excitment at the possibility of beating the Number 3 team in the nation, Iowa's offense vomits all over itself and coughs up the ball. Thank god.

PSU ball at the Iowa 28.
Evan Roytser for 9.
Evan Royster for 4.
Evan Royster for 6.

That set up second and four at the Iowa 9. Derrick Williams lined up at quarterback and took an option up right side of the line. Nine yards, touchdown. Williams is a beast today.

23-14

4th Quarter

The teams would exchange short drives at the start of the fourth. Iowa ended up getting to start a drive at the PSU 44 and they made short work of that field. It took them 5 plays to get the ball to the PSU 6, again converting a long third down along the way.

Shonn Greene would punch one in from 6 yards and you could feel your pregame nachos and chicken fingers starting to come back up.

23-21

9:20 remained in the game and when you have a team up by 2 that needs to put a drive together, that 9 minutes and 20 seconds can feel like a lifetime.

One of us couldn't see the fourth because of a wedding (who gets married during football season?!) so we'll let the text messages take you home from here:

"aaaaand, three and out"
"#!@$#$^$%&#^&"
"but they rough the kicker and psu keeps the ball!" (good sell by Boone, by the way)
"yeah baby!"
"Iowa 46. Williams just threw a 23 yard pass to Schuler! What a beast!
"woooooooo"
"Third and 14 at the Iowa 27. 4:30 left"

Phone rings:
"what's happening? I got a break from the wedding."
"I don't know, it's a Chili's commercial."
"Dammit!"
*click*

final text:
"Clark throws a pick. Drat"

The ball kind of sailed on Clark and it looked like Williams didn't want to go after an uncatchable ball and risk making a jump ball out of it. Unfortunately, there was a Hawkeye waiting right behind him to make that pick. Only up by 2 and with all this time left, you could almost feel it coming.

By now, those extra jalapenos you had on your nachos were starting to taste exactly like they did three hours ago.

The first play of the drive was a Jared Odrick sack, so you went to put the antacids back in the cabinet.
The second play was an incompletion and you got out that retarded 9-0 shirt you bought at the Clothesline last week.
The third play, Scirrotto took a chance and went over the top on a Iowa wide receiver. If he makes that play without interfering, he's in bed with every PSU woman you've ever known as soon as that charter lands at State College International Airport.

Burn that shirt.

Twice more, PSU would put Iowa in a third and long situation, and twice more they would convert. We didn't think Iowa could pass to win against PSU, but we were wrong.

Iowa would march the ball down to the PSU 14 and, if you're like us, you thought one thing:
Our hero, Aaron Maybin, will block this kick. We thought it would happen. We needed it to happen. The fate of the size of our remaining tailgates depended on it!

Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be as Daniel Murray booted it through from 31 yards.

You watched in horror as the ball split the yellow poles and your heart sank right to the floor.

23-24

Game.

23-24

Text mesages began pouring in including a multitude of "what the f---?!" and "how the hell?!" type messages.

and that was what the Iowa fans were saying.

The messages we were getting were more like, "we're meeting at the bridge in 20, be there"

But the season is not over, friends. There's two games to go and a big bowl game to be had. PSU still has the Big11Ten title in their sights and it's theirs to lose. If this team comes out like the 05 squad did after losing to Michigan, then Indiana is going to wish they never made the trip in.

Then, it's just about taking care of business at home against Michigan State.

So be it the Ben Franklin, the Smithfield Street, or even the 322 bypass over Park Ave, you need to step down off that ledge.

Lift your heads up, Lion fans. This is a team to be proud of a run that you won't soon forget, and more importantly, a run that's not over.

We want USC.

3 Big Stat Lines

• Derrick Williams: 12 carries, 57 yards, 1 TD (rushing), 4 rec., 43 yards (receiving); 1-1, 23 yards (passing)
  
• Shonn Greene: 28 carries, 117, 2 TD
  
• Iowa- 7/10 on third down.
  

Our Quick Thoughts On The Game:

• Get 6 on one of those three field goal drives and win the game.
• Get a field goal on the last drive and probably win the game.
• Why did Williams pull his arms down on the pick from Clark? We will be debating this for quite some time.
  
• Clark played really shaky for the second straight game. You can only blame the wind so much.
• Derrick Williams was everywhere. Great all-around game from him.
• Solid performance by Jared Odrick.
• Gotta give credit to the Iowa D-line. They were all over Clark for much of the game.
  
• The secondary played poorly in the biggest moments.
• Someone tell Scirrotto you can't plow into a receiver while he's in the air waiting for the ball.
• Two huge holding penalties at two really bad times.
• This is why you don't riot in your town after a mid season victory.
  
• Misery.
  

Penn State Player of the Game: Derrick Williams
43 yards receiving. 53 rushing. 1 for 1 passing for 23 yards. He was huge, making plays all over and picking up the slack whenever the offense seemed to sputter. The more he is involved, the better this offense performs.

Iowa Player of the Game: Shonn Greene
He was everything we hoped he wouldn't be. He ran for 117 and two touchdowns and just pounded the ball when they needed him to. He was just as advertised.

Game 9 Recap: Penn State 13, Ohio State 6

How crooked was that "O" behind the end-zone? How sweet was the mini S-Zone in the corner?

Man did it feel good to type the score of this one in the title. As we said last night, it wasn't pretty, but at this point, who cares. A win is a win, and when you're playing Ohio State at night in the Horseshoe, you'd take a 3-2 victory and be thrilled about it.

For most of the night, this game was dead even, and you could sense that it would take one huge play from either side to win. In the end, it came in the form of an incredibly untimely turnover by a true freshman QB (and the one of the wildest scrambles to recover a ball that we can remember).

And oh by the way, to the rest of the country, you are welcome. You won't have to see Ohio State in the National Championship again this year. We're happy about it too.

Onto the recap...

1st Quarter

The first quarter was the most boring quarter of football we've seen all season. Both teams seemed to be sort of feeling things out as both defenses really locked things down.

Ohio State started with the ball and seemed to start moving the ball pretty well, but after a few incompletions it was time to punt.

PSU had two big plays on back to back first downs and our hopes were high we might see a first possession score, but two incompletions and a sad run led to a fourth down and a punt.

For Ohio State's second drive, PSU stacked the line against Wells and forced the game onto Pryor. It would be a theme all night as Ohio State tried to force the run, PSU stuffed them, and Pryor was forced to throw.

It worked this time and Ohio State was forced to punt after only 7 plays.

Ohio State probably would have tried the same tactic, but PSU didn't even bother trying to run, and was also forced to punt rather quickly.

And so ended the most boring quarter ever. Yeah, this is the Big Ten.

2nd Quarter

The short drive theme continued as three more drives started and ended before either team could get very far into the other team's territory.

Our hearts were broken once though. After Jeremy Boone pinned Ohio State at their own 3, Pryor was able to complete a 53 yard pass to a wiiiiiide open Dan Sanzenbacher. Somehow he disappeared into the secondary and took the catch to the PSU 41. We couldn't believe it, Pryor isn't supposed to do things right. We wanted that safety.

It didn't matter though, as Beanie wasted two rushes and Pryor threw another third down incompletion. Boeckman for Heisman, right?

OSU punted and PSU started at their own 11. Pretty crap field position.

The Lions nickel and dimed their way out to about their own 30 before, on a first and ten, Clark hit Graham Zug of all people for 49 yards. Like Sanzenbacher before him, Zug slipped unnoticed into the secondary and found himself wide open. We were thrilled and disappointed at the same time because while the gain was great, had Clark put a little more oomph on that it would have been 6.

Great play nonetheless, and things were finally looking to get going.

Okay so maybe not, three players later it was fourth and 4 and Kevin Kelly trotted onto the field.

He is money, in case you forgot, and banged one through for three.

3-0

On the ensuing kickoff, OSU returned it to their 39 yard line. Not good.
OSU started the drive with about a minute and a half left, they could not be allowed to score.
An incompletion and a false start followed and we thought we were going into halftime with the lead, but Pryor moved the ball 10 yards and got a new set of downs.

Fortunately, Aaron Maybin hit the right-bumper a couple times then got the User Sack and OSU took a loss of 9 yards.

Once again, it looked like things were about to end, when Pryor hit Robiskie for 33 yards. Dammit.

Finally the Lions were able to put the brakes on their drive and forced them to kick the field goal.

3-3

Lebron was pumped.
Remember though, just because something is expensive doesn't mean it won't look retarded on you.

-Halftime-

This is not the game you were looking for.

3rd Quarter

Penn State got the ball to start the 3rd, and as Kirk and Brent alert us that the O-line got a bit of a tongue-lashing during halftime, Royster rushed the ball for 9 yards, then quickly picked up a first down on the next play. That's more like it.

Clark then hit Butler for 4 yards, which was followed by Stephfon Green scampering for 12. With a first down near Ohio State territory, Williams rushed for a yard, and then thinking you had a flashback to 2006, Royster got stuffed on a draw. On third and 7, a draw by Clark picked up only two yards, and it was time to punt. Maybe not the best call on third and 7.

Boone let loose with another fine punt (he had a very solid night out there in a game that was mostly a field position battle), pinning the Buckeyes at their own 9.

As the drive began, we fully expected another solid defensive stand. So with every frustrating play Ohio State put together, our blood pressure went up just a little bit more.

The drive started with Wells carrying it four straight times. Pryor then completed three consecutive passes, which, let's face it, is about two too many for him.

After a short run by Wells, it was third and 7 for the Buckeyes. Pryor tossed one on the sideline to Robiskie, and it looked like he was out of bounds. But the replay showed that he somehow got a toe down, and the drive continued, as remote controls were thrown across rooms in the houses of Penn State fans everywhere.

But in a game where absolutely everyone looked tense, Tressel went super-conservative, running Wells three times for just 7 yards, and Ohio State had to settle for a field goal.

As annoying as that drive was, it was absolutely huge that the D held them to 3 points.

Don't Grammatica yourself.

3-6

Luckily, Penn State came out and put together a nice drive on their next possession. Clark scrambled on the first play and turned a 1-yard gain into a 7-yard game after he dragged a dude behind him. Green picked up the first on the next play with a 5-yard run.

Clark then took over, hitting Butler for a 7-yard pickup, Williams for 12, and then he took off on a QB draw for a huge 14-yard pickup, putting the Lions in field goal range (or so we thought).

Clark then went for the home run, trying to hook up with Williams on a wheel route inside the 5. Williams made a sweet catch, but couldn't get a foot down. On second down, Clark fired one high over Graham Zug as the quarter came to a close.

We think maybe a run would've been a better call there, because you probably pick up a couple yards and aren't staring at a third and 10. Then again we're guys in our mid-20s who write a blog.

4th Quarter

After the longest commercial break of our lives, we wondered what brand of genius Galen Hall had up his sleeve for a third and 10 in the 4th quarter. He treated us to a shovel pass.

Actually it wasn't a horrible call, and Royster was mere inches away from picking up the first. But that bastard Heyward grabbed his foot and tripped him up. Kevin Kelly trotted out to tie the game. Before the ball was even snapped, you somehow knew what was going to happen.

Wide right.

And that's the most pissed off we've been all year.

As Ohio State took over possession, the Lions needed to get the ball back immediately. When Pryor scrambled for a first down on third and one, you could almost feel this one slipping away. It was obvious Tressel was going to run the ball until Penn State stopped it, and Wells took two carries for 9 yards.

Then, it was the biggest third and 1 of the season. Instead of diving behind the line and picking up the first, Pryor tried to break the game open. And then Mark Rubin answered everyone's prayers:

When you saw that ball pop out, your night went from miserable to euphoric in .02 seconds.

While the ball was on the ground, Tyrell Sales made the most heads-up play in the history of sports, batting the ball forward to knock it away from Pryor, as he knew he couldn't grab it himself. A couple heart-stopping seconds later, Bowman (who was huge all night) fell on it.


Momentum: shifted. Huge play by the D, HUGE mistake by Pryor.

Now everyone was pumped. It was Penn State ball at the Ohio State 38. Royster took the hand-off from Clark for a big 9-yard pickup. Wait a second...that wasn't Clark...

Why the hell is Devlin in the game? We're still not sure, although Clark looked a little woozy after a hit he took during the last drive. Whatever the case, it was Devlin out there running the offense.

The next play was Pat's only pass attempt of the game, and while he didn't connect with Derrick Williams, Williams drew a pass interference penalty that put the Lions at the Ohio State 14. Royster ran one for 2 yards, followed by Green going for 6. And on a huge third and 2, Royster cut one outside and danced past the first down marker and out of bounds. We let out the biggest sigh of relief ever (up to that point, anyway).

It was first and goal at the 2, and it was time to take one in, Paterno style. A hand-off to Dan Lawlor went for 1 yard, and a Devlin sneak was stuffed. The second sneak, however, was good.

A.Q. was a happy man.

10-6

Ohio State got the ball back, looking to make up basically handing the momentum to the Lions on the last drive. Pryor wasted no time, hooking up with Hartline for 15 yards. The next pass downfield to Robiskie looked like it might be caught, but Lydell Sargeant made a nice hit to break it up. Wells carried the ball for 6 yards on the next play, and then Pryor was stopped short on a scramble. A huge stop by the D.

Penn State started its next drive at the Ohio State 37, and it was time to let Royster go to work. A rush for 3 and a 15-yard facemask penalty. A rush for 10, timeout Ohio State. A rush for 9, timeout Ohio State. A sneak by Devlin for 2, timeout Ohio State. We do believe that was their last timeout.

Three short rushes by Royster could not pick up a first, but the team was well within field goal range to go up by 7. This time, Kelly's kick was true.

13-6

Kelly then came up huge on the kickoff with a touchback. 1:07 left on the clock.

Pryor fires his first pass out of bounds for an incompletion. You relax a bit. On second down, he hits Ray Small for 14 yards. You tense up again. After a spike, there's another incompletion. You relax a little. On third, Pryor hits Small again, this time for 14. You scream obscenities at Ray Small, a dude you'd never even heard of a minute ago.

After a quick spike, it was second down from the Penn State 43. 36 seconds left. The ball was snapped. Maybin applies pressure from the outside. Pryor rolls right and lofts one towards the end zone. Brian Hartline was in the area. So was Lydell Sargeant:

Game.

13-6



awwwwwww

How's that one taste?

3 Big Stat Lines

• Evan Royster: 19 carries, 77 yards
  
• Penn State D: held Ohio State to 61 yards rushing (!)
  
• Brent Musberger: 8 counts of gushing praise for Pat Devlin handing off the ball, 1 count of calling Clark "Norwood", 3 counts of being plain senile
  

Our Quick Thoughts On The Game:

• It can never be easy against Ohio State.
• Zero turnovers on the road.
• We've never witnessed a game played more tentatively by two teams (coaching staffs included).
• Clark made some very questionable throws, but he managed to avoid the big mistake, which is more than we can say for another QB in this one.
• That said, Pryor is a good QB, especially for a true freshman. Still a douche, though.
• Okay, so Devlin didn't really do anything, but its gotta be tough to enter a game of that magnitude ice cold in the 4th quarter.
  
• Thanks for those 30 free penalty yards in the 4th, Buckeyes. Much appreciated.
  
• Insane game by the D as a whole. Odrick, Sales, Rubin, Maybin, Sargeant and Bowman all made huge plays at one time or another.
• Beanie Wells: 55 yards on 22 carries.
  
• Annoying overused stat of the week: Penn State hasn't won at Ohio Stadium in 30 years. Know how many games were played there at that time? Seven. A little misleading.
  
• God it feels good to beat Ohio State.

Penn State Player of the Game: Mark Rubin
This really could go to a number of guys on the defense, but Rubin made the biggest play of the night, in addition to finishing with 11 tackles. Not only did he snuff out a sneaky move to the outside by Pryor, he popped the ball loose and completely changed the course of the game. Gotta give him the game ball, because that sequence basically won the game for Penn State.

Ohio State Player of the Game: The Defense
No one player stood out for the Buckeyes. No one really stepped up and made that huge play that they need to make to win the game. But the defensive unit was stout for the most part, holding the conference's best offense to 13 points and only 281 yards. It just wasn't quite enough.

Honorable Mentions: Punters Jeremy Boone and A.J. Trapasso
Hey, it's not often we mention the punters, but in such a low-scoring field position game, they had a chance to affect the game and they both stepped up nicely. Each put three punts inside the 20, and Boone pinned OSU on their own 3 in the first half. Trapasso absolutely bombed one early on for 59 yards. Take a bow, punters. Nice games from both of you.

Game 8 Recap: Penn State 46, Michigan 17

It was a scary start. We were legitimately nervous. But someone forgot to tell Michigan that you have to play two halves of football.

The streak is over.

1st Quarter

The game couldn't have started off worse for the Lions, as Clark couldn't handle an errant snap and fell on the ball for a 16-yard loss. Clark got the ball back near the original line of scrimmage by hitting Deon Butler with a pass, but his next toss was incomplete and it was an early three-and-out.

And then, as if the proverbial light bulb went off above the team's head, Michigan's offense methodically moved the ball down the field. Steven Threet completed three passes during the first five plays of the drive, and then the Wolverines ran the ball nine straight times, none of them going for more than nine yards, but it was enough as Brandon Minor took one in from five to give Michigan the early lead.

0-7

No big deal though, as Penn State went to work. Royster took his first carry of the game for 20 yards, and after an incompletion, Clark scrambled for a first dow..... oh snap.

He's clutching an imaginary ball, apparently.

If we work in the replay booth, PSU never loses the ball.

It was Michigan's ball at their own 44. After an incompletion, Minor busted a huge 36-yard run, as the line was dominated and Scirotto finds out you can't tackle a 215-pound running back around the shoulders.

After a short pass and a couple runs, the drive stalled and Michigan settled for a field goal.

0-10

Before we had time to get all freaked out, Penn State responded. Chaz Powell returned the kickoff to the Penn State 48, Clark hit Williams for an 8-yard completion, and then Royster decided to take one 44 yards to the house.

7-10

On the ensuing kickoff, we experienced the first of many we-can't-catch-a-break moments, as Sam McGuffie fumbled the ball on the return, only to recover it himself when it looked like it would easily be Penn State ball. Dammit.

Michigan didn't waste that gift as they went right to work. After completions by Threet for 21 and 28 yards, the Wolverines had the ball on the Penn State 24 as the first quarter came to a close.

2nd Quarter

It was third and three to start the 2nd quarter, and instead of getting a big stop, the Lions let Threet scurry for a 14-yard pickup and a first down. After two short runs, Minor took it in from one yard out for his second TD of the day.

7-17

Shit.

But again, no worries, surely Penn State would ram the ball down Michigan's throa....oh snap. Three and out.

At right about this point, we had something of this effect running through our heads: "We're down 10 to Michigan, ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod...."

Any other opponent, and we probably don't go into panic mode, but it's funny what a nine-game/12-year losing streak will do to you.

As we silently repeated "the better team will win, the better team will" over and over in our heads, Penn state did what they needed to do on Michigan's next drive and forced a three and out.

The Lions got the ball at their own 31 and tried to make something happen on offense. Clark had three completions on the drive (Butler, Butler and Shuler) mixed in with a 16-yard carry by Royster. But on third and one from the Michigan 27, Clark fumbled the ball and couldn't pick up the first.

Not a problem, Kevin Kelly would get the team within a touchdow...

Clank.

This game was frustrating as hell.

The teams exchanged three and outs and it was Michigan's ball with only 2:53 left in the half. A first down or two and we would be looking at going into halftime down 10.

But just before we started pulling our hair out over that thought, the D stepped up big, stuffing three runs and to set up a punt from Michigan. The punt was downed at the Penn State 26, but a personal foul from the Wolverines moved it up to the 41. Thanks, fellas.

After Clark hit Butler for 17 yards, Royster told the other guys to relax while he put the team on his back.

"I'm gonna need this later."

After runs of 14 and 10 yards, a 3-yard reception, and two more rushes of 5 and 2 yards, the ball was at the Michigan 5 and Royster rightly said, "I'm fucking tired, you guys handle it from here."

So Clark took the reigns and hit Norwood for an absolutely clutch 3-yard touchdown pass. Getting six before the half was HUGE for the team. And our health.

14-17

-Halftime-

Time to listen to every D-bag in the bar talk about how they got tickets to the fourth game of the World Series.
That Phillies hat sure is shiny.

Just kidding, we love Philly people.

3rd Quarter

The first Michigan drive of the third quarter was what we had hoped for. While they gained a few yards, they ended up being forced to punt, thanks in large part to a Maurice Evans sack.

We'd dedicate ourselves to an Evans photoshop, but we don't really care about him anymore.

PSU started the drive at their own 13 and promptly got the ball to Royster. He seemed to be ripping off five or ten yards on every run. He's a beast.

As the drive approached the red zone the passing picked up and the drive sputtered out after three consecutive incompletions. Call out the kicker.

17-17

On the ensuing kick-off Michigan ran the fumble play. Fortunately for them they were able to recover the ball.

This time, Nick Sheridan entered the game at quarterback for Michigan. This was probably not the scenario he had envisioned when he thought about this game during their Wednesday film session.

A holding call on first down backed the Wolverines up to their own 8.
Rich-Rod called 2 straight plays to keep the ball in Sheridan's hand and he was able to get -3 yards.
On third down and just inside their own 5, it was Jared Odrick time.

Put ya' hands up.

19-17

Following the safety and the kick-off being out of bounds, PSU began at the 50.
For some reason, PSU ran the two minute offense, scoring in only 1:35.
A Royster rush of three, Clark to Butler for 25, a Royster run of 21 yards and finally a 1 yard run by Clark to put the ball in end-zone.
The third could not be going any better.

26-17

After the kick-off, Sheridan trotted onto the field.
Three plays later he trotted back off.

4th Quarter

The Lions ran the ball a couple of times and got Kevin Kelly into field goal range where he knocked one down from 32 yards.

29-17

We would like to say we were beginning to feel a little comfortable, but we weren't quite yet. Again, a seemingly infinitely long losing streak will do that to you.

The next Michigan drive was all Aaron Maybin.

On second down, he chased down Minor in the backfield for a loss of 2 yards.
You could say he got stamped.



Following that play, he rescued a kayaker stranded in the Colorado river.


On third down, he got to Threet and forced a fumble.

Abe Koroma recovered at the Michigan 20 and we were finally beginning to feel pretty good.

A quick drive put the Lions in scoring position and Clark ran one in.

36-17

We heard that Michigan got the ball back, but we must have missed it.

Upon getting the ball back, PSU did what they had to do and ate up 6 minutes of game-time with a drive that ended with Kevin Kelly putting one through the uprights.

39-17

Again, Michigan got the ball back but was forced into another three and out.

Penn State came back onto the field with Devlin behind center and all he did was feed the screen pass to Stephfon Green who took it 80 yards for the touchdown. The game had long since been out of reach, but it was great to see that huge play. Nothings better than seeing a couple of second stringers make something big happen.

46-17

Michigan got the ball back and did nothing.

We love it.

Game.

46-17

3 Big Stat Lines

• Evan Royster: 18 carries, 174 yds, 1 TD
  
• Daryll Clark: 18-31, 171 yds, 1 TD
  
• Deon Butler: 8 rec, 105 yds
  

Our Quick Thoughts On The Game:

• The defense started off extremely slow in this one. The D-line was being dominated by a Michigan O-line with very little experience. But the D bounced back big time in the second half.
• Great job by Royster and the line to keep the game close in the first half.
• Needless to say (but we’ll say it anyway) if they start that slowly next weekend, it could be a loooonnnnng game.
• Awesome game from Deon Butler.
• Aaron Maybin didn’t have an outstanding game, but for that one drive in the 4th, he ruled the world.
• Seeing Rich Rodriguez start 2-5 at Michigan means that there is some sort of justice in the world.
• We wish the same could be said for Nick Saban.
• It’s a small sample, but from what we’ve seen, we like Ohio State tailgaters better than Michigan tailgaters.
• Don’t try to go to a bar at night in State College during homecoming. Just stay at home.
• Bring on the sweater vest.
• Tim Cowlishaw just defended the BCS, again.
• We like to make up quotes.
  

Penn State Player of the Game: Evan Royster
He's been rock solid all year, but in this game, he was an absolute beast. His huge gains early on had us asking why we weren't running the ball more, and his touchdown run and work on the scoring drive before the half kept the game from getting out of hand early. He was great in the second half too, picking up yards in huge chunks, as well as first downs in key situations. Another sick yards-per-carry number as well. In a year where he's done so much already, Royster just continues to impress. We're all looking at an elite college running back.

Michigan Player of the Game: RB Brandon Minor

He didn't quite have a Royster-like performance, but it was a fine game from Minor overall. We were expecting to see McGuffie from the start, but it was the junior Minor who came out and ran over the Penn State defense early on. This guy is a bruiser and had some impressive runs Saturday night. Unfortunately for him, Penn State started to figure out the zone read and actually shed some blocks as the game went on, and Minor was a non-factor in the second half. Still, a nice job.