Penn State's woes

I don't think I need to remind everyone of the travesty that occurred yesterday in Michigan Stadium, but here are three suggestions that Penn State might want to consider if they want to win the big games, especially those on the road:

1. Teach the kids the basics. How is it that year in and year out our offense literally can't hold onto the ball? Morelli and Scott keep coughing it up at their earliest convenience. This has been the one problem that has been plaguing us for seasons now -- turnovers. Tony Hunt fell victim to this a few times last season too, with a monster fumble early in the game in South Bend. I've never been a football player myself, but I would have to think that you learn how to properly hold the ball fairly early on. Why can't we hold the ball the correct way and protect it, especially on our opponent's 10-yard line?! Rodney Kinlaw better be the starting RB next week vs. the Illini or else things are really screwed up.

2. Make some sort of adjustment in the QB coaching. JayPa got off the hot seat after the 2005 season, but don't you think it's starting to warm up again slightly? I mean, think about it, when was the last time Penn State had a sensational quarterback? Our last few have been "okay" at best. Not even the best quarterback we've had in the new century -- Michael Robinson -- was great. He only succeeded because he was mobile and could do great things with his legs. Morelli seems like Zack Mills, version 2.0. From what I've heard, Matt Seneca wasn't all that good, either. Our lack of success at the QB position could be attributed to some other things, like our woes along the O-line or JoePa's conservative nature. But I still think it comes down to the QB staff, who needs to teach these guys to make smarter decisions even if the O-line is crap.

3. Hide Joe's glasses and flush the playbook. When will we learn that this is no longer 1966 and that offenses have changed since then? Our playcalling is predictable and even if a 5th grader was Michigan's defensive coordinator, he'd be able to stop our running game. I said it before -- and you can look it up -- that Scott and Kinlaw up the middle wouldn't win the game. And it didn't. So when you hide Joe's glasses and bring him to the stadium, just tell him that you handed off to Scott when you really threw a bomb to Deon Butler. And don't answer him when he keeps asking why the crowd's going crazy.

We face a stiff challenge next week against a hungry bunch of Illini. I think our gameplan could still work against them, but I don't know what to think when the Badgers and Buckeyes come calling.