Morelli has a team!

God bless the Arizona Cardinals. I don't know why they would even consider offering a contract to the kid. The sad thing is, he certainly has a decent chance to make it to 2nd or 3rd string QB by the end of the season, assuming he survives training camp. The Cards didn't draft a QB and their current lineup of QBs includes oft-injured Matt Leinart, the ancient Kurt Warner, and career 3rd-stringer Brian St. Pierre. Frankly, Morelli's smartest decision in a long time was to sign on with Arizona. If he ends up miraculously getting any playing time, he'll have Fitzgerald, Boldin and former PSUer Bryant Johnson to throw to and those guys would make me look like a good QB.

In other PSU player news...Austin Scott found himself a team too. He signed on with Cleveland. Even if he didn't get into this whole mess earlier in the year, he probably wouldn't have been drafted but the guy has talent. Who knows what will happen there. Terrell Golden stayed in state and signed on with the Eagles while Matt Hahn went to Oakland. Good for Hahn...he was a solid player before he blew out his knee.

Moving on to the Jets...they signed Danny Woodhead!! I'm not sure if he'll do any good but it's cool nonetheless. One way or another, this kid can definitely play as he holds the all-time and single season NCAA rushing records. Frankly, his size is his only downfall (5'7"). He apparently had a fantastic pro day, running a 4.33 40 and posting exceptional numbers in the other workouts. Never know...I hate to say this but could other teams have passed him up because he's white? It's something to throw out there. Maybe it's just me but I thought teams typically took late round flyers on guys like this...

CORRECTION: Apparently Austin Scott was only invited to camp? I have conflicting reports on this.

A few comments...

Sorry I haven't been able write a lengthy post recently...still can't now so I'll stick to a few small blurbs...

The Daily Collegian reported today that Penn State football player Chris Baker could be expelled. Why hasn't JoePa booted him off the team yet? Yes, Austin Scott gave them plenty of trouble but this is ridiculous. While Scott's first run in with the law comes on a somewhat shady charge, Baker already has a deferred expulsion on his record from the apartment fight in April and now its the HUB fight. To me, it would be embarrassing if the University expels Chris Baker before JoePa kicks him off the team. What is he waiting for?

You know what I was thinking...I remember when I was a freshman, I was ticked off that JoePa would put in Morelli (when he too was a true frosh) to chuck a hail mary or do some mop up duty. I always thought that he should have just been redshirted rather than waste it doing those things. We already had Michael Robinson behind Zach Mills. While I still think JoePa didn't know what he was doing, I am very thankful he did what he did. I would not be able to tolerate another year of Morelli's incompetence. Then again, who knows what will happen with the QB situation next year. I really hope that Clark and/or Devlin can make me forget Morelli.

Finally, a digression from sports but some Penn State students are complete assholes/idiots/retards/attention whores/pieces of shit. It's not even worth any more key strokes. I'm not liable for damage to your monitor if you put your head through it. Read for yourself.

You know what else I just realized...I get to make a label for Zach Mills! Yay! ..... not

The long-awaited return

I received a letter from a fan the other day, and I'd like to share it with you...

Dear Tom,

When are you going to be returning to Sports Fountainhead? Your contributions used to be so thoughtful and witty. My internet surfing experience just won't be the same until you come back and grace the blog with your presence again.

I left some split pea soup in the fridge, because I know it's your favorite. I'll be home from work at 4pm.

Love,
Mom

Yes, thank you, uh, erm, "Mom", for your insightful words of encouragement. And I am back. It's been a rough few weeks with exams, commitments, and the like, but with the holiday upon us, I can return to blogging again. Trust me, it wasn't easy being away. I wanted to blog badly when Navy beat Notre Dame. Or Air Force. I wanted to blog when Billy Gillespie and Kentucky lost to Gardner-Webb. Or when Michigan State lost to Grand Valley State (with Drew Nietzel). Or when Wyoming's coach flipped the bird. Or when Brent Musburger had his annual orgasm at the Ohio State-Michigan game.

Well, at least it's not too late to blog about Louisiana-Monroe beating Alabama last weekend. People in Tuscaloosa are still hung over after drinking all the Kool-Aid they served at 'Bama's spring game. Now their savior is 6-5 in his first season with a 3-game skid.

Also not too late to mention that Penn State's women's volleyball team won their 5th-straight outright Big Ten title last weekend, an unprecedented mark in the conference. I was in town Friday during the thrilling 3-1 victory over #9 Wisconsin -- these ladies are damn good, but then again they usually are.

And, oh yeah, Lloyd Carr's retiring. Yawn. Tell me something I don't know.

Anyway, I planned on taking the wood to our Nittany Lion football squad today, but I'll restrain myself ... slightly. The day had disappointment written all over it, really. It was grey and gloomy, that general feeling of malaise in the air. I had left State College early Saturday morning to come home, as students are enjoying a (well-deserved!) week-long Thanksgiving break.

The Lions decided to get fancy, and trick plays were abound. I think we're just wondering where they've been for the first 11 games. Did it really take us four months to figure out how to run these plays or were we saving them for a grandiose finale?! The coaches do need to admit, though, that Morelli in the WR position has never fooled anyone and has never worked. But the two fake FGs were brilliant. First, Kevin Kelly pooches it from about the 37-yard line, and we down it on the MSU 1. Then, up 17-7 in the 3rd quarter, Boone fakes a high snap and Kelly runs it in for six! Wow! Holy Spartans, Batman!

So, okay, we're up 24-7 in the 3rd, and their crowd's out of it. Things are so bad that our kicker is now running rampant in Spartan Stadium. So, you know, it's been a long day, I drove a while ... it might be a good time to put my head down and rest. I start nodding off slightly. I'm semi-conscious when MSU marches down the field and makes it a 24-14 game. I'm even closer to dreamland when we go back up 31-14. Well, all is good, I think I'll just close my eyes and...

"Tom, I thought I'd wake you up. Michigan State just scored and took the lead."

Aw, crap.

Don't ask me how. Don't ask me why. I was asleep, which I thought might be okay when your team is up 17 points in the third! Oh, but look, it's okay, some guy named Carter wearing the number 32 is running through the MSU defense. Phew, that was close. Oh, there he goes, running it again. We're within striking range!

Dammit, what is Morelli doing holding the ball and dropping back?! Game over.

Doesn't it say something when your fourth-string running back who has never played in a game before can move the ball at will when your senior quarterback with two years experience completely halts the drive?

Well, look, I'm not going to cry over spilled milk anymore, this is in the past. Let's look ahead. Can a decent bowl victory erase the calamity that is the 2007 season? With all the troubles off the field, our inexperienced two-year starting QB, and our hot-shot recruit who has made our secondary look like swiss cheese ... can we forget? I mean, in 2006, we at least lost to all the big boys -- overrated Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan, and overrated Wisconsin, three of those losses on the road. Now, switch out Notre Dame and replace it with a decent Illinois team. Okay, now switch out 12-1 Wisconsin and replace it with ... 7-5 Michigan State. Three losses on the road. Can a bowl win really make us forget?

Looking farther ahead, like a good fan should when his team is in disarray, some of the question marks we had to start 2007 no longer exist for 2008. There is no running back problem, as Evan Royster looks really solid and it sounds like we have a good backup in... whoever Carter is. The two people I'll really miss in the senior class are Matt Hahn and Dan Connor. Sean Lee's been waiting for this moment to step up as a leader for a while, and he'll shine. I don't worry about our LBs at all. The O-line has really brought it together this year, and I'm pretty sure most if not all will be returning. Who woulda thunk our O-line would be a bright spot?

That's not to say there aren't glaring question marks. I don't know whether or not I'll be happy if Justin King declares for the draft. If he really cares about a career, he won't. Not after his abysmal performance this season. But then again, if he does, maybe it'll mark a new day for the secondary. If not, I hope JoePa whips him around and shows him what's what before August '08. Clark has shown promise at QB, but little else, as we haven't seen him too much on the field. However, I will say that he probably had more playing time before starting than Morelli did. Penn State's version of Jimmy Clausen (AKA "the answer to all our problems"), Pat Devlin, will still be still untested as our backup, despite the whole student section seemingly on his bandwagon. Not me. Until he can prove he deserves to be there more than Clark, I'm sticking with JoePa and his (assumed) decision to play Clark next year.

So, maybe we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let's get to Orlando, win the Champs Sports Bowl, and finish this season 9-4 ... again. And hey, if JoePa can't pass Bobby Bowden for most career wins, let's at least take another Bowden to the woodshed and hope we play Clemson. Although that Cullen Harper is a pretty good player.

This week, I hope to put a final update on my "Buy or Sell" predictions, and evaluate some of the performances by first-year coaches this year.

Can PSU audition for Extreme Makeover?

I'll be the first to admit that it looks like I'm overreacting after a pathetic lost in the Spartans but hear me out. Paterno is really looking like a complete buffoon lately.

I'll start with the team's character. It's the most embarrassing team I've ever had to root for. I hate having to come back home to the 'hahas' about how the latest Nittany Lion has just been arrested or charged with something. JoePa took a stand, or at least seemed to, when ordering the team to clean up the stadium after home football games. He also told the powers that be at PSU that the players involved in the infamous Meridian Apartment incident in April would lose playing time.

To start, the football players didn't clean the entire stadium. I'm no mathematician but I'm sure there's at least 100 students with the team that can help clean. For that many people to clean up (what I've heard to be) a quarter to half of the stadium is a joke, especially after JoePa tried to insinuate that the team would clean the entire stadium. Other student organizations cleaning the stadium with the football team were instructed not to say anything about the football team. I wonder why... Now about playing time. The two key players in the Meridian fight, Anthony Scirrotto and Chris Baker saw absolutely ZERO deduction in playing time. Scirrotto started every single game this season and Baker started a bunch too...until he got charged with yet another crime. The latest incident that occurred outside the HUB the night after the Iowa game is the latest black eye to the program. The Daily Collegian said reports had roughly 15 football players involved in the fight. Why is it that everytime some messes with a football player, that football player has to call the whole team to come and beat the crap out of somebody? Seriously...grow up. I know you're a band of brothers and whatnot but this is just pathetic. Ironically, Chris Baker is the one who called up the players, and in due time they arrived. Once they got there, they allegedly pummeled and stomped on the victim as he lay on the ground. Chris Bell apparently also thought it was necessary to jump off a chair and elbow drop the guy.

A little sidebar comment here but Chris, are you retarded? One, for actually doing what you did but two, you think that's really healthy for your elbow?

Either way, Baker has all but proved he's a no good goon that only sheds negative light on the Penn State football program. Paterno needs to take the hard line approach and kick Baker, LB Navorro Bowman, and anyone else potentially charged in beating up this guy off the team. This year, PSU is more known for off the field embarrassments than on the field accomplishments (not that there were really any of those to begin with). Anyone who is involved in any sort of violent crime should be swiftly booted off the team. If Scirotto gets convicted once his trial starts, I fully expect him to be off the team. If not, it's just one more example of Paterno sacrificing face for big contributer to the team.

One more gripe at the character of the team. I'm still irritated with how the team treated the fans after senior day (v. Purdue). After the game, Terrell Golden was the only player to come to the student section and thank the fans/students. Everyone else just went into the locker room. We even won the game and they just bailed. Arguably the best student section in the nation, that stands there game after game in support...and they get nothing, not even a wave in return. Sad. Just sad.

Since I've already used up a bunch of space talking about the character of the team, I'll keep it brief with the play. I'm more embarrassed by the play of this team than by the play of the 4-7 team of 2004. At least then, we knew we were a year away and the offense had few weapons. This year, we have plenty of talent on defense, but can't even make the big tackle. On offense, Morelli shouldn't even be starting. He's proven time and time again that he's dumb as rocks. All you have to do is look at the last two drives in today's game. Hey, let's throw a 3-yard pass from our own 20 over the middle of the field with 10 seconds left and no timeouts! Maybe the guys were covered downfield but are you serious? At least heave it up there. The 21 point collapse was terrible too. The Lions showed no character on the field and deserved to lose with the attitude they showed...that I blame on the coaching staff.

Galen Hall, please leave. Jay Paterno, please leave. Joe Paterno, unless you can actually motivate your team to play well and teach your players how to stay out of trouble (or at least discipline them appropriately), please leave.

I'm not calling for Paterno to step down but I'm damn close. The image this team portrays on and off the field is nothing short of pathetic and I don't see any change in sight...yet.

Looking Ahead: Will the Nittany Lions Challenge for the National Championship in 2008?

Hopes were high this year in Happy Valley. As the team sits at 7-3 they are deemed a disappointment. Many thought this 2007 edition of Penn State football would be eying a trip to New Orleans on January 8th for the National Championship game. They were wrong. The team has underperformed and proven once again that they are mediocre at best; they're the best second tier team the Big Ten has to offer. Except for 1994 and 2005, Penn State is more often than not between the 3rd and 5th best team in the Big Ten. This year is no different. What about next year?

I never bought into the hype that Penn Stat could actually challenge for the National Title. There were too many question marks. Would Anthony Morelli play the entire season, or a majority of it, like he did versus Tennessee in the 2007 Outback Bowl? He certainly has not. His futility was demonstrated particularly well in a 27-20 loss at Illinois as well as a disappointing performance at Michigan. Will they be able to replace Tony Hunt? At first I wasn't so sure. Austin Scott and Rodney Kinlaw had trouble holding onto the ball and the line was not blocking well. With Scott now out of the picture, Kinlaw and redshirt freshman Evan Royster have performed better than expected. Can the defense perform at an elite level like it did in 2005 and 2006? Yes and no. They have looked dominating at times, but that was earlier in the season. Their downfall started during the Illinois game and they haven't looked dominating since, especially the pass D. Looking at the rankings and statistics doesn't make the defense sound as bad as it has looked. Here are some national rankings for Penn State's defense through 11/5/2007:

• 12th in Total Defense; allowing 301.2 yards/game and 4.37 yards/play
• 11th in Scoring Defense; allowing 20 TDs and 17.6 points/game
• 9th in Rushing Defense; allowing 90.6 yards/game, 2.6 yards/carry, and 6 TDs
• 44th in Passing Defense; allowing 210.6 yards/game and 10 TDs
• 30th in Passing Efficiency; allowing 6.18 yards/attempt, 10.86 yards/completion, and a 56.89 completion percentage
• 79th in Passes Intercepted; 8 INTs and 2.35% of pass attempts intercepted
• 1st in Sacks; 40 sacks and an average of 4 sacks/game
• 6th in Tackles for Loss; 85 TFLs, 370 yards lost, and 8.5 TFLs/game
• 51st in stopping 3rd Down Conversions; 37.7% conversions successful

Overall those numbers look pretty good on paper. But a few things do stand out...passing defense and 3rd down conversions. The passing defense is only slightly better than average. My biggest concern is allowing almost 11 yards/completion. I know that is skewed with deep passes but it should also be skewed with short passes and screens. The average is WAY too high. I attribute this to shoddy tackling and that stupid lazy zone coverage that Tom Bradley insists on. Justin King is a supposed 1st Round NFL talent. If he really is, have him press the man! In my opinion, man coverage is more successful in shutting down receivers than zone. Strong cover corners, like King is supposed to be, should be able to line up 1-on-1 and shut the receiver down. Putting a team in zone is begging a team to complete 7-12 yard passes all game. If you don't want the whole team in zone, employ Cover 1. Not Cover 2 or 3. Obviously this changes with offensive packages, but with a base defense Penn State should use Cover 1. With their personnel, man-to-man would prove ideal. This could also help rectify another shortcoming, INTs. Only eight through 10 games? Wow. Where are those defensive playmakers? Anthony Scirrotto, King, and Tony Davis have underperformed this year. More man-to-man coverage could help increase INTs with proper technique and one roaming safety. Going back to the terrible zone coverage, 3rd down defense is atrocious. Ranked 51st? Allowing opposing teams almost a 40% conversion percentage? Unacceptable. Providing one or two more stops per game would drop that percentage into the low 30s, where it should be (Ohio State, tops in the Big Ten and 13th nationally, is allowing 30.5%). Troy (Troy!) leads the nation allowing only 24% conversions on 3rd down.

OK back to the main reason for this article: is Penn State poised to challenge for the '08 title after failing in '07? Possibly. As preseason polls show, no one really knows how a team is going to perform. We can speculate all we want. But we may not know a teams true colors until well into the season. Less than a month ago South Florida was ranked #2. They have now lost three straight. Whoops. Penn State returns a plethora of starters and lettermen for next years squad. The only significant losses are QB Anthony Morelli, LB Dan Connor, and OL John Shaw. Everyone else is back (barring jumps to the NFL from Scirrotto and/or King, but I see them coming back to prove they're more like their 2006 form and not the 2007 version). The biggest loss will be -- I can't believe I'm saying this -- Morelli. Not for his playmaking ability or his decision making. Just because he had experience. Even if Daryll Clark or Pat Devlin is potentially better in every way, they have little or no experience. Experience is everything. Losing Morelli will hurt but luckily PSU has scheduled powder puffs again for the first four games (vs Coastal Carolina, vs Arkansas State, @ Syracuse, vs To Be Announced). This will give Clark or Devlin time to adjust. Morelli will be a bigger loss than Connor because Sean Lee will be back. So will Tyrell Sales, Navorro Bowman, Bani Gbadyu, and a slew of highly touted freshman (redshirt and true). 'Linebacker U' will be fine in that respect.

So the 2008 team is almost a mirror image of the 2007 team. For better or worse. IF the team finds a suitable QB in Clark or Devlin, the team SHOULD improve. Challenge for the Big Ten? Absolutely. The schedule is rather brutal. The biggest tests will be, as usual, against Ohio State and Michigan. In 2008, Michigan comes to Happy Valley but travels to the Horseshoe. Penn State has to play four of five on the road starting October 4th @ Purdue followed by a second road trip to Madison, WI on October 11th. The Nittany Lions return home on the 18th for their battle against the Wolverines. Then they hit the road again to take on the Buckeyes (October 25th) and the road finale @ Iowa (November 8th). The last two games of '08 are in the friendly confines of Beaver Stadium vs Indiana (November 15th) and Michigan State (November 22nd). The schedule is much more difficult next year than it was this year. But a true contender fights through. I don't think Penn State has it in them. They will be better in 2008, but not a real National Title contender. If they finish 2007 at 9-3 (5-3) with a probable birth (and loss to an SEC team) in the Outback Bowl, I see 2008 at 10-2 (6-2) with losses @ Ohio State and @ Wisconsin. Predicted Bowl Game: Capital One. Sorry Blue & White, next year, like this year, is not your year.

The Reason behind 16-7

I made a prediction for the score of the game, so I figure that I might as well back it up.

I only really see both teams scoring one TD. The PSU defense will have that typical one drive where they give up the big plays which will result in a Chris Wells scamper for a TD. Other than that, I really don't see OSU scoring other than that unless it comes via a Morelli INT (which is entirely possible).

The crowd will give OSU tons of problems. You always hear how it's tough to be #1 because you have a bullseye on your back. Well in Happy Valley, that bullseye will be magnified x1000. Even I feel even more excited/motivated to scream the whole time OSU is on offense than last time they came into town. OSU players explained how the field literally shook when they were on the field for offense in 2005. I don't care how cool and composed you are, that's gotta be pretty damn intimidating. Boeckman has been incredibly shaky at times and I find it hard to believe he'll be able to move the offense very far in such a difficult playing environment. It's really going to come down to Wells running the ball. That being said, OSU will struggle to make first downs, resulting in a field position battle which Penn State should win. Penn State will be able to get into Kevin Kelly's range a few times and I see him coming through with 3 FGs.

While Morelli frightens me as our QB, I think he's finally started to get his stuff together. I know he'll try even harder than usual because he knows how badly he screwed us over at the Horseshoe last year. I think he'll throw a 1-2 picks, but I see it more as a result of bad routes/good defense than Morelli making an error. Hopefully Kinlaw can establish somewhat of a running game so Morelli will have an easier time throwing the ball.

Let's Go State.

Mistake-free Morelli a must versus Ohio State

This weekend Penn State QB Anthony Morelli may be facing the biggest game of his Penn State career when the Nittany Lions (25 AP/22 USA Today) battle Ohio State (1 AP/USA Today) in Happy Valley (8pm, ABC). During last weeks win versus Indiana, Morelli went 22 of 32 with 2 TDs and 1 INT. While he played well enough to lead the team to a win, he must play better against the Buckeyes. Against Indiana, ranked 62nd in total defense and 64th in pass defense, Morelli wasn't able to challenge them deep. Of the few passes attempted over 15 yards, one was hung in the air and was overthrown resulting in his lone INT. Penn State's offensive game plan continually featured WR screens and quick hits that Indiana never picked up on. That won't be the case against Ohio State. The Buckeyes enter their 9th game of the year with the best statistical defense in the league. They rank 1st in both total defense (208 yards/game) and scoring defense (8 points/game) and 2nd in rushing defense (62 yards/game; 1 TD) and passing defense (146 yards/game; 3 TDs).

Ohio State is probably one of the least hyped #1's in recent memory. Some of the nation believes they got there based on reputation and the fact that everyone in front of them lost, not because of how good they are. Looking at Jeff Sagarin's College Football Ratings, Ohio State may be overrated. Ohio State comes in at #3 in the Sagarin ranking format (behind LSU and Kansas) and one of the biggest reasons for this ranking and for national skepticism is their strength of schedule. Sagarin has the Big Ten as the 6th best conference in 2007. Ohio State's strength of schedule (which includes all 242 teams in both subdivisions) is 71st. They have not played any of the teams in Sagarin's current Top 30 (for reference, LSU has played 5 and they are 4-1 against them). But statistics and rankings can only tell you so much. It's not entirely OSU's fault that they have a perceived easy schedule (outside of the nonconference games). The game versus PSU this weekend will serve as a litmus test for both teams. In my opinion, Ohio State is better than people believe. But by the end of the year they will not be #1. But I digress...

The senior QB has been unspectacular and inconsistent in his 21 career starts. While he has a winning record (15-6) as a starter, 6 of those 15 wins are against sub par opponents (Akron, Youngstown State, and Temple in 2006 and Florida International, Notre Dame, and Buffalo this year). Morelli's shortcomings are quite evident and have been stated numerous times. He can't read defenses, he makes poor decisions, he is prone to fumbles and taking sacks (I know they are not always the QBs fault), and he buckles under pressure. These are quite obvious when considering these statistics:

• 9/9/2006 at Notre Dame: 21 of 33, 189 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 sack, 76.5 QB Rating

• 9/23/2006 at Ohio State: 16 of 25, 106 yards, 0 TDs, 3 INTs, 2 sacks, 33.5 QB Rating

• 10/14/2006 vs Michigan: 11 of 18, 133 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs, 5 sacks, 83.8 QB Rating

• 11/4/2006 at Wisconsin: 19 of 35, 165 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT, 4 sacks, 55.1 QB Rating

• 9/22/2007 at Michigan: 15 of 31, 169 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs, 2 sacks, 65.1 QB Rating

• 9/29/2007 at Illinois: 21 of 38, 298 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs, 4 sacks, 56.7 QB Rating

Those were Penn State's most important games last year and so far this year. Penn State's record in those six games? 0-6. The Ohio State game in 2006 and the Illinois game this year, in my opinion, demonstrate and validate the notion that Morelli was overrated coming out of high school. In the Ohio State game, Penn State was down 14-6 to number one team in the nation with about 3 minutes remaining. The Nittany Lions were approaching midfield when the Buckeyes intercepted a horrendous Morelli pass and returned it for a score. On the next series Morelli did the same thing. Two 'Pick Sixes' within five passes. Final score 28-6 and ESPN's headline talks about how OSU dominated PSU the whole game. Yeah. An eight point lead with three minutes to go is really dominating.

This year at Illinois Morelli single-handedly lost the game for Penn State. I understand it is a team effort. But his erratic and stupefying play was the deciding factor. In the 4th quarter Penn State was inside the Illinois 25 on three separate occasions. All drives ended in a Morelli turnover (2 INTs and 1 fumble). Both interceptions happened in the end zone and the fumble occurred when Morelli scrambled for a first down on a fourth down play. Penn State loses 27-20.

Morelli was supposed to stabilize the QB position these past two years but he has only continued the tradition of fans and the media calling for the back up. It happened to Matt Senneca with Zack Mills, to Mills with Michael Robinson, to Robinson with Morelli, and now with Morelli for Daryll Clark or Pat Devlin, who's trail to Penn State is eerily similar to Morelli's.

For Penn State to have a chance against the Buckeyes, Morelli must have a spectacular game. He doesn't need to be Brian Brohm, Matt Ryan, or Andre Woodson. He must perform like Trent Dilfer did for the 2000 Baltimore Ravens. Play mistake free and make the smart pass during clutch situations. Let the running game and defense take care of the rest. This game is on Morelli's shoulders.

Prediction: Defense dominates for each team (surprised?) but Ohio State wins 13-10 in front of the raucous, white-clad fans in Beaver Stadium. Morelli throws 1 INT and is sacked three times. He does not perform well in the clutch.

Image taken from The Age of Reason

Statistics from the NCAA, ESPN, and Jeff Sagarin

Overheard before Saturday's PSU-Iowa game

"Programs! Get your programs! Hey, this is a collector's item! It's the last time Austin Scott's name is in the program! Now if only he called Morelli up to come out with him... we could've gotten a twofer!"
-PSU program vendor

Austin Scott Done in Happy Valley?

While nothing concrete seems to be coming out, Austin Scott may be done playing for the Blue and White. A sexual assault was reported in the Nittany Apartment area of campus Friday morning and Scott is apparently the prime suspect. For those that don't know, Nittany Apartments is pretty much where most, if not all, the football team lives. This story is pretty much the most convincing one that he's done. If anything, Scott has been more of a burden then help for the Lions this season but this is not how you would want him to go. It's a sad story but you can't feel bad for a guy that does something like that at all. Well, Kinlaw did run for 160+ yards and 2 TDs against a good defense today so I can't say I'm too worried about all of this. It's a shame that this story has to loom over an impressive victory over Iowa. The defense looked fantastic on all but one drive (the Iowa TD drive) as they helped get the 1st down battle to a staggering 20-2 advantage for PSU at one point. The offense took a little while to get the wheels going but looked very solid in the 2nd quarter and most of the third. Morelli did throw his quota 2 boneheaded interceptions but looked ok otherwise. It's very feasible at this point for the Lions to defeat Wisconsin next week and Indiana the week after setting up a crucial date with Ohio State to end October.

My take on the Morelli issue

I don't really want to talk specifics of the game (such as, why didn't we throw like we did today in the first half when we were playing Michigan?), because let's face it, Penn State didn't deserve a W. Not with 5 turnovers and critical red-zone mistakes. But if I may, I'll weigh in on the Morelli issue...

First of all, I'm not gonna even talk about the possibility of him being benched, because if you think JoePa's benching Morelli, you're dreaming. Anthony Morelli will start on Saturday against Iowa. However, I admit that I agree with my colleagues that it might behoove Paterno to take the route that, so far, has worked well for Frank Beamer and Steve Spurrier. Both have switched their starting QBs in favor of younger players, and it seems to have worked well in their favor. I know Smelley has only started this once for the Gamecocks, but we'll see how he does down the road.

The difference between JoePa and Beamer/Spurrier is that the latter coaches made the switch before their conference (ACC for VT) or division (SEC East for South Carolina) titles were out of reach. I like the idea of starting a new QB to gain momentum for a 2008 campaign, especially because certainly our MNC and probably our Big Ten hopes are gone. But if you think Devlin's starting, you're raving mad. If anyone is replacing Morelli this year, it's Darryl Clark, and I think that's the right decision. Why? Well, in a year that the O-line is struggling (doesn't that seem like every year?), we need a mobile QB who can respond when the line collapses and make a good play with his legs. That's why Michael Robinson was so successful in the 2005 campaign. The O-line was probably just as bad as it's been for the last five years, but Mills and Morelli aren't mobile QBs. (At least, they never played Mills as one.) As far as I know, Devlin can't do that and wouldn't be a good fit right now. As the O-line matures, it may become a better match. Just not right now.

But as much as I've written about it, it's not worth wasting our time debating. Morelli is going to be our starter through the rest of this season and in our appearance in the Alamo Bowl, and Joe is perfectly okay with that.

I second that

I absolutely second J Mays' calling to bench Morelli. Leaving him in at this juncture is pointless. You're supposed to start the quarterback that gives you the best chance to win. Honestly, I feel like any quarterback on this roster gives us an equal chance to win. All Morelli has proven this season is that he's a guy with a rocket arm that makes absolutely horrendous decisions (and can't hold on to the ball). I understand that Illinois is a pretty decent football team but turning the ball over 4 times is unacceptable, no matter who you are playing. The play calling today was much, much better than it has been in the past few games and the Lions just couldn't capitalize. They pieced together a few impressive drives but the wheels would just come off by the end. Killer #1 was Morelli's terrible INT at the Illinois 1 yard line. It was just a terrible throw that thwarted an impressive late game drive. Killer #2 was Morelli's fumble after getting the first down on 4th and long with less than a minute to go in the game. Kudos for having the courage to run that but if you're going to run it HOLD ON TO THE FOOTBALL. I agree that Devlin should get the nod, at least for a game or two. Let's see what he can do. Leaving in Morelli would be like the Giants re-signing Barry Bonds after this year. Sure, he can do some things for you, but getting cutting ties is for the good of the club. PSU isn't winning a national title and a Big Ten title is a long shot at this point. For the future...

Morelli Must Be Benched

As the Nittany Lions lose for the 2nd straight week, it has become glaring that changes are needed at QB. Anthony Morelli must be benched. He should be relegated to 4th string behind Clark, Devlin, and Cianciolo. Not just because of his horrendous game today. But because of his horrendous career. In the 18 games Morelli has started, Penn State is 12-6. Mediocre considering 6 of those wins are against cupcakes (Akron, Yougnstown State, Temple, FIU, Notre Dame (2007), and Buffalo). In those 6 wins hes thrown for 12 TDs and 2 INTs. Not bad. Except that the statistic most important to any QB is his rating. Morelli has topped 100 in those 12 games ONLY 3 times (Akron 2006, FIU 2007, Buffalo 2007). Even against inferior opponents he's statistically terrible. In important, meaningful games he's 6-6 and has had a QB rating under 70 in 6 of those 12 contests. Also in those 12 games he has thrown just 8 TDs versus 9 INTs. Wow. He is not a good QB. He has shown no signs of improvement. He can't beat good teams. He makes terrible decisions. He can't hold onto the ball. He MUST be removed. If he can't lead this team someone else must get a chance. Personally I think it should be Pat Devlin, the prize recruit of the 2005 class who rescinded on his verbal commitment to Miami to sign with Penn State. Devlin redshirted last year. He must start and the staff has to evaluate his raw skills and determine if he is the QB for the rest of this year and 2008, 2009, and 2010. He would gain massive amounts of experience this year and be poised for a steady campaign in 2008. The Penn State team this year is not devoid of talent (excluding the offensive line). Devlin wouldn't be playing on a bad team (like Jimmy Clausen). It would build his game management skills and he would gain live action experience, the most important component to building a successful QB. Devlin must get the start Saturday versus Iowa in Happy Valley.

Unfortunately, I was right...

A few days ago, I said this little quip on the PSU-UM game:

-It pains me to pick this but I don't think Morelli will be able to cut it and I think Hart could just have a field day against our D-Line. Regardless, it should be very close.

Well, Morelli didn't cut it. No picks, thank God, but there was a costly fumble and a completion % under 50%. Half the time he looked lost out there but from what I could see, some of that had to do with a shaky O-Line and receivers not running crisp routes. Regardless, he did make some stupid throws.

Hart did have a field day. Just when you thought he was gonna get stopped by the line, he kept going...and going...and going. He's the main reason Michigan won this one.

It was close, lucky for PSU. The D kept them in this one. I felt bad for them because the O didn't help them out at all. Michigan had the ball for 10 more minutes than PSU and that's just unacceptable.

Either way, I have no idea what happened to UM in the first two games but they're not that bad of a football team. They have just as good a shot as anyone in the Big Ten this year and I'm just glad PSU got their toughest road game off the schedule already.

Also, if Austin Scott starts one more game for the Blue and White......

Anthony Morelli...uh oh

So apparently I say 'uh oh' pretty much 90% of the time Anthony Morelli drops back to throw a pass. I had no idea that I did this until everyone around me pointed it out at the ND game this evening. Either way, that's pretty much an exact depiction of my confidence in Morelli. Outside of a perfect pass he had to Chris Bell, he either made a stupid decision or could have thrown the ball better on all the other ones. It's pretty bad when your QB has a 50/50 chance of hitting a receiver on a screen but I'm pretty sure that's the case with Morelli. Keep an eye out for my synopsis about this past weekend of college football. 39-7?? I still can't believe it. Can't wait to see the odds on the ND v. UM game this Saturday.

Penn State-Notre Dame 1st Half Observations

Penn State looks awful. The defense struggled on Notre Dame's first possession but got away with it when the Irish kicker missed a 50 year field goal. When Penn State took over Morelli threw a terrible pass intended for Derrick Williams which was intercepted and returned for a TD. 7-0 Notre Dame. The Penn State D has played extremely well since the opening drive. Wish I could say the same for the offense. On Penn State's 2nd offensive drive Austin Scott fumbled. Fortunately Derrick Williams provided some offense on special times, returning a punt for a 78 yard TD. Tied at 7-7. The only good drive by PSU in the first half yielded a 10 yard TD pass from Morelli to Norwood. 14-7 Penn State. The Penn State O had another chance with 30+ seconds left in the 2nd quarter but Morelli made an idiotic play. He scrambled out of the pocket and tucked the ball. Instead of attempting to run out of bounds and stop the clock (PSU had no timeouts left) he pushed for more yardage and was stripped by Notre Dame's Tom Zbikowski. Luckily, Notre Dame couldn't capitalize. At the end of the 1st half it's Penn State 14, Notre Dame 7.

Penn State better play better. They look awful. No running game. Stupid decisions by Morelli. As usual, the D is carrying the team.