I took the second half off and read. Too tired after the first half and the Manchester derby to continue live-blogging. These judgments are made today after reading about the game and watching one other play on a gif.
Making due allowance for youth and inexperience, these are two not very good teams not very well coached.
The most valuable "actor" of the game was Pitt offensive coordinator Matt Canada. Penn State's defensive coordinator, head coach James Franklin, Pitt's defensive coordinator, whomever that may be, and head coach Pat Narduzzi (if not the same as DC) performed poorly.
I read some of PSU's former players comments on twitter. One of them wrote, in the first half, that the team was "unprepared." That was the right word and that of course falls on Franklin and his DC. Penn State's defense looked like it had never played a football game together in the first half. They had no fucking idea what Pitt was going to do. Mis-direction, jet sweeps, shovel passes-Canada's play-calling put PSU on its heels and kept them there. No comeback, including a successful one, would have erased the unpreparedness of being down 28-7 with over eleven minutes left in the second quarter. That is clueless unpreparedness.
And no victory can erase the ignominy of giving up a 28-7 lead and holding on by your fingertips in the end. Pat Narduzzi was architect of some of the most dominant defenses in college football in his years as DC at Michigan State. This was not the Kurt Warner St. Louis "Rams" that Pitt's defense was trying to contain Saturday. Thirty-nine points was the most that Penn State had ever scored in a loss. Like, ever-ever.
Speaking of fingertips. One of Penn State's receivers had a perfectly thrown pass glance off his and fall to the turf on the final drive. BUT PENN STATE MADE UP FOR IT. They converted and kept the drive going. Kids are going to have footballs glance off their fingertips. If PSU hadn't been behind 28-7 to start with people wouldn't be talking about it.
Penn State's last play:
-It was with over one minute left, not two. The intended target was the big, slow goony guy trailing, not the smaller, swifter-appearing guy coming in from the right. The small, swifter guy ran the wrong route I have read. Unconvincing. He ran right when he should have run in the middle all along. That's their story.
But swifty, #11, wasn't the intended receiver. That's their story, too! The big slow guy was and he couldn't have caught that ball-Hell, he wasn't even looking for it. Unconvincing explanation.
Why was the correct route to have the smaller, swifter guy bring himself and himself's defender into the way of the big, slow guy and his defender? Surely, the play didn't call for a game of hot potato or juggling. The intended receiver is supposed to catch the ball, not tip it around in the air. I'm totally unconvinced by that wrong-route explanation. The ball was poorly thrown. Overthrown if you believe the State College Story.
-I'm still comme ci, comme ça on the call. IF you're going to pass, something like that is the safest pass call. I've had confirmed that PSU was just about but not quite in their field goal kicker's safe range. As safe as you can be with kids.
-Franklin didn't want to run the ball one more time. Okay. It was not a bone-headed call, reasonable people can differ.
-I was surprised to hear James Franklin and two PSU beat writers, David Jones and Bob Flounders, blame the outcome on, get this: the failure of the two PSU receivers to strip the ball from the Righteous "Panther" after he had caught it. These PSU guys need to lay off the hooch when they do their explaining. I watched the replay three or so times. The Pitt guy was wide open. He had to turn and jump to catch it and when he came down with it he came down: fell to the turf. Telegram to PSU Explainers: THE PLAY WAS OVER! Possession and on the ground-TWEET! That funny arm motion to signal a dead ball and a touchback. First and ten Beloved Pitt "Panthers" at their 20. Franklin, Flounders, and Jones (sounds like a law firm) would have had Swifty and Goony tackle Righteous
when he was already down. Maybe try to cornhole him like Sandusky. Strip the ball and strip his
pants at the same time. Seems to be the thing to do at PSU. Guys, try to get this through your thick skulls: T-H-E P-L-A-Y W-A-S D-E-A-D.
No mas. The end.
Making due allowance for youth and inexperience, these are two not very good teams not very well coached.
The most valuable "actor" of the game was Pitt offensive coordinator Matt Canada. Penn State's defensive coordinator, head coach James Franklin, Pitt's defensive coordinator, whomever that may be, and head coach Pat Narduzzi (if not the same as DC) performed poorly.
I read some of PSU's former players comments on twitter. One of them wrote, in the first half, that the team was "unprepared." That was the right word and that of course falls on Franklin and his DC. Penn State's defense looked like it had never played a football game together in the first half. They had no fucking idea what Pitt was going to do. Mis-direction, jet sweeps, shovel passes-Canada's play-calling put PSU on its heels and kept them there. No comeback, including a successful one, would have erased the unpreparedness of being down 28-7 with over eleven minutes left in the second quarter. That is clueless unpreparedness.
And no victory can erase the ignominy of giving up a 28-7 lead and holding on by your fingertips in the end. Pat Narduzzi was architect of some of the most dominant defenses in college football in his years as DC at Michigan State. This was not the Kurt Warner St. Louis "Rams" that Pitt's defense was trying to contain Saturday. Thirty-nine points was the most that Penn State had ever scored in a loss. Like, ever-ever.
Speaking of fingertips. One of Penn State's receivers had a perfectly thrown pass glance off his and fall to the turf on the final drive. BUT PENN STATE MADE UP FOR IT. They converted and kept the drive going. Kids are going to have footballs glance off their fingertips. If PSU hadn't been behind 28-7 to start with people wouldn't be talking about it.
Penn State's last play:
-It was with over one minute left, not two. The intended target was the big, slow goony guy trailing, not the smaller, swifter-appearing guy coming in from the right. The small, swifter guy ran the wrong route I have read. Unconvincing. He ran right when he should have run in the middle all along. That's their story.
But swifty, #11, wasn't the intended receiver. That's their story, too! The big slow guy was and he couldn't have caught that ball-Hell, he wasn't even looking for it. Unconvincing explanation.
Why was the correct route to have the smaller, swifter guy bring himself and himself's defender into the way of the big, slow guy and his defender? Surely, the play didn't call for a game of hot potato or juggling. The intended receiver is supposed to catch the ball, not tip it around in the air. I'm totally unconvinced by that wrong-route explanation. The ball was poorly thrown. Overthrown if you believe the State College Story.
-I'm still comme ci, comme ça on the call. IF you're going to pass, something like that is the safest pass call. I've had confirmed that PSU was just about but not quite in their field goal kicker's safe range. As safe as you can be with kids.
-Franklin didn't want to run the ball one more time. Okay. It was not a bone-headed call, reasonable people can differ.
-I was surprised to hear James Franklin and two PSU beat writers, David Jones and Bob Flounders, blame the outcome on, get this: the failure of the two PSU receivers to strip the ball from the Righteous "Panther" after he had caught it. These PSU guys need to lay off the hooch when they do their explaining. I watched the replay three or so times. The Pitt guy was wide open. He had to turn and jump to catch it and when he came down with it he came down: fell to the turf. Telegram to PSU Explainers: THE PLAY WAS OVER! Possession and on the ground-TWEET! That funny arm motion to signal a dead ball and a touchback. First and ten Beloved Pitt "Panthers" at their 20. Franklin, Flounders, and Jones (sounds like a law firm) would have had Swifty and Goony tackle Righteous
when he was already down. Maybe try to cornhole him like Sandusky. Strip the ball and strip his
pants at the same time. Seems to be the thing to do at PSU. Guys, try to get this through your thick skulls: T-H-E P-L-A-Y W-A-S D-E-A-D.
No mas. The end.
