Going into Saturday’s game with Illinois, we truly didn’t know where this Penn State football team was. Wins over Youngstown State, Kent State and Temple hadn’t proven much, while losses to nationally-ranked Alabama and Iowa were expected.
After Saturday’s heartless homecoming effort against the Fighting Illini, we now know where this team stands.
It stinks.
I’m not going to sugarcoat things, Nittany Nation. Unlike some other websites and blogs, at gantnews.com you will get my brutally honest opinion. And in my opinion, this team is an absolute mess from top to bottom. In today’s edition of Morelli OnLion, we’ll take a look at the top 10 problems facing the 2010 Nittany Lions. We’ll also have our weekly feature, the Two-Minute Drill.
Let’s start sifting through the rubble.
An Awful Mess
OK, after losses to Alabama, Iowa and now Illinois, we know that the 2010 version of the Nittany Lions is not very good. How exactly did this happen? How did Penn State go from being 11-2 and ranked in the top 10 to being 3-3 and 0-2 in the Big Ten? Let’s look at the problems counting down from No. 10 to No. 1.
10. The Secondary – They haven’t gotten a lot of criticism so far this season, but they’ve had their hand in the three losses. While we’re not about naming names, the secondary needs to tighten its coverage over the final six games or there are many more losses looming for the Nits.
9. The Playcalling – The offensive play calling has always been a two-headed monster, with Galen Hall and Jay Paterno sharing the duties. This season, the play calling has just been a monster, a very ugly monster. I challenge readers to find a more predictable offensive gameplan than the one Penn State unleashed on Saturday. Quite often, the Nittany Lions run on first down, run on second down and pass on third down. One of the few times they did throw the ball on first down, it resulted in an 80-yard touchdown from QB Rob Bolden to wideout Derek Moye. Until the play calling improves and gets a little more creative, this team will continue to struggle.
8. The Defensive Line – Clearly, the loss of Jared Odrick has crippled the defensive line. Rarely do they get pressure on the quarterback and the inability to plug the holes on simple ground plays has led to some big gainers by the opposition. The biggest disappointment thus far has been Jack Crawford. Big things were expected from him and he has not lived up to the hype. The absence of Brandon Ware has left a huge hole as well.
7. Rob Bolden – Over the first six games, the freshman QB has regressed. He’s not ready for prime time, not even close. His performance against the Illini was his most disappointing to date. He threw two terrible interceptions, one of which was returned for a TD. JoePa and JayPa are often stubborn with their QBs, but a change here would do the Lions a world of good. Let’s see what Kevin Newsome can do.
6. The Running Backs – I have defended Evan Royster for a long time, but this group of running backs has been a disappointment to say the least. Royster looks like he’s lost a step, but that may be due to the fact that the offensive line is not opening cracks like it used to. Stephfon Green and Silas Redd have enjoyed moderate success, but most of their carries have come when the games are already well in hand.
5. The Wideouts – Where have you gone, Deon Butler and Jordan Norwood? The Lions could certainly use a couple of sure-handed receivers like those two right about now. Graham Zug, Derek Moye and Devon Smith have had their share of drops this season, which has put the Lions in tough situations, down and distance wise. The bright spot has been co-captain Brett Brackett, although he had a case of the drops on Saturday as well.
4. Recruiting – One of the X-factors is the fact that the Lions simply haven’t been able to keep up with the big boys when it comes to recruiting. Penn State has top-notch facilities and one of the largest stadiums in the nation, so why is it that they can’t get the big fish to sign on and come to Happy Valley? A big factor is coach Joe Paterno, who has not ventured out of University Park on a recruiting trip since the failed recruitment of Terrelle
Pryor.
3. The Non-Con – Ok, so then-No. 1 Alabama was a nice test, but the rest of the non-conference slate did nothing to prepare the Lions for the storm that was brewing. Everyone knew that Iowa was good, but Illinois? Really? In the future, Penn State has to prepare itself better for the conference slate. Playing Youngstown State, Kent State and Temple did nothing to get the squad ready. Is the football office getting tips from the basketball office when it comes to scheduling?
2. The Offensive Line – It is often said that a team is only as good as its offensive line, and this line, quite simply, is not very good. Penn State has never been very good at developing linemen (Levi Brown was the exception), but this year’s version of the OL is simply blowing assignments and not opening holes for the running backs. Their inability to pass block is also a problem. Throw a true freshman QB into the mix, and that’s a recipe for disaster. The lone bright spot has been Stefen Wisniewski, who like Brown, will be playing in the National Football League next season.
1. Joe Paterno – I realize that many of the diehard fans will disagree with me, but I believe this problem begins at the top. It begins with recruiting and trickles all the way down to gameday preparation. The ol’ ball coach looks disinterested on the sidelines. If Penn State continues to lose, fans will look just as disinterested.
Two-Minute Drill: Illinois
Game ball to … Nathan Scheelhasse
The Illinois signal caller completed 15-of-19 for 151 yards with one touchdown. He didn’t play the perfect game, but he was darn near close.
What Was He Thinking? … Rob Bolden
The true freshman made a horrible mistake, telegraphing a pass that was easily intercepted by Nate Bussey and returned 16 yards for the score.
Numerology … 142
Speaking of Bolden, he had just 142 yards passing. However, those numbers are skewed because 80 of those yards came on a TD pass to Derek Moye.
Play of the Game … We’ll go with Bussey’s 16-yard interception return for a touchdown. It totally swung momentum of the game and took the crowd right out of things.
The Countdown
5. Collin Wagner — One of the few bright spots for the Lions. He connected on field goals of 28 and 22 yards. For the season, he’s 13 of 15.
4. Mikel Leshoure — The Illinois running back sliced and diced the Penn State defense, racking up 119 yards on 27 carries.
3. Kevin Newsome — Newsome was inserted way too late, but he looked good. He completed 2-of-3 for 28 yards and carried the ball three times for 12 yards. If Bolden continues to falter, he deserves a shot.
2. Chris Colasanti — Another bright spot for the Nittany Lions, Colasanti racked up 10 solo tackles and assisted on eight.
1. Ron Zook — Give the much-maligned Illini coach credit. He had his troops ready to go and they took it to the Lions, who looked like they’d rather be anywhere but Beaver Stadium.
Next Up … Bye, Then Minnesota
Penn State gets a much-needed week off before it takes on Minnesota (1-5) in the Twin Cities on Oct. 23.
Chris Morelli is an award-winning writer/editor who lives in Centre County and covers Penn State athletics. He is also a regular on “Sports Central,” which airs on ESPN Radio in Altoona and State College. E-mail him at morellionlion@gmail.com. Also, be sure to check out Morelli OnLion on Facebook!