Penn State Done After Week One

[Rob Iola]

Temple is now 7-0 and ranked 22nd.

Penn State is 5-2 with their only losses to Temple and OSU.

Not bad.

Their 6 wins (they are 6-2) are Buffalo, Rutgers, SDSU, Army, Indiana, and Maryland, and they had to squeak out the wins against Army and Maryland.

Illinois this weekend might be their last win - Illini aren't any good and the game is in Happy Valley. But after that, they have to play legit teams - Northwestern on the road, Michigan at home, and end with Michigan St on the road. I see 7-5 and a bowl game just after Christmas. Surely not horrible, but nothing to write home about either.

I was at the Indiana game - PS is a good but very young team. Their issue is at QB - Hackenberg has experience and an absolute cannon for a throwing arm, but alternates between Flacco (SB MVP Flacco, not "what the hell was that?!?" Flacco) and Schoenhoft in terms of competency...

[CitadelGrad]

Penn State has one of the youngest teams in the country and is still not at its full scholarship level.

As for Hackenburg, he was great in Bill O'Brien's offense, but fitting him into the Franklin offense is like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Hack should have transferred when O'Brien left.

[GannonFan]

I'm not sure Franklin is the answer. They'll end up beating every fluff team on their schedule, some with margins much smaller than they should be, and they'll end up not coming close to beating anyone they'll be dogs against on the schedule. They'll win the bowl game with the right matchup. Question is what happens when Hackenburg is gone and whether Franklin can recruit the rest of the team like O'Brien did.

[Rob Iola]

I'm not sure Franklin is the answer. They'll end up beating every fluff team on their schedule, some with margins much smaller than they should be, and they'll end up not coming close to beating anyone they'll be dogs against on the schedule. They'll win the bowl game with the right matchup. Question is what happens when Hackenburg is gone and whether Franklin can recruit the rest of the team like O'Brien did.

Indiana was homecoming, with Keegan-Michael Key as grand marshal - he and Franklin were twins separated at birth:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBLwchkCPzY[/youtube]

[93henfan]

Temple (hosting Notre Dame) gets College GameDay, which will set up on Independence Mall:

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/pret ... -Dame.html

[SunCoastBlueHen]

Temple (hosting Notre Dame) gets College GameDay, which will set up on Independence Mall:

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/pret ... -Dame.html

I would love to see Temple win that one.

I always found it a bit annoying that Notre Dame's large fan base is largely made up of people with no affiliation to the school other than being Irish, Catholic or both.

Plus, if Temple is undefeated coming into Tampa on Nov. 14th, it will add that much more intrigue to the game against USF. It would be nice to see a game at Raymond James with a bit of atmosphere.

[Ivytalk]

Temple (hosting Notre Dame) gets College GameDay, which will set up on Independence Mall:

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/pret ... -Dame.html

Get ready for the hearty Philly welcome: "HERBIE SUCKS!!! HERBIE SUCKS!!!"

[89Hen]

will set up on Independence Mall

Surprised they'd allow that and not really close to Temple or The Linc. Close to Jim's Steaks though.

[93henfan]

will set up on Independence Mall

Surprised they'd allow that and not really close to Temple or The Linc. Close to Jim's Steaks though.

I would have thought that next to Xfinity Live would make the most sense. People could hold signs for an hour, get shitfaced for an hour, rinse and repeat.

[Seahawks08]

I'm not sure Franklin is the answer. They'll end up beating every fluff team on their schedule, some with margins much smaller than they should be, and they'll end up not coming close to beating anyone they'll be dogs against on the schedule. They'll win the bowl game with the right matchup. Question is what happens when Hackenburg is gone and whether Franklin can recruit the rest of the team like O'Brien did.

So they won't come close to beating Michigan? If that winds up being a night game, Michigan will be in trouble.

And are you really questioning Franklin's recruiting?

Recruiting rank:

2014: 24
2015: 15
2016: 8

BoB didn't even have a top 30 recruiting class.

[GannonFan]

Surprised they'd allow that and not really close to Temple or The Linc. Close to Jim's Steaks though.

I would have thought that next to Xfinity Live would make the most sense. People could hold signs for an hour, get shitfaced for an hour, rinse and repeat.

That's probably exactly why they didn't set it up there.

[93henfan]

I would have thought that next to Xfinity Live would make the most sense. People could hold signs for an hour, get shitfaced for an hour, rinse and repeat.

That's probably exactly why they didn't set it up there.

Yeah, because the JMU student body was sober last week. Mmmkay.

[GannonFan]

I'm not sure Franklin is the answer. They'll end up beating every fluff team on their schedule, some with margins much smaller than they should be, and they'll end up not coming close to beating anyone they'll be dogs against on the schedule. They'll win the bowl game with the right matchup. Question is what happens when Hackenburg is gone and whether Franklin can recruit the rest of the team like O'Brien did.

So they won't come close to beating Michigan? If that winds up being a night game, Michigan will be in trouble.

And are you really questioning Franklin's recruiting?

Recruiting rank:

2014: 24
2015: 15
2016: 8

BoB didn't even have a top 30 recruiting class.

Why does it matter if it's a night game? Michigan's won at Happy Valley quite a lot since Penn State came into the Big 10, at night or at during the day.

And I actually question Franklin's game management more than anything else. But we'll see how it turns out.

[GannonFan]

That's probably exactly why they didn't set it up there.

Yeah, because the JMU student body was sober last week. Mmmkay.

There's drunk and then there's Philly drunk (and I love and defend Philly all the time so it's not that). Those JMU kids were just rank amateurs when it comes to drinking. This week the adults get into the action.

[GannonFan]

Temple (hosting Notre Dame) gets College GameDay, which will set up on Independence Mall:

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/pret ... -Dame.html

I always found it a bit annoying that Notre Dame's large fan base is largely made up of people with no affiliation to the school other than being Irish, Catholic or both.

What's wrong about being Irish, Catholic, or both and rooting for Notre Dame?

[93henfan]

I always found it a bit annoying that Notre Dame's large fan base is largely made up of people with no affiliation to the school other than being Irish, Catholic or both.

What's wrong about being Irish, Catholic, or both and rooting for Notre Dame?

It's sort of like Jews in the US. Pick the local country or get the fuck out honestly. Israel and Indiana are both accepting new residents.

[SunCoastBlueHen]

I always found it a bit annoying that Notre Dame's large fan base is largely made up of people with no affiliation to the school other than being Irish, Catholic or both.

What's wrong about being Irish, Catholic, or both and rooting for Notre Dame?

Just a goofy mentality, IMO.

"Hey, that team is called the Fighting Irish. I'm a quarter Irish on my mother's side. I should root for them!

Not too many Irishmen in their starting line-up, if I'm not mistaken.

[Seahawks08]

So they won't come close to beating Michigan? If that winds up being a night game, Michigan will be in trouble.

And are you really questioning Franklin's recruiting?

Recruiting rank:

2014: 24
2015: 15
2016: 8

BoB didn't even have a top 30 recruiting class.

Why does it matter if it's a night game? Michigan's won at Happy Valley quite a lot since Penn State came into the Big 10, at night or at during the day.

And I actually question Franklin's game management more than anything else. But we'll see how it turns out.

The last couple of years, Penn State has played better at night against ranked Michigan and OSU. If you remember last year, Happy Valley was OSU's trap game (which they won in OT).

TBH, I can't wait to watch the Mich/PSU game this year.

[clenz]

Why does it matter if it's a night game? Michigan's won at Happy Valley quite a lot since Penn State came into the Big 10, at night or at during the day.

And I actually question Franklin's game management more than anything else. But we'll see how it turns out.

The last couple of years, Penn State has played better at night against ranked Michigan and OSU. If you remember last year, Happy Valley was OSU's trap game (which they won in OT).

TBH, I can't wait to watch the Mich/PSU game this year.

2010 Michigan finished 7-6 and had lost 2 straight home games going into that Penn State game, and would lose 3 of 5 after that game...

2013 Michigan also finished 7-6. They had beaten CMU, Akron by 4, UCONN by 3, Minnesota and Notre Dame to start that season...they wouldn't have been ranked for beating good teams. Only for a nice looking record....and PSU won by 3 in quadruple overtime....after blowing a 2 TD half time lead...and needing a TD with 27 seconds left just to force OT.

[GannonFan]

What's wrong about being Irish, Catholic, or both and rooting for Notre Dame?

Just a goofy mentality, IMO.

"Hey, that team is called the Fighting Irish. I'm a quarter Irish on my mother's side. I should root for them!

Not too many Irishmen in their starting line-up, if I'm not mistaken.

Eh, people root for teams for lesser reasons than that (they like the helmet, they like the colors, etc). I'm sure the history and pagentry surrounding Notre Dame football help a little bit too in terms of getting and keeping fans.

[GannonFan]

The last couple of years, Penn State has played better at night against ranked Michigan and OSU. If you remember last year, Happy Valley was OSU's trap game (which they won in OT).

TBH, I can't wait to watch the Mich/PSU game this year.

2010 Michigan finished 7-6 and had lost 2 straight home games going into that Penn State game, and would lose 3 of 5 after that game...

2013 Michigan also finished 7-6. They had beaten CMU, Akron by 4, UCONN by 3, Minnesota and Notre Dame to start that season...they wouldn't have been ranked for beating good teams. Only for a nice looking record....and PSU won by 3 in quadruple overtime....after blowing a 2 TD half time lead...and needing a TD with 27 seconds left just to force OT.

I'll add to that:

2010 - Michigan didn't have Jim Harbaugh as the coach.

2013 - Michigan didn't have Jim Harbaugh as the coach.

[clenz]

Just a goofy mentality, IMO.

"Hey, that team is called the Fighting Irish. I'm a quarter Irish on my mother's side. I should root for them!

Not too many Irishmen in their starting line-up, if I'm not mistaken.

Eh, people root for teams for lesser reasons than that (they like the helmet, they like the colors, etc). I'm sure the history and pagentry surrounding Notre Dame football help a little bit too in terms of getting and keeping fans.

I would guess 9 of 10 ND fans I know are ND fans because they are Catholic....

I guess that's no worse a reason to support a team than the million plus Hawkeye fans in the state of Iowa that are Hawkeye fans for no reason other than growing up in the state of Iowa...even if geographically closer to Nebraska, Iowa State, Illinois, Wisconsin or Minnesota....

[clenz]

2010 Michigan finished 7-6 and had lost 2 straight home games going into that Penn State game, and would lose 3 of 5 after that game...

2013 Michigan also finished 7-6. They had beaten CMU, Akron by 4, UCONN by 3, Minnesota and Notre Dame to start that season...they wouldn't have been ranked for beating good teams. Only for a nice looking record....and PSU won by 3 in quadruple overtime....after blowing a 2 TD half time lead...and needing a TD with 27 seconds left just to force OT.

I'll add to that:

2010 - Michigan didn't have Jim Harbaugh as the coach.

2013 - Michigan didn't have Jim Harbaugh as the coach.

Also this...we had Brady Hoke...so...

[GannonFan]

Eh, people root for teams for lesser reasons than that (they like the helmet, they like the colors, etc). I'm sure the history and pagentry surrounding Notre Dame football help a little bit too in terms of getting and keeping fans.

I would guess 9 of 10 ND fans I know are ND fans because they are Catholic....

I guess that's no worse a reason to support a team than the million plus Hawkeye fans in the state of Iowa that are Hawkeye fans for no reason other than growing up in the state of Iowa...even if geographically closer to Nebraska, Iowa State, Illinois, Wisconsin or Minnesota....

I'm a Notre Dame fan and I'm sure being of Irish descent and Catholic certainly helped to push me in that direction. And heck, I was at my formative age of football appreciation when Gerry Faust was the coach so you can't accuse me of jumping the bandwagon!

And yes, people root for teams for a whole bunch of hardly strong reasons.

[Seahawks08]

2010 Michigan finished 7-6 and had lost 2 straight home games going into that Penn State game, and would lose 3 of 5 after that game...

2013 Michigan also finished 7-6. They had beaten CMU, Akron by 4, UCONN by 3, Minnesota and Notre Dame to start that season...they wouldn't have been ranked for beating good teams. Only for a nice looking record....and PSU won by 3 in quadruple overtime....after blowing a 2 TD half time lead...and needing a TD with 27 seconds left just to force OT.

I'll add to that:

2010 - Michigan didn't have Jim Harbaugh as the coach.

2013 - Michigan didn't have Jim Harbaugh as the coach.

So PSU shouldn't even show up for the game then?