As the snow flakes fell to the ground in Happy Valley today, along with cheers coming from the visitor's section of the stadium, Penn State's rebuilding year came to a close. Another week of heartbreak and disappointment that put an exclamation point on this up and down season for Penn State. Let's go ahead and recap today's game and begin to wrap up the regular season as we start getting ready for Bowl season to start. Since I'm feeling a little pessimistic today, I'm going to go ahead and start with the ugly.
The Ugly:
I know that I'm going to take a lot of flack for this, but the ugly was most definitely the quarterback play today in Beaver Stadium. I know all you fans that are blinded by the improbable stat line of McGloin's 312 (23/42 52% completion rate = ugly) passing yards are going to give me flack for this, but I really don't care. The truth is that I would hope that if you throw the ball at least 42 times during the game, especially with an offense that only averages 64 plays a game, I would hope you would throw for at least 300 yards. If you want to argue with me, go ahead and re-watch the game, Michigan State's secondary dropped 6 would be interceptions, and that is not an exaggeration. If this guy didn't have the luck of the Irish, his last TD would've never happened either since MSU's defensive back fumbled his interception within the red zone on the four yard line, giving McGloin one more shot at the end zone.
The Bad:
The team was definitely sleeping the entire game until the fourth quarter. I don't understand how the coaches are having such a hard time getting these guys ready for the game, but you could also make the argument that MSU let up a little bit in the fourth quarter which led to the mini-revival that just fell short. Either way, the only guys that had a nonstop motor the entire game have to be given credit, and those guys are Nate Stupar, Evan Royster, and Stefen Wisniewski. These guys were playing mad the whole game and I loved watching Stoops flying all over the field on the defensive side of the ball, the guy was everywhere.
The Bad Continued:
We're losing some quality guys off of the field this year, especially with the losses of guys like Wisniewski, Royster, Brackett, Ogbu, etc. I just wanted to go ahead and take a second and thank these guys for the last four/five years of football that they have played for us. They laid it on the line for us week in and week out, and for that, on behalf of the Nittany Lions faithful I want to thank you for all of the great memories that you provided for us. Good luck with your future endeavors and I'm sure you will continue to make us proud.
The Good:
There is some great news that comes out of this. We finished the season on a little bit of a positive note. Even though we lost to Michigan State, we have definitely developed some chemistry on this team as the season has gone on. We have some guys that have been stepping up and developing an identity, especially with guys like Mauti, Stupar, Redd, Willis, and Justin Brown. These guys are stepping up and showing us that the future is most definitely bright, they have played well during the latter stages of the season, and I'm definitely excited to see how they impact this team during Bowl Season. Couple that with some time to heal for this Penn State squad, and our bowl game will be the statement game before we start talking about Spring practice. On another note, the worst possible bowl game for us to go to (especially since most of the fans packed it in after the Illinois game) is going to be the Outback Bowl. Yes, at 7-5 we will most likely be playing in Tampa thanks to the fact that the Big Ten has three 11-1 teams ranked in the top ten of the BCS Standings. Wisconsin will most likely go to the Rose Bowl (barring any upsets next week, they have an outside shot of backing into the National Title Game, but I doubt it), and Ohio State will get the at-large. Leaving Sparty to the Capital One Bowl, and PSU to the Outback Bowl. Tampa here we come.
WE ARE.....................
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