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PSU Playbook - Northwestern Review
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PSU Playbook
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Nov 12, 2003 16:13 PST
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Dear Lion Faithful,
MH: I am still in shock over this game. Northwestern
put this game on a silver platter for Penn State time
and again on Saturday, but the Lions refused to take
the victory. This team has both and identity and
morale crisis. They have no clue how to win. Every
week Joe says he has a lot to think about,
unfortunately thinking only takes you so far. It is
time to act!
ND: So much for building off of a great performance
against the Buckeyes. I think this might have been the
worst performance of the year. Every week, Joe talks
about the Lions losing to a pretty good football team.
I am looking forward to seeing what he has to say
about this collapse.
Results:
Score: Northwestern 17 Penn State 7
Total Yards: Northwestern 444 Penn State 295
3rd Down Conversion/Attempts: Northwestern 7/13 Penn
State 2/10
Avg Yds per Rushing Attempt: Northwestern 5.1 yds Penn
State 3.3 yds.
Stat Star:
ND: With Jason Wright pretty gimpy, Herron had a great
day. He rushed for 180 yards on 35 carries and 2
catches for 15 yards. This kid ran hard and ran well.
He was the guy that the Wildcats rode in the second
half. He was the difference maker for that offense.
MH: I totally agree. Herron was solid on runs and
blocks. He exploited the pitiful run defense of Penn
State and made the Lions look like the Keystone cops
at times. His 5.1 yards per carry was an impressive
stat that carried Northwestern to victory. If the keep
it up they may be going to a bowl.
What Went Right:
ND: Mark, based on what I saw I am intentioanll
leaving this section blank.
MH: That is quite a powerful statement Nirav. I think
the Lions played a decent first half. The defense
stiffened several times, but other than some sporadic
success there isn’t much to talk about in the ‘What
Went Right’ department.
What Went Wrong:
ND: Where should we start? Offensively, they had some
nice play calling in the first half. They were
spreading the ball around, calling a nice mix of runs,
and keeping the Wildcats off-guard. In the second
half, they got overly conservative and totally forgot
about Lukac. I am so tired of seeing the RB get
tackled behind the line of scrimmage and the offensive
line standing around looking for someone to block.
Zack looked good in the first half, but the coaches
never got him into a rhythm in the second half.
Defensively, I thought they looked totally surprised
by the Northwestern offense. Nobody seemed to know
their assignments and it seemed like it took ½ hour
for the LBs to pursue a running play. I am still
trying to figure out why Coach Bradley doesn’t play a
4-4 defense. Forget about playing 2 safeties; the
Lions have to stop teams from running. And what a
nightmare on Special Teams? Kimball misses kicks, the
Lions struggle on punt coverage, and all of sudden our
lineman are trying to actually return kickoffs. It was
just a terrible display of Penn State football.
MH: The bottom line is the staff looks scared. They
play not to lose and time and again it hands them a
loss. The offense looks dazed and confused out there.
Sure, they have some success on the pass, but the
running game is horrid. Again, it comes down to play
calling and personnel. There needs to be a total
revamp of the personnel and the play calling has to
put them in a position to win. As for special teams
they imploded. Calvin Lowry isn’t a return man. We
need someone who knows when to fair catch and when to
run – and who runs with consistent effectiveness.
Kimball was a mess as well. Man how to you go from his
OSU to NW performance? It is like this team has a
curse on it and nothing can go right in any aspect of
the game.
Play that Changed the Game:
ND: Halftime. Northwestern went into the locker room
and made some adjustments on offense, but changed up
their defense completely. Unfortunately, the coaches
for Penn State didn’t change a thing and their play
calling got progressively worse as the game
progressed. I found myself saying that Penn State
would come out and finally get some points on the
board and take advantage of some of these
opportunities. But, they came out expecting
Northwestern to lose the game for them.
MH: The momentum shifted at halftime and stuck with
Northwestern. It wasn’t a play but a shift in attitude
by PSU’s sideline. They went from playing head on to
playing not to lose. At some point these coaches have
to realize that this approach never works.
Game Ball:
ND: Coach Walker gets my game ball. He figured out
what Penn State was doing offensively, made some key
adjustments and then decided to keep running the ball
until Penn State figured out a way to stop it. Since
the Lions couldn’t stop the run, he kept calling
running plays. Kudos to Coach Walker and his kids. The
have a remote shot at a bowl game and I wish them the
best of luck.
MH: My game ball goes to Herron for stepping in and
getting the job done. He played tough and pulled
together a great performance. Hopefully some of the
Lions paid close attention and took notes on this guy
and how he played against them.
Looking Ahead:
ND: Well, Indiana is up next for the Lions. This game
is at home, which should definitely help. But, the
Hoosiers got a Big 10 win this week by knocking off
the Illini. They will have confidence in themselves
and will not be afraid of Penn State. Indiana is the
only team not to beat the Lions since Penn State
joined the Big Ten. Will that streak come to an end?
We’ll just have to wait and see.
MH: Who is afraid of Penn State? Indiana sure has no
reason to be. In fact the Hoosiers are likely licking
their chops at the thought of the Lions.
Soapbox Moment:
ND: Mark, I realize that Michael Robinson is a heck of
an athlete and finding a way to get him the ball is
important. But, I think having him play RB exclusively
is a dumb move. All it is doing is giving a kid
experience at RB, who doesn’t need experience at RB.
Let’s get Austin Scott or Tony Hunt in there. Those
are the kids that are the future of the running game
and they are the ones that need experience under their
belt to help the program succeed. I have no problem
with MRob coming in as the 3rd WR or even returning
punts, but let’s not get him in the backfield unless
he’s the one under center.
MH: I am sick and tired of seeing Zack Mills line up
at wide receiver. It essentially gives us ten players
on the field. What may be worse is that the coaches
are so predictable that they always run a QB draw on
this play with Robinson. Do the coaches think that
everyone watching the game is that stupid? Come on
guys, Kent State figured out how to stop that play.
Tear the page out of the playbook and burn it!
Until next time…
GO STATE, BEAT ANYONE!!!
Nirav and Mark
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