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Post Game Reflections & Questions

TMFT

All-Big Ten
Nov 4, 2019
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Here are some thoughts regarding the game. I delayed posting to let the euphoria wear down (not off).

Offense
1) I don't think the first 58 minutes were on Sheridan. Those were execution problems. First game execution problems just like we saw against Ball St. last year.
2) Even though MP was early getting some balls out, particularly early in the game, and was more inaccurate than normal, there were also plenty of instances of the ball still hitting his WR in the hands. Not that they would have been easy catches, but there's that old saying that if it hits your hands you can catch it.
3) I won't have a more firm opinion on OL until after the Mich game. Like, how much of that yesterday was the IU OL not coming together vs. PSU just being good. And poor Caleb Jones there at the end getting whipped twice. Rough. And he wasn't alone.
4) I don't know if the dearth of outside runs were a talent/speed issue, a lack of snaps issue, or the gameplan.

Defense
1) Saved the day.
2) The first PSU drive was a grinder and had the completely inexplicable failure to account for all-American TE which I think we were all calling out Play Action to the TE there. But other than that, kudos
3) Micah had some missed tackles early and looked slow in space on a swing pass I recall in the 1st quarter (or 2nd), but he settled in and was everywhere.
4) I love Sio. And Swann accounted well for himself on some plays.
5) On the whole, way to stuff the inside run on the regular.
6) There was ZERO pressure with the front 4. Kinda like the OL above, I'll defer until after the Michigan game to know if that is an "us" problem or a "them" problem.
7) BIGGEST OBSERVATION - They were able to send a bunch of LB pressure but PSU wasn't testing the corners. Maybe Reece & Mullen are really locking it down. Fingers Crossed

Overall
PSU played badly in many ways, but then again so did IU. There are no style points & I was bouncing all over my living room during that final review.


P.S. - Speaking of the review, I think the touchdown was originally called because he hit the pylon with the ball. But in review where the ball clearly hit the ground before the pylon, they ended up no overturning because they couldn't tell if the nose was over the goal line before hitting the ground or pylon.
 
I forgot to add on other observation. Ramsey most likely would have not been as inaccurate as MP was early on. But MP threw some absolute LAZERS for completions throughout the game that PR just would NOT have been able to do.

And on that note, awesome to see PR's final season start off so well at NW last night.
 
A couple of my observations.
1. Hard to tell on a TV Screen, but it looked to me like Penix was making a lot of throws flat footed without stepping into it, causing the ball to Sail. it also appeared to me that he was throwing more three quarters or sidearm than over the top. Maybe a result of the injuries?

2. I'm all for keeping Penix Healthy, but he threw much more in the pocket, and we didn't roll him or move him in the pocket, which surprised me.

3. Just to highlight a couple of plays.

a. Usually if you talk about a Momentum Changing play you are talking about something that leads to a score or something noticeable. To me that Scott fumble before the half was a momentum changer. Even though PSU missed the Field Goal attempt, it gave them a Breath of Air they wouldn't have had if we had run out the half. Their Defense came out in the third Quarter, and we only ran 4 plays from Scrimmage in the quarter. Not sure if the Defense was inspired or if our Offense was flat.

b. The receivers didn't help Penix and dropped a lot of catchable Balls. But the one I want to highlight is the drop over the middle by Hederschott with about 5 Minutes left in the 4th Quarter. It was third down and we were up 20-14. His Defender f=ell down and he was wide open with a lot of open space in Penn State Territory. Had he made the catch, at the very least we would have had a new set of Downs and the ability to run a couple of Minutes of clock with the lead. Maybe we get a Touchdown, or a Field Goal which would have extended the lead to 9 with less time for PSU to use. The pass wasn't perfect but Henderschott seemed to fight the ball like he was wearing a pair of Boards on his Hands. He makes the catch, and we may not have had to sweat the last minutes.

c. The Final PSU Touchdown On the "Score Don't Score Play". I'm glad they scored and gave us the opportunity to score and tie the game. But I hate the whole concept and the Execution. When you tell a running back not to try to gain yardage and score, you are telling him to do something that is counter intuitive to his training and background. If the objective is to force the other team to use their timeouts before you give the ball back, let your Quarterback run laterally to the hash mark and go down at the Hash mark so he doesn't risk going out of Bounds and stopping the Clock. That should use up 10-20 Seconds of Clock Time. On 4th Down, you can choose to try to score or at worst Turn the Ball back to your opponent at their 5 Yard Line with a Minute left in the Game and no Timeouts, and trust your Defense. If you score you kick off to a team with one minute and no timeouts, but require them to score a TD and 2 Point Conversion to tie.

4. Win or lose, I like Allen's decision to go for 2 in overtime. Your Defense was on the field for a lot of Plays and showed no ability to stop Penn state at that point. Why match points in OT and reach the point where you are required to go for 2 following a Score?

5. I will withhold discussion of the Play Calling for now. It was a difficult game due to Penix Rust, restrictions on Off Season Work, the number of Short field situations due to turnovers, and the weird 3rd Quarter with only 4 Offensive Plays, The game never developed a Rhythm or Smooth Flow.
 
Admittedly, I'm not a student of the football game. That said, why did Allen not utilize Penix's feet/legs last night? Not until crunch time did he run with the ball. ?????

McHoop
 
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Seems the more veteran IU receivers (PH, Whop, Fryfogle) definitely struggled catching yesterday. The Hendershot drop on 3rd down with under 5 minutes left, while still up 6, being the biggest. Seemed the ref may have distracted him just enough, but a ball that needs to be caught. He did bounce back for the tough catch at the goal line. Marshall, Swinton and Hewitt all made big catches. Kudos to them.

As for MP not using his feet more, it's obvious they want him not to run much, exposing to injury. But after seeing how much heat, hurries and the number of hits he took, maybe getting him out of the pocket to throw might be safer for him?? Will hope he gets a cleaner pocket in future games.
 
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Seems the more veteran IU receivers (PH, Whop, Fryfogle) definitely struggled catching yesterday. The Hendershot drop on 3rd down with under 5 minutes left, while still up 6, being the biggest. Seemed the ref may have distracted him just enough, but a ball that needs to be caught. He did bounce back for the tough catch at the goal line. Marshall, Swinton and Hewitt all made big catches. Kudos to them.

As for MP not using his feet more, it's obvious they want him not to run much, exposing to injury. But after seeing how much heat, hurries and the number of hits he took, maybe getting him out of the pocket to throw might be safer for him?? Will hope he gets a cleaner pocket in future games.
I wanted to post something about Swinton and Hewitt in particular and you beat me to it. Those guys stepped up on that end of regulation TD drive . . . and it seemed to light a fire under Whop, as he started getting open and catching the ball after those two showed up.

Swinton caught a couple of Penix' lasers, which tells me that the execution problems on the drops were issues with the receivers . . . and Hewitt's catch was past him when he nabbed that sucker.

Up to then, it was Myles Marshall's show, as he seemed to be the only guy willing to catch Penix' throws . . . to the extent they were catchable. Yeah, Penix had issues with the ball sailing on him . . . until the pressure was on. Love that he was able to play his best when it was needed most.

Hendershot . . . too much time with his lawyers the last several months, I guess.

The bad news is that we won ugly . . . the good news is that we won ugly and the most improvement we'll see is this week, between the first game and the second game. So I'm interested to see how we play in Piscataway . . . I'm not sure whether Rutgers is that good or that MSU is that bad . . .

. . . and I want to see how we handle a bit of success. It doesn't get easier from here because we now have a target on our backs . . . .
 
I too waited to next morning for posting after one of most exciting IU games ever.

So agree, game one, not. Or
Al prep time, etc, so there were going to be some rust and time to ease back into groove.

Here were some running observations I took throughout the game:

-First PSU TD, shocking time me Def wasn’t thinking “watch out for their All-American TE there! (But it was literally first drive of season)

-Noticed drops starting. Whop has one catchable, then of course HUGE one in 4th by Hendershot that likely ices the game.

-Defense quickly bounced back with a very Nice 3 & out to respond! (Pe is saved the day in end, but my overall game ball goes to the defense who carried the offense most of the game)

-The Pass protection not great. Caleb did seem to snap out of it after his two sacks. And hey, scheme to help him if you have a stud DE wreaking havoc! To their credit IU did adjust.

-Takeaways! Kudos for a fumble caused & recovery and two picks. Tom Allen would likely say you get 3 takeaways you more than not will win. Defense came to play! Has athletes!

-Stevie Scott couldn’t get going for awhile. Some on him and some on OL. It did pick up though.

-No question Penix was a bit off most of the game. Yes there were drops, but he was sail g some, under throwing or behind and get like he was eyeing Fryefogle too much CJ versus seeing 2nd & 3rd reads. (More in end game later). I do actually think he will watch film and settle down and when / as he does, he will start picking teams apart.

-By second half, seeing IU still Not getting much pressure on QB! Talent? Scheme? Or studly PSY OL?

-IU D had to play a LOT of minutes but must have better depth as they still delivered. Again, surprised they would lose site of the TE, needed more awareness of an All-American. As they were getting gased, think that’s when Reese T got the unfortunate holding call which believe was on a 3rd & long. IU caused a LOT of third & longs, but think bc of the minutes disparity they gave up some 1st downs that can be backbreakers, but they did seem to more bend not break overall.

-Coaching call by IU of question:
- End first half, If PSU not calling a TO, why not kneel at end of half versus risk the fumble that occurred! (Refs misses a helmet hit but still don’t put yourself in that position!)

-Specialty teams: Though Whitehead punted very well. Reese has a nice Punt return. OurFG/EP kicker is a total stud!!!
Smolar had a very short opening kick and then almost cost us the game with that unreal last kick that put PSU on the 50! That has to get cleaned up!

-Second half, Defense really let QB run like a banchi. Can they not put a spy on a running threat more? (But do think DBs must have been playing wel!) Unreal QB running.

-IU has found TWO new great looking WR threats: Swinton & Hewitt! So excited about them! Plus was it Marshall knocked out of game? He played well too!

-Penix: pre last 2 min, he didn’t have an A+ game. But do think the stud in him came out in the end. He made some rope passes that I thought were incompletes but also great catches made (Hewitt & Hendershot).

-His QB sneak was like Ramsey last year, then his 2-pt run in regulation was all talent. The TD in overtime was a superb throw - talent!

The. “The Play” to win in was talent & heart & I am not going to let us lose type effort. I really think that could be the turbo boost of confidence he needed to launch into the seSon ahead.

So happy for Tom Allen, the staff and the players & program. Such a great game and a great huge win. No way IU is Not in top 20 this week!

Onward!!
 
Anyone on this board think James Franklin should give his game check to families that lost breadwinners to Covid 19? I have never seen any game so mismanaged in my life. IU is a good team. Well coached. Played hard. The win was gift rapped by Franklin. He is a good recruiter but a terrible game day coach.
 
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I thought every position group played fairly well with a couple of exceptions: 1) The performance of our offensive line on Saturday has me a little frightened going forward. Penix was rushed all day, our running game was almost non-existent and we, of course, had a critical drive late in the game where we didn't even get a play run because Penix was sacked twice and running for his life on third down. 2) Kickoffs - the squib at the end of the game was totally inexcusable and our kick coverage wasn't inspirational.

Other than those two groups, I thought everyone else did some really, really good things.
 
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I thought every position group played fairly well with a couple of exceptions: 1) The performance of our offensive line on Saturday has me a little frightened going forward. Penix was rushed all day, our running game was almost non-existent and we, of course, had a critical drive late in the game where we didn't even get a play run because Penix was sacked twice and running for his life on third down. 2) Kickoffs - the squib at the end of the game was totally inexcusable and our kick coverage wasn't inspirational.

Other than those two groups, I thought everyone else did some really, really good things.

I agree with your points but let's keep in mind that PSU is a very good football team. It feels good to get the win and more so to be competing at a high level. Rare air for an IU football fan. #LEO
 
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Here are some thoughts regarding the game. I delayed posting to let the euphoria wear down (not off).

Offense
1) I don't think the first 58 minutes were on Sheridan. Those were execution problems. First game execution problems just like we saw against Ball St. last year.
2) Even though MP was early getting some balls out, particularly early in the game, and was more inaccurate than normal, there were also plenty of instances of the ball still hitting his WR in the hands. Not that they would have been easy catches, but there's that old saying that if it hits your hands you can catch it.
3) I won't have a more firm opinion on OL until after the Mich game. Like, how much of that yesterday was the IU OL not coming together vs. PSU just being good. And poor Caleb Jones there at the end getting whipped twice. Rough. And he wasn't alone.
4) I don't know if the dearth of outside runs were a talent/speed issue, a lack of snaps issue, or the gameplan.

Defense
1) Saved the day.
2) The first PSU drive was a grinder and had the completely inexplicable failure to account for all-American TE which I think we were all calling out Play Action to the TE there. But other than that, kudos
3) Micah had some missed tackles early and looked slow in space on a swing pass I recall in the 1st quarter (or 2nd), but he settled in and was everywhere.
4) I love Sio. And Swann accounted well for himself on some plays.
5) On the whole, way to stuff the inside run on the regular.
6) There was ZERO pressure with the front 4. Kinda like the OL above, I'll defer until after the Michigan game to know if that is an "us" problem or a "them" problem.
7) BIGGEST OBSERVATION - They were able to send a bunch of LB pressure but PSU wasn't testing the corners. Maybe Reece & Mullen are really locking it down. Fingers Crossed

Overall
PSU played badly in many ways, but then again so did IU. There are no style points & I was bouncing all over my living room during that final review.


P.S. - Speaking of the review, I think the touchdown was originally called because he hit the pylon with the ball. But in review where the ball clearly hit the ground before the pylon, they ended up no overturning because they couldn't tell if the nose was over the goal line before hitting the ground or pylon.


Some belated observations, mostly about individual defensive players---

--I thought Mullen, Johnson & McFadden were all outstanding, most especially Mullen & Johnson. I feel like those two guys could play for anybody. As one example, it looked to me like the opening KO might have gone for a TD but for Mullen's shoestring tackle.

--Reece and Jaylin Williams were also very good, as was Cam Jones.

--Matthews made some big plays/hits, but he certainly is subject to getting beat in coverage. To me, he is the relative weakness in the defensive backfield which, overall, looks outstanding. 4 potential playmakers and one big hitter.

--I thought the DTs were, as a group, very good. While Johnson & Elliott are the headliners, and are probably the biggest talents, it seemed like Nofo & Swann were the most active in this game. It just seemed like there was great effort out of the whole group.

--DEs came in as a ?, and I wasn't particularly encouraged by what I saw. It seemed like Head affected a few plays. I kept noticing Ziemba around the ball, but immediately after the tackle. It appeared to me that Bryant affected more plays than Ziemba. We had to blitz so much that we were subject to big plays. Now....it may be that PSU has an outstanding OL. When McFadden & Jones did blitz, they were picked up effectively. The defensive backfield deserves tons of credit for holding up. But....it sure seems to me that the two DE positions and the one safety position are our weakest on D.

--On O. obviously our WRs had problems getting separation. It appeared that PSU had a couple of outstanding defensive backs. There were some huge hits, and some of our receivers were probably a bit intimidated, especially as PSU defenders do not appear to be adverse to hitting people in the head. But....it appeared to me that our WRs were 'rounding off' their routes instead of making sharp cuts.....anyone else notice that? My hope is that PSU's DBs are the best and nastiest we will face in the regular season.

--RE: Scott & James.......I hope we're in a position to give SJs a lot of carries against RU. Playing so little Saturday had to hurt, and he can be a good one.

--Penix--He appeared somewhat nervous early on, probably because it was his first play since his injury. Early on, it seemed we were able to protect a little better, and he badly missed some easy throws. Later on, we couldn't protect at all, and he made some amazing throws. Go figure.

--One final observation---over the years we've played PSU, I can't remember one game where they really appeared to be enjoying playing us. I don't know how much of that is them not respecting our team, and how much is that it's just kind of a 'joyless' program....in any event, not being 'up' for us cost them this time.
 
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I forgot to add on other observation. Ramsey most likely would have not been as inaccurate as MP was early on. But MP threw some absolute LAZERS for completions throughout the game that PR just would NOT have been able to do.

And on that note, awesome to see PR's final season start off so well at NW last night.
I wonder if it will be PRs final season?
 
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