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PSU Playbook - Minnesota Preview
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PSU Playbook
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Oct 01, 2004 04:01 PDT
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Dear Lion Faithful,
ND: Last week’s game was incredibly difficult to
watch. Though Michael Robinson is doubtful this week,
we are all so thankful that he is doing well and was
able to leave the hospital very quickly. He’s a
terrific young man and it’s such a relief that his
life will not be impacted by that hit. Reports into
Playbook have Zack’s shoulder sprained and although he
is listed as questionable at this point, there is a
solid chance he could see action this week, given that
it is his non-throwing shoulder. Ganter and Morelli
will get plenty of snaps at practice this week, but I
still expect Ganter to get the start if Zack isn’t
ready to go. With Michigan faltering and Ohio State
squeaking out every game, I think Minnesota and Purdue
could very easily end up in the Rose Bowl with a
little luck. This week’s game won’t be easy. And yes,
that’s an early LEAN…
MH: Nirav, I can’t tell you the emotions that raced
through my head when Michael went down, but thankfully
he will be fine. A questionable team just got weaker
with Michael unable to play in the near future and
Zack not at 100%. I feel that Zack will get
significant time, but he has shown a pattern of not
being consistent when he is not healthy. That leaves a
debate to brew on whether or not you play Anthony
Morelli, the true freshman QB or Chris Ganter the
veteran third string QB.
Dirty Details:
Who: Penn State at #19 Minnesota
When: Saturday, October 2nd at 8:00pm ET and 5:00pm PT
Where: Humphrey Metrodome
Attendance: 55,000+
Series: Penn State leads 4-3
Line: No Line at time of writing, primarily because of
uncertainty at PSU QB.
TV: Regional ESPN coverage with Craig Coshun and
Charles Arbuckle announcing.
Radio: Penn State Sports Network with Steve Jones and
Jack Ham
Web: http://www.gopsusports.com,
http://psuplaybook.org
Trivia:
Penn State has lost to Minnesota three times, what is
the total amount of points the Lions have lost by in
those three games?
Other Big Games this Week:
ND: Well, Auburn has taken their first step towards
winning the SEC and this weekend will be the next
step. The Tigers travel to Knoxville to face off
against the Volunteers of UT. The Vols have been
flying under the radar from some time now so we will
see how they do against a ball-control offense and a
solid defense.
MH: Another big SEC matchup is #13 LSU heading into #3
Georgia. This should be a great battle to watch as
both teams have their sights on the SEC title. The
race down there is getting tight, but these games
should open it up.
Upset Special:
ND: Mark, for whatever reason, the Bulldogs of Georgia
have a mental block when it comes to playing LSU. They
always seem to stink up the joint whenever they face
Saban’s crew. I think the LSU Tigers, despite
struggling against Oregon State and losing to Auburn,
will knock-off UGA yet again. The game will be played
between the hedges in Athens, Georgia, but it won’t
matter in the end.
MH: The Mountaineers of West Virginia head to
Blacksburg with their #7 ranking, but given the
tension between the ACC-Big East fiasco, this one
could be a barn-burner. The Hokies are primed to upset
the ‘Eers, so WVU better be ready for some knock-down,
drag-out football.
Offense:
ND: Well, offensively, things are going to be pretty
dicey. If even Zack is able to play, the Lions have
lost their best offensive weapon – Michael Robinson.
All the pressure is on the WRs and I think adding true
freshman Rubin was a good move. At this point, the
passing attack needs to try anything and everything
possible. Why is it important for the Lions to
establish an effective passing game? Simple, the
Gophers are 105th in the nation in pass defense and
they really haven’t played teams that are all that
impressive (Toledo, Colorado State, Illinois State,
and Northwestern). Coach Mason thinks that the defense
has come along pretty well, but I think they are very
weak in the passing game. The Gophers best corner is
senior Ukee Dozier, who has 18.5 tackles, 1 TFL, and 2
Ints. The Lions have not done a good job of sticking
to the run and I firmly believe that they gave up on
it last week again. I hope to see Tony Hunt play a
more prominent role this week. The Gophers are fast on
defense but they do overrun plays. WLB Campbell is
probably their best defensive player. At 205 lbs., he
might be one of the fastest LBs in the conference. The
interior line, anchored by Montgomery, is big and
powerful. NT Montgomery is 300lbs and will cause EZ
Smith to work his butt off to protect whomever plays
QB and runs the ball. The Gophers like to blitz from
every angle so protection is key. The Lions cannot
afford to come out to Minneapolis with a conservative
game plan and expect to win. Coach Hall needs to get
the Gopher defense back-peddling and guessing on what
the Lions are going to throw at them next.
MH: Call me crazy, but I think the future is now. Penn
State has to exploit the weakness of Minnesota, and
just as you astutely pointed out Nirav, it is the
Gopher’s pass defense. Keeping that in mind, we have
already set ablaze the redshirts of both Mark Rubin
(WR) and Anthony Morelli (QB), so I think you set it
up so Rubin and Terrell Golden get a ton of snaps at
WR with Morelli at QB. This game is such an uphill
battle, that we might as well use it as a training
ground to develop the future. Frankly, I don’t think
these young guns can do any worse than we have already
seen. You know I am a big Zack fan, but he is simply
not effective when injured. PSU has to play to win and
take a gamble here. The conservative play was great in
1984, but we're light years from that point. Open it
up and infuse the young talent in there – I am not
holding my breath. I am not saying to totally bench
the likes of Gerald Smith et. Al., but Gerald was not
good last week. Embrace the youth Joe! The big key is
getting the offensive line to wake up. They have to
get off the line quick and provide a pocket and some
lanes. That point is moot though if we can’t have any
semblance of an effective passing game. On the flip
side we can’t abandon the run. I have seen this staff
essentially panic twice now with BC and Wisky and
surrender the run. We have some very capable backs.
Tony Hunt has proven himself, Austin Scott has shown
he can run, and look at Rodney Kinlaw, a masterful
reverse for 13 yards, I can see why they put him on
the bench after that one carry. The moves continue to
baffle me and being a Red Sox fan the idea of a curse
is starting to creep into my head, but that is for
another place an time.
Defense:
ND: Mark, the Gopher’s offense is all about M&M –
Marion (Barber) and (Laurence) Moroney. These two RBs
are probably the best 1-2 punch in the nation. In
fact, Minnesota is ranked 4th in the nation in
rushing. Moroney is ranked 10th in the nation in
rushing and Barber is ranked 11th. Not bad? The
Gophers will throw every variation of a running play
at the Lions. Both Gopher backs are masters of the
cutback so that’s why it is critical that Shaw, Poz,
and Wake don’t overrun plays. But, very quietly, Tamba
Hali has become a real force at stuffing the run. The
more running plays that the defensive line can stuff,
the better the Lions off will be. Expect the Gophers
to really test this Lion squad to see if they have
truly solved all the issues from last year. This will
be the best running attack that the Lions face all
year long. Sophomore Brian Cupito has done a nice job
at the QB position. I think what he has done
exceptionally well is that he has not thrown an
interception all season. That’s pretty good when you
consider that he is a first-year starter. For the most
part, Cupito only throws to his WRs. M&M have
accounted for only 2 receptions and the Gophers TEs
have not caught many balls either. His primary target
is Jared Ellerson, who has caught 13 balls for 240
yards and 2 TDs. But, keep an eye out for youngster
Ernest Wheelwright, who is starting now for the
Gophers. At 6’5”, this kid is a serious threat. I
think the key for the Lions on defense is force the
Gophers into 3rd and long and then throw all kinds of
blitzes and looks at this young QB in the hopes to
force him into some stupid mistakes. I think the Lions
can handle this Gopher squad, but I am concerned that
the defense may have to deal with some bad field
position (because of mistakes on offense) and spend a
ton of time on the field (because of an ineffective
offense).
MH: Yeah your M&M tandem scares me frankly. Our run
defense got worn down last weekend. Although the
defense played well, they were simply out there too
long. The key to the defense is getting the offense to
build some consistency on drives to give the D a
break. The Gophers will run, run, run, so the DTs and
Mr. Shaw have to be ready. Tim won this week’s THE
LION 90.7/PSU Playbook Lion of the Week with over 40%
of the fan vote. He proved he could step up and play
the middle effectively. He needs to do it again. The
defensive ends have to apply pressure and arguably the
staff should make stopping the run priority on. I
think you get pressure on Cupito and he starts to
break down, and a sack or hurry or two totally plays
into the Lions hands. Alan Zemaits was so close to
another INT for a TD last week. If PSU wants to have
any shot at this game the defense has to realize that
they need to give them a boost and create
opportunities. That means heads up play in the
secondary, stripping the ball on runs and making big
hits. I am expecting Coach Bradley to use the blitz
again, which has shown some effective consistency, but
they have to disguise it. If this defense keeps up
their intensity they can make the Gophers work for
their yards and perhaps create some frustration.
Special Teams:
ND: Is if Marion Barber wasn’t dangerous enough in the
backfield, he also returns kicks and punts. He is very
dangerous on both fronts. But, what Minnesota has in
their return game, they are lacking in the kicking
game. Brit Rhys Lloyd kicks and punts. His punts are
averaging 36 yards per punt and he has hit 4 of 6 FGs
this year. The Lions will need to make at least 1 big
play on special teams in this game to get a short
field.
MH: The Lions must, must, must capitalize on the
kicking weakness of Minnesota. That means all eyes are
on Calvin Lowry, which frankly scares me. He has shown
some bright spots, especially last week with a fumble
recovery and INT, but Cal has to just shake off the
disco music in his head and stop dancing. If he can
get just 10 to 15 yards on his returns, it can be huge
for PSU. Oh, and watch where you fair catch the ball.
Matchup to Kick Back and Enjoy
ND: Mark, I think the young Lions at LB have been a
real bright spot for this team. Their ability to
shutdown Marion Barber and Laurence Maroney is going
to be key and will be the matchup that I think will be
fun to watch.
MH: I think it is the porous PSU passing game against
the porous Minnesota pass defense. Something has got
to give here. The key to this is the choice the Lion
staff makes in terms of who will play QB and WR.
Keys to the Game:
ND: There are 2 real keys to this game in my mind. The
first key is for the defense to make plays. It simply
will not be sufficient to force a punt on every
possession. The Lions need to force turnovers and big
plays on defense. The offense is going to need all the
help that they can get. The second key is to pass for
at least 250 yards. The WRs must make plays for
whomever is playing QB and they need to force
Minnesota to drop their safeties into coverage. I
guarantee that Minnesota will be focused on stopping
the run and forcing the Lions into passing situations.
MH: I have two keys as well. First the coaches have to
step up and put this team in a position to win – not
to not lose – to WIN! That means the right personnel
and play-calling. Second, related to the first, the
offense has to pull together some drives to give the D
a break here and there. If the D wears down we’ll see
a snowball effect and it could get ugly. Let’s believe
in ourselves for a change Lions!
Predictions:
ND: Well, for the 2nd time this season, I have to go
with the opposition in this game. I think Minnesota is
a very talented team and will probably take Penn State
to the woodshed this weekend. I hate having to admit
and I will be hoping that nobody is more wrong than
me, but my brain is telling me that this game could
get ugly.
UM: 38 PSU: 10
MH: Nirav, you deserve props for your prediction last
week – it was spot on. I on the other hand have been
duped by this team all too often. Penn State is
looking at a beating in this one. My heart says PSU,
hoping to see some changes, but my head says
Minnesota. I too hope I am wrong, but the Gophers are
looking for a big win in this one.
UM: 33 PSU: 9
Trivia Answer:
The Lions three losses to Minnesota have been by a
combined 16 points.
Until Next Time…..
GO STATE……BEAT GOPHERS!!!
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