Game Thread: Maryland week/Game thread (Homecoming)

[linebackeru]

Homecoming week, the Lions coming off a HUGE comeback win against a solid Minnesota team. Think Irvin Charles lit the fuse and the team really came together, hopefully it carries forward. Pry is doing an excellent job, considering how many people are out with injuries....our LB's are young now and making a few mistakes, but Bowen and Brown are going to be special. DL really playing much better now than earlier in season. Shareef Miller starting to flash his potential, Tyrell chavis has been getting better every week and adjusting to this level of play as well. alarming part is outr secondary, which was a strength to start season and is now a MASH unit as well. Need Golden back, Apke just not good and need Haley to shake the rust off, especially if Campbell and Owuiarie are out.

Offense, what can I say, Trace FINALLY started keeping the ball on some zone reads and it paid off. He FINALLY started to use his feet and kept his eyes downfield for some big. If he continues to use his legs, it will take a lot of pressure off BArkley and give him more room to roam. Downsides, Gaia is just terrible, our tackles are average at best, but the young interior guys Bates and McGovern getting better and when you add Menet next year we'll have a monster interior for 3 years...hopefully Jenkins/Beh/Fries can push for time at OT next season as well.

No prediction till a better feel for injuries is out later this week, but I think we win regardless.....Maryland has played nobody with a pulse yet, I see we are 3-5 point faves already in vegas as well

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

Line is down to anywhere from 1 to 2 pts. NCAA College Football Odds and Daily Lines - ESPN Maryland at Penn State Picks, Odds & Betting Lines - Sat 10/08 12:00 PM EDT - SportsLine.com

How embarrassing that so many are betting against a home favorite, a "football school" against traditional doormat Maryland. I just don't understand that, as you said the Terps have played nobody and once again will be exposed once they play a real team. How far Penn State has fallen is amazing, they are just a team now and it's been that way for a while.

 

[linebackeru]

36-2-1

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

Oh I get that, you used to be a power and MD has always sucked for the most part. But this week's line would be like Vegas saying MD and Penn State were equals in basketball. That's my entire point. You are a football school with a long history, it's obviously not like it used to be up there anymore. You are feeling the same hangover Maryland sports felt after the Len Bias tragedy.

We came back, question is will your team?

 

[linebackeru]

Actually Penn state, even under sanctions, never had a losing season with half a roster and had a better record than UMD at full strength over that period. I feel pretty good about where we are right now and the classes Franklin has brought in. They came out of what would've sunk 99% of the programs in the nation without a losing season...worse sanctions than Bama had and they were 4-9 6-7 2 of their probation years. I know you hope PSU is down and out, but you're going to be disappointed going forward when this roster loaded with super FR and SO talent matures and has more coming in behind it.

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

Your last 3 seasons have been 7-6, 7-6, and 7-5. You are currently 3-2 and once the 3 pts home field is taken out the public sees you as worse than a Maryland team that we have already established is a doormat.

I understand you had sanctions but they have been gone for years. But I also understand it takes a while to build back. But if you are happy with this record and trips to something called the TaxSlayer Bowl then man have you lowered your bar from a program that was a national power for generations. Maybe the young talent will develop, maybe it won't. But this is for certain, there is no guarantee what so ever that you will ever return to the glory days.

 

[linebackeru]

Yeah, our last 3 seasons have been where the teeth of the sanctions have been felt and still no losing season....also, where do you get they've been gone for years? This is first year with a full roster and its mainly comprised of FR/So players. Not having a losing season with about 40 man roster is something very few programs would've been able to pull off. Franklin is doing it the right way for long term and not rushing players in who could contribute now but will benefit the program more as a 5th year senior than a true FR. The young talent is developing. McSorely is doing a great job, is a SO, the skill positions are loaded with talent that is stepping up and more waiting in the wings, the OL is playing 2 young guys who will be VERY good with more experience in Bates and McGovern, plus we have Menet, Fries, Jenkins, Gonzalez, other ready to contribute next year. On D, we are down 7-8 LB's, can't control injuries, but Manny Bowen getting the extra reps along with Cam Brown will pay off going forward, both very talented, but make youthful mistakes from lack of experience. Secondary has a ton of young talent as well. That's not counting the guys who are coming in this class.

Franklin had a huge rebuild, we had an empty cupboard on OL, no secondary, no RB and very little depth everywhere else when he arrived. This is essentially Franklin's first year in my eyes. He weathered the biggest part of the storm. There are some loons who think he is on even a remotely warm seat, but fact of matter is the AD knows the situation and knows this is really the first season with a full roster and that full roster is very young. Very excited about where the program is heading right now

Also, where does the "public" see us as worse than Maryland? In the DMV? If you mention Maryland and PSU to someone and are talking football, you really think anyone will say Maryland program is on the same level as PSU??

BTW, I see you are a sox fan, once my Jays dispatch of Texas we can discuss ALCS as well

 

[AlistairChiss]

No, he's absolutely right. We used to be a top tier team but haven't quite returned to that. I personally define top tier as routinely having 10+ win seasons.

1970s - 6 10+ win seasons, rebuilding meant going 8-4, 2 unclaimed national titles
1980s - 5 10+ win seasons, rebuilding meant going 8-4, 2 national titles + 1 unclaimed national title
1990s - 5 10+ win seasons, rebuilding meant going 9-3, 1 robbed shot at a national title
2000s - 3 10+ win seasons, included "the dark years", 1 legitimate dark horse shot at a national title (2005, 2008 was a good year but in no way a national title worthy team)
2010s - 0 10+ win seasons (and not looking likely for at least another 2-3 seasons)

Our last 10 win season was in 2009, several years before sanctions. Could 2011 have been a 10 win season had the scandal not broke? Perhaps, but that was a brutal slate to close the season out on and I'm not certain we could have done it.



Anyways on topic for a moment....

Maryland 27, PSU 24 - I just don't see us not committing turn overs for a second straight week and I think that will be necessary to win.

 

[linebackeru]

No, he's absolutely right. We used to be a top tier team but haven't quite returned to that. I personally define top tier as routinely having 10+ win seasons.

1970s - 6 10+ win seasons, rebuilding meant going 8-4, 2 unclaimed national titles
1980s - 5 10+ win seasons, rebuilding meant going 8-4, 2 national titles + 1 unclaimed national title
1990s - 5 10+ win seasons, rebuilding meant going 9-3, 1 robbed shot at a national title
2000s - 3 10+ win seasons, included "the dark years", 1 legitimate dark horse shot at a national title (2005, 2008 was a good year but in no way a national title worthy team)
2010s - 0 10+ win seasons (and not looking likely for at least another 2-3 seasons)

Our last 10 win season was in 2009, several years before sanctions. Could 2011 have been a 10 win season had the scandal not broke? Perhaps, but that was a brutal slate to close the season out on and I'm not certain we could have done it.



Anyways on topic for a moment....

Maryland 27, PSU 24 - I just don't see us not committing turn overs for a second straight week and I think that will be necessary to win.

and its because of sanctions/playing with half a roster. That's not an excuse, that's reality. We had 2 11 win seasons in 08-09, 9 wins when shit hit the fan in 2011, then were undermanned till we finally got a full roster now, albeit a very, very young one that will be ready to take us back next year and beyond. The fact we NEVER had a losing season under the sanctions shows what a level our program is at, most places would've been lucky to keep the program running let alone never have a losing season.....by the way, the 2008 team was very much in the National title picture till Clark got hurt in the Iowa game and they lost on a last second FG. BTW we had a 6 and 5 win season in 80's so rebuilding was hardly an 8-4 season then...90's and 70's, yeah, we had it rolling non stop

Point is, PSU is a blue blood program and if they weren't we'd have fulfilled the initial projections of the "experts" for winning 2-3 games per year for a decade.

I guess it is late in week, know who is and isn't playing so prediction

PSU - 38 Umd - 31 Trace has another big week and opens it up for Barkley to roll in second half. Umd will run the ball, make no mistake about that...especially with Smith likely out again in middle, sliding Manny there for first time, but Golden is back which helps and the O seems to have finally realized they can move at will once Trace uses his legs.

 

[linebackeru]

Looks like rain in morning then showers during game, hopefully they keep it tarped up as long as possible. Alumni band and band can stay off the grass!!!! Still wish I could go, but can't bail on my team for baseball playoffs

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

I know it appears as if I'm here to flame. OK just a bit but also trying to be honest and fair. I get it, you had sanctions. And as a MD fan who went through a far more crippling penalty for a much smaller crime, no TV or tourney for 2 seasons for giving a player rides to classes and then lying about it, I understand what it can do to a program. And I also understand it takes longer to rebuild a football team than a basketball team.

My point remains you are Penn State. You are a football school, even with "half a roster" (still questioning that claim) you should be more competitive than 7-6. The fact that you are bragging about 7-6 shows just how far you have fallen. The sanctions were not crippling, not even close. And they have been gone for 2 years. Even without the sanctions being lifted, the right move by the way, recruits knew they would end shortly after they started their careers. So if you were still Penn State those players would have looked beyond the expiring sanctions. And even in your darkest hour you still retained players like Hackenberg, who apparently was really good. In high school.

Now you are a home underdog to a program we all understand is a doormat. Wow. I don't want to hear it if you drum Maryland today, that is entirely possible. That seems to be your go to card: we're better than Maryland. Get off that. We are not talking about Maryland, they suck. We are talking about how far Penn State has fallen.

 

[JD Racer Dad]

For old guys the Penn State rivalry that wasn't means more to old guys (me) than any of the younger Alumni. WV would have been a better choice as a recent rivalry if they had come to the ACC in recent times. Great games and great traveling fans both ways and wins going back and forth. Penn State turned down by the ACC when it might have meant something to both of us because the NC Mafia was sure they would never expand above the Mason Dixon Line. (How did that work out for them) But that time is gone and for the younger fans and Alumni it doesn't exist. A Penn State Player at the time we were playing regularly described it best (and I was at Maryland at the time) A Rivalry Should Have Two Teams That Have Wins In The Series. I liked what he said. It was big for us but not the same to Penn State. And as noted above Maryland had losses and close losses, but wins not so much. Grin

So what does it mean to us now. Maryland is coming out of the Coach Deadsall exile, no 500 conference seasons (only a couple in his career), no wins against top 25 (only one in his career). bowls wins forget it. Barely beat William and Mary.

Durkin and the staff he has put together has brought a buzz. The way he treats players and prepares them, the way he treats past players, the energy he and his are bringing to recruiting etc are causing some anticipation if not excitement to the Maryland fans. Got a kid in a war zone (not an Alumni) checking the feed time to see how it aligns with his. The expectations this year were 4 (over/under line last March) to 6 (line by this past summer) wins. They haven't played strong teams but have looked prepared and disciplined.
So this game is big in terms of a check on culture change test win or loose. Win, we are ahead of schedule. Lose and play competitively and we win looking to 2017 and top 20 recruiting commitment class. Lose bad and we only know we are not there yet.

So what is it to Penn State. You win, you should have and beat a nobody. Lose and you just have more evidence you're not as far back as you might hope. Lose big and it's worse, and you get to use your long excuse list.

So here we are as they say in Baseball and NASCAR in the Modern Era "BIG Ten" at 1-1 with both having a one point win at the others home site. Grin.
Go Terps.

 

[linebackeru]

I know it appears as if I'm here to flame. OK just a bit but also trying to be honest and fair. I get it, you had sanctions. And as a MD fan who went through a far more crippling penalty for a much smaller crime, no TV or tourney for 2 seasons for giving a player rides to classes and then lying about it, I understand what it can do to a program. And I also understand it takes longer to rebuild a football team than a basketball team.

My point remains you are Penn State. You are a football school, even with "half a roster" (still questioning that claim) you should be more competitive than 7-6. The fact that you are bragging about 7-6 shows just how far you have fallen. The sanctions were not crippling, not even close. And they have been gone for 2 years. Even without the sanctions being lifted, the right move by the way, recruits knew they would end shortly after they started their careers. So if you were still Penn State those players would have looked beyond the expiring sanctions. And even in your darkest hour you still retained players like Hackenberg, who apparently was really good. In high school.

Now you are a home underdog to a program we all understand is a doormat. Wow. I don't want to hear it if you drum Maryland today, that is entirely possible. That seems to be your go to card: we're better than Maryland. Get off that. We are not talking about Maryland, they suck. We are talking about how far Penn State has fallen.

Look at Miami, USC and Bama and what happened to them and long it took to recover from lesser sanctions. They hit us with what they thought would be worse than the death penalty...let us die on the vine....and we withstood it with zero losing seasons, an amazing feat. Franklin was left with no OL, no secondary, no RB and limited skill at WR. Yes, he had a talented QB in Hack, but when Hack lost the few OL that remained from pre sanctions and an elite WR in Arob, he was just a tackling dummy getting pummeled mercilessly. Look at our recruiting classes under O'Brien and those are the classes who are now JR-SR....Franklin has had 2 full recruiting cycles and has reloaded the roster, but we are VERY young. Team is at 85 scholarships, but only a handful of SR starters, I am very pleased with where we are at after what we were hammered with and what Franklin is doing with the roster. Just because they repealed the sanctions early, the damage was done and we needed several years to reload and get back to where we need to be. Franklin is doing it right to get us back to sustained high level play....this year is a growing year where we could've been anywhere from 6-6 to 9-3 and nobody should be surprised either way. Next year, we should take big step forward witha ll the experience the young guys are getting and the guys behind them RS this year filling in as well as kids coming in this class. So, you can say we've fallen, I can say we have weathered a storm like no other that has ever been put down and never waivered, never had a losing year and are back on the upswing with Franklin.....I trust the process.

I mean, when we are on all cylinders, we should never lose to Maryland, today, we are not back to that level yet, have 7 LB's hurt, are young and tackle sloppy and turn the ball over too much...another result of youth, inexperience. I don't consider it a rivalry at all, its similar to Pitt for me. A team that if we win, we should, if we lose its a huge feather in cap for the opponent.

 

[linebackeru]

For old guys the Penn State rivalry that wasn't means more to old guys (me) than any of the younger Alumni. WV would have been a better choice as a recent rivalry if they had come to the ACC in recent times. Great games and great traveling fans both ways and wins going back and forth. Penn State turned down by the ACC when it might have meant something to both of us because the NC Mafia was sure they would never expand above the Mason Dixon Line. (How did that work out for them) But that time is gone and for the younger fans and Alumni it doesn't exist. A Penn State Player at the time we were playing regularly described it best (and I was at Maryland at the time) A Rivalry Should Have Two Teams That Have Wins In The Series. I liked what he said. It was big for us but not the same to Penn State. And as noted above Maryland had losses and close losses, but wins not so much. Grin

So what does it mean to us now. Maryland is coming out of the Coach Deadsall exile, no 500 conference seasons (only a couple in his career), no wins against top 25 (only one in his career). bowls wins forget it. Barely beat William and Mary.

Durkin and the staff he has put together has brought a buzz. The way he treats players and prepares them, the way he treats past players, the energy he and his are bringing to recruiting etc are causing some anticipation if not excitement to the Maryland fans. Got a kid in a war zone (not an Alumni) checking the feed time to see how it aligns with his. The expectations this year were 4 (over/under line last March) to 6 (line by this past summer) wins. They haven't played strong teams but have looked prepared and disciplined.
So this game is big in terms of a check on culture change test win or loose. Win, we are ahead of schedule. Lose and play competitively and we win looking to 2017 and top 20 recruiting commitment class. Lose bad and we only know we are not there yet.

So what is it to Penn State. You win, you should have and beat a nobody. Lose and you just have more evidence you're not as far back as you might hope. Lose big and it's worse, and you get to use your long excuse list.

So here we are as they say in Baseball and NASCAR in the Modern Era "BIG Ten" at 1-1 with both having a one point win at the others home site. Grin.
Go Terps.

I don't think PSU can blow anyone out that can run the ball with our MASH unit at LB and a DL that shows their inexperience with lack of gap control. We can score points on almost anyone not named Michigan though.

As far as recruiting, they need to hold on to those guys, if they lose today and unravel in the brutal part of their schedule coming up, it will be like last year when Haskins bailed late on them.

As far as how far back we are....we are a very young, albeit talented team that is growing every week. We are decimated on the defensive side with injuries and nobody expected us to contend for B1G title just want to see team grow and improve as year goes on. Next year is first year I will be expecting bigger things overall. We will have a lot of talented guys with the experience and a QB who just knows how to win....if you are from DMV, he certainly tore it up in HS in that area.

A blowout either way is only thing that would surprise me today

 

[linebackeru]

Either way, good luck to you guys, hopefully its an injury free game that's well played. I won't be online till tomorrow win or lose, but feel free to discuss in this thread as long as its not straight flames all day

 

[JD Racer Dad]

Linebackeru, I think you and I are on about the same page as far as expectations today and this year, but maybe with a reverse score. Grin.
As far as recruiting, I'm not sure Durkin's looses the benefit of the doubt with the results of one game or this season. We lost Haskins and Keandre Jones both 4 Stars to Ohio State after Coach Deadsall was fired. I don't think Deadsall was going to keep them anyway. We'll see about 2017.
The hidden situation at Maryland that makes us young like Penn State is who is actually playing. A lot a true freshman vs Sophomores and Juniors. Then those "ifs and but" we did have a couple defensive line guys leave early with the coaching change that are getting playing time in the NFL. Dang.

Maybe five years or so from now we can be real rivals. Probably always be somewhat of an outsider to the old BIG schools not matter the game result. In the ACC it was the Carolina Mafia and everyone else.
Go Terps

 

[bonham]

That game was fun

I love this team

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

Linebackeru, I think you and I are on about the same page as far as expectations today and this year, but maybe with a reverse score. Grin.
As far as recruiting, I'm not sure Durkin's looses the benefit of the doubt with the results of one game or this season. We lost Haskins and Keandre Jones both 4 Stars to Ohio State after Coach Deadsall was fired. I don't think Deadsall was going to keep them anyway. We'll see about 2017.
The hidden situation at Maryland that makes us young like Penn State is who is actually playing. A lot a true freshman vs Sophomores and Juniors. Then those "ifs and but" we did have a couple defensive line guys leave early with the coaching change that are getting playing time in the NFL. Dang.

Maybe five years or so from now we can be real rivals. Probably always be somewhat of an outsider to the old BIG schools not matter the game result. In the ACC it was the Carolina Mafia and everyone else.
Go Terps

The last paragraph was on point. I honestly don't see Maryland ever being anywhere other than on the outside looking inat the football world. But again this is the Penn State board, thanks linebackeru for keeping it civil here.

I still question just how crippling the penalties were. Being allowed on TV is not even close to "Death Penalty" status. And again the sanctions were removed after only 2 years. Did that as well as the loss of scholarships hurt? Of course they did. But it was certainly a situation that should not take 5 years and counting to dig out from IMO. I don't remember the specifics at tue other schools but Miami hasn't been Miami since the 90's, like many programs their time came and went. SC lost Pete Carroll and were never the same.

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

Anyway congrats on yesterday, I was at a party with the sound down so not sure about the injuries, hope they are all OK. Still wondering what the betters were thinking moving the line so much during the week. Serves them right for betting on my school. LOL.

 

[Retroram52]

What is up with everyone trying to take out our kicker. Again.

Player ejected for hit on Penn State kicker Joey Julius for second week in a row (Video)