Iowa

Hey readers,

I know that this week's post has been a little late, but let's just say that it has taken a while to refocus and process through last weeks "disaster."

I know that a lot of you Blue and White faithful would consider last week a disaster, but I wouldn't classify last week's game as a complete disaster. This purpose of this week's post is not only to break down last week's effort, but also help you Nittany Lions faithful refocus your minds and expectations.

First, we are going to start off with the game. Last week Penn State got off to a very hot start and played very well for the first three quarters. I know a lot of you might say otherwise, but you have to factor in the opponent, the conditions, and give credit where it is due. Let's just say that we all underestimated Iowa.....AGAIN. Iowa had one heck of a gameplan, they played tough, and capitalized on turnovers.

If you take a look at the game, it's not pretty, Penn State committed 4 turnovers, not including the blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown. Darryl Clark looked sloppy at times, looking to go over the top a little too often, but his numbers were affected by a few dropped balls as well. When you think it couldn't get any worse, Royster fumbles, and everyone is groaning again about play calling, Clark choking, and excuse after excuse and everyone is in flight mode once again.

But if you reverse the spectrum, and take a look at Iowa, it's not like they came into Beaver Stadium and outplayed the Nittany Lions by much. That's Big Ten football for you, tough games, sometimes grinders, and it all comes down to who shoots themselves in the foot first.

Penn State is a very capable team, but they very much shot themselves in the foot. People can talk about the horrendous officiating, the wet conditions, but the truth is that Penn State did not capitalize when it had the opportunity to and Iowa did. Neither team outplayed or out muscled the other, but one team did make less mistakes. That's the team that won. Give Kirk Ferentz credit for coming into Beaver Stadium with a solid gameplan and sticking with it throughout the entire game. Hats off to you Iowa.

As for the Penn State "faithful", why is it that once we play a bad game, or something goes wrong, you are all bouncing off the walls and losing faith in your team. It is a long season, and we are only in week 4. There are two things that you need to realize before you provide the rest of the world with your thoughtless analysis: First of which is that this year, there is not one team that stands above the rest in all of college football, and there will not be an undefeated team playing for the National Title at the end of this year (Yes Florida, you will lose too). Second, that we are all forgetting that this is a rebuilding year for the Nittany Lions.

To address my first thought, is that everyone has based this year's rankings off of the past few years of SEC's dominance. This year, no conference stands out like the SEC has the past few years. If there is an undefeated team this year, it will be a team that overachieved, or it will be Boise State because they honestly only play two to three teams than face the weakest conference schedule of anyone in the country. I know people can make an argument for Florida as the standout team of this year, but Tebow is coming off a concussion now, and each year is a new year in college football. Someone will beat Florida, but I wouldn't be surprised if they played their way into the Title Game anyways.

Now for Penn State. Everyone wants to come to a conclusion that this year's offensive line is not as tough as last year's, and the running backs are being held back, Clark doesn't run as much, the secondary is rusty, the linebackers are injured, etc. The truth is that we lost three all Big Ten offensive linemen, moved the returning starters to new positions, and that it's going to take time to gel. Stefen Wisniewski is a great leader for that offensive line, and if there is anyone that can lead that unit and help them bounce back, he is that man.

As for Clark, throughout the first three games, everyone was talking Heisman candidate, now he has one tough game in terrible conditions, and everyone is quitting on him already. Forget the press and the media, Clark is a great quarterback and he will pass for close to three thousand yards this year. He will bounce back and you will all jump back on the bandwagon and support him for the rest of the season, unless something goes wrong when the Buckeyes come into town.

Finally, for the secondary, they have played very well if you ask me. Yeah they had some lapses against Iowa, but Iowa did not throw for any touchdowns. The secondary has only allowed two touchdowns on the year, and one was a go route from a running back in the Akron game and Mike Zordich the linebacker was in coverage. The other was a quick strike after a turnover against Syracuse late in the game. Look for Stephon Morris to grow more comfortable in the secondary, and as he gains confidence his swagger along with AJ Wallace's attitude should help characterize this secondary as the season progresses. Look for them to face their stiffest test of the year as the face off against Benn and Fayson, two standout wide receivers at Illinois.

Look for the Lions to bounce back this week. I would expect a rough start in Illinois, but I would also look for them to play well and shake off the dirt from last week's game against Iowa. Look for the run game to really take off this week as Illinois is playing without Martez Wilson and as the Offensive Line is going to be playing with more of a nasty streak. As usual, please comment and leave me with your thoughts as well.

WE ARE............