Sunday Observations - Penn. St.
1. Wisconsin is 17-1 (should be 18-1 after Buffalo) at home since 2004. After a few down years (2001-2003), the homefield advantage is back.
2. The running backs had problems picking up blitzing linebackers. They really got Stocco drilled on a couple of plays.
3. P.J. Hill dropped two passes where he had the blocking set up. While I don't expect him to catch as many balls as Calhoun, that part of his game needs to improve.
4. Crooks had some excellent blocks when he lined up in the backfield. While Beckum gets attention because of his great catches, Crooks is a great jack of all trades.
5. Mehlhaff had made 8 straight before his miss from 47, which he was two yards wide right.
6. As the MJS stated, Hampton's muff was caused by Ike's failure to get out of the way. The communication needs to be better between Hampton and the jammers.
7. There was no TV replay on the fourth and one conversion at the end of the first half, but the spot looked to be less than generous. Paul McGuire (the former ESPN Sunday night football announcer) was sure that the Badgers were short. He has a history of being correct on SNF, but in this case he was not.
8. Paul McGuire realized right away what Bielema was doing with the kickoffs at the end of the first half. JoePa was pissed, but knowing the new rules was very smart by Bielema. On the third kick, the time keeper didn't start the clock until a PSU player touched the ball, which was a mistake. JoePa angrily brushed away the halftime interview. The announcers said the way to fix the quirk in the system is for the officials to call the kicking team for unsportsmanlike conduct and assess a 15 yard penalty.
9. As the saying goes, "to add insult to injury," the PSU player did not control the ball going out of bounds in the play where JoePa was injured. The play should have been reviewed.
10. Hampton did a great job staying engaged with two jammers on the muffed punt. He was able to quickly find the ball, probably because he has been a part of so many muffed punts during punt return duties.
11. The Stocco "fumble" was a bad call. He was not trying to tuck the ball back in, as the replay official claimed. The announcers strongly disagreed with the call. There was no evidence of a tuck by Stocco. Stocco was in obvious pain on the sideline.
12. Why run a toss on fourth and one when Wisconsin's LBs are so fast? Had the PSU OC not seen the tape?
13. Decent flights to Orlando are running $450 (Fri to Tues).
posted by Sherby @ 3:33 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Maybe next time Paterno will agree to a night game in Madison when asked by Wisconsin and ABC...
What, too harsh?
The Journal Sentinel is reporting that Stocco's status won't be determined until late in the week. Look, I know Iowa stinks but we can't go into a gunfight with even the sharpest of machetes and expect to win.
My response is to points 2-4. I think some of the blitz pickup problems came from backside leakage and the RB blocked the strong side. Stocco has proven vulnerable on his blindside, so the back should be rotated there and one TE should remain on the line in long passing situations.
PJ appears to be turning upfield before securing the ball, a classic sign of inexperience.
Stocco shouldn't have returned to the game after injuring his shoulder. The second blow could cost the team a win at Iowa and perhaps the January bowl game.
Crooks also made excellent blocks at the LOS. He is particularly adept at holding the edge and sustaining a block while our backs get plus yards along the sideline.
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