Week 14: Penn State @ Rutgers (3:30 p.m. BTN) Game Thread

I've heard people say we hadn't given up more than 10 points to Rutgers since they joined the Big Ten. Iowa, the gold standard in coaching continuity right now, had to come from behind in the 4th to beat Rutgers 38-28 at Rutgers this year. Iowa's defense had dominated Rutgers previously, as well, with a couple of shutouts and no more than 10 points. Rutgers was a little better on offense than in previous years. Terry's likely not getting the job because Pat Kraft's ego won't allow it, but be fair in the analysis.
 
Maybe some here, but quite a few anti-Paterno comments on TOS. They're either young or don't understand ball control, toughness, and poise, or just want the past to disappear. Franklin was fine with them and probably TikTok, Hip Hop, and pumpkin spice lattes. But that's okay.
 
I've heard people say we hadn't given up more than 10 points to Rutgers since they joined the Big Ten. Iowa, the gold standard in coaching continuity right now, had to come from behind in the 4th to beat Rutgers 38-28 at Rutgers this year. Iowa's defense had dominated Rutgers previously, as well, with a couple of shutouts and no more than 10 points. Rutgers was a little better on offense than in previous years. Terry's likely not getting the job because Pat Kraft's ego won't allow it, but be fair in the analysis.
Maybe Sirocca was not the problem when he was OC. No one could have been worse than Kotelnicki this year.
 
Maybe Sirocca was not the problem when he was OC. No one could have been worse than Kotelnicki this year.
Yet Kotelnicki did a great job last year utilizing TE Warren to the best of his abilities. So what changed?

Musta been deals/promises/pressure from sponsors to make sure the two backs got equal opportunities in order to get both to come back for this year.

Combined with Franklins refusal to throw deep may have out serious restrictions on K’s scheming. Wish all these coaches could tell us the behind the scenes truths but no coach will because it would jeopardize future employment opportunities.
 
Yet Kotelnicki did a great job last year utilizing TE Warren to the best of his abilities. So what changed?

Musta been deals/promises/pressure from sponsors to make sure the two backs got equal opportunities in order to get both to come back for this year.

Combined with Franklins refusal to throw deep may have out serious restrictions on K’s scheming. Wish all these coaches could tell us the behind the scenes truths but no coach will because it would jeopardize future employment opportunities.
Refusing to throw intermediate or long passes allowed defenses to crown the LOS. Stretching the field took 1 or two bodies out of the box.
Terry had to force him to change after the Iowa loss.
 
Late to this as I was on the road and couldn't watch the game.

I gather the D looked underwhelming...but a win is a win.

Grunk is clearly our guy moving forward. But will the two backs, who over the last few games have finally looked like they were predicted to look this year, play in the bowl game? Color me doubtful on that point.

All that aside, as one hot-shot candidate after another fades from the picture, I'm more than ever in Terry's corner for head coach.
 
Late to this as I was on the road and couldn't watch the game.

I gather the D looked underwhelming...but a win is a win.

Grunk is clearly our guy moving forward. But will the two backs, who over the last few games have finally looked like they were predicted to look this year, play in the bowl game? Color me doubtful on that point.

All that aside, as one hot-shot candidate after another fades from the picture, I'm more than ever in Terry's corner for head coach.
I am torn now. We barely best a very bad Rutgers team and MSU is worse than bad. NU faded away. We did not beat 1 good team. Keep Terry but I think the new coach has already been hired and will be announced after his last game this year.
PS I would rather have a Lion winning 8-11 games per year than someone who always threatens to leave for $. Franklin should have been fired the 1st time he pulled that stunt.
 
Late to this as I was on the road and couldn't watch the game.

I gather the D looked underwhelming...but a win is a win.

Grunk is clearly our guy moving forward. But will the two backs, who over the last few games have finally looked like they were predicted to look this year, play in the bowl game? Color me doubtful on that point.

All that aside, as one hot-shot candidate after another fades from the picture, I'm more than ever in Terry's corner for head coach.
Terry is PSU through and through. I love him. But you simply cannot hire a position coach as the head guy. That is a recipe for absolute disaster. Sure, he helped our guys refocus and care again. But how long does that last? You could argue that it has already worn off with the Rutgers performance.

PSU has the money, the brand, and the resources to hire and retain a top coach. We may already have and not announced it. Terry looked like he already knew he wasn't the guy at Rutgers. Just didn't have the same emotion. Terry knows we need to hire a top guy and that is best for PSU in the long term. We'll still honor him for holding everything together when it could have totally unraveled. He'll be offered a job at PSU for life and a significant raise.
 
Terry is PSU through and through. I love him. But you simply cannot hire a position coach as the head guy. That is a recipe for absolute disaster. Sure, he helped our guys refocus and care again. But how long does that last? You could argue that it has already worn off with the Rutgers performance.

PSU has the money, the brand, and the resources to hire and retain a top coach. We may already have and not announced it. Terry looked like he already knew he wasn't the guy at Rutgers. Just didn't have the same emotion. Terry knows we need to hire a top guy and that is best for PSU in the long term. We'll still honor him for holding everything together when it could have totally unraveled. He'll be offered a job at PSU for life and a significant raise.

All fair points but if not Terry, then we need a hire who moves the needle in a major way, and one by one those names keep dropping off the list.

So now we're down to serious talk about guys like Bob Chesney (?!) and Brian Hartline (?!). Can't see how either of those two fill the bill.

One of Terry's selling points is that the players seem to love the guy and have been pretty vocal on that point. That can be a very deceptive indicator but it was a factor for Notre Dame when they promoted Marcus Freeman from his coordinator job to be the head coach...a move seems to have worked out well for the Irish.

This may come as a shock to some fans but I'm not sure the head coaching job at Penn State is a terribly hot ticket at this point though some say money can buy anything. Any potential candidate talking to Franklin is likely going to find out just how much it sucks to be the red-headed stepchild of this conference and count on getting totally screwed over at least a couple times a year with a bogus call at a critical time in a big game. Case in point: the phantom blades of grass that negated an Oregon turnover and may have indirectly led to the collapse of our football program.
 
All fair points but if not Terry, then we need a hire who moves the needle in a major way, and one by one those names keep dropping off the list.

So now we're down to serious talk about guys like Bob Chesney (?!) and Brian Hartline (?!). Can't see how either of those two fill the bill.

One of Terry's selling points is that the players seem to love the guy and have been pretty vocal on that point. That can be a very deceptive indicator but it was a factor for Notre Dame when they promoted Marcus Freeman from his coordinator job to be the head coach...a move seems to have worked out well for the Irish.

This may come as a shock to some fans but I'm not sure the head coaching job at Penn State is a terribly hot ticket at this point though some say money can buy anything. Any potential candidate talking to Franklin is likely going to find out just how much it sucks to be the red-headed stepchild of this conference and count on getting totally screwed over at least a couple times a year with a bogus call at a critical time in a big game. Case in point: the phantom blades of grass that negated an Oregon turnover and may have indirectly led to the collapse of our football program.
Terry has never even been a coordinator at the college level. He is not a serious option.

Chesney is great. He took a team absolutely gutted by Cignetti who took every single good player that JMU had and a year later he has that team at 11-1 and potentially in the playoff.

Hartline is a bad option. Yes, he recruits WRs well but I'm not sure that follows him 100%. Ohio St will still get half of the top WRs. Hartline has also had 2 different DUIs including with injuries. Ohio St may give him a pass on that but it is because they only care about winning. Look at the fallout. One of Hartline's former top WR recruits and former players, is going to prison for EXACTLY what Hartline did (DUI on a ATV with injuries, in this case a fatality). No one in the media will mention that about a Teflon Ohio St coach but it's true. Flemming is going to jail for exactly what was modeled for him by the guy that recruited him and coached him for 3 years.

There are other options out there, some that aren't being discussed here. That includes Lincoln Riley and other hot name coaches who are assumed to be locked up by their current employer.
 
Terry has never even been a coordinator at the college level. He is not a serious option.

Chesney is great. He took a team absolutely gutted by Cignetti who took every single good player that JMU had and a year later he has that team at 11-1 and potentially in the playoff.

Hartline is a bad option. Yes, he recruits WRs well but I'm not sure that follows him 100%. Ohio St will still get half of the top WRs. Hartline has also had 2 different DUIs including with injuries. Ohio St may give him a pass on that but it is because they only care about winning. Look at the fallout. One of Hartline's former top WR recruits and former players, is going to prison for EXACTLY what Hartline did (DUI on a ATV with injuries, in this case a fatality). No one in the media will mention that about a Teflon Ohio St coach but it's true. Flemming is going to jail for exactly what was modeled for him by the guy that recruited him and coached him for 3 years.

There are other options out there, some that aren't being discussed here. That includes Lincoln Riley and other hot name coaches who are assumed to be locked up by their current employer.

Word is that Chesney is headed for UCLA. So scratch him off the list as well.

Like I said, we're not really a hot-ticket destination at this point. Sucks but that's the reality.

Don't see Riley happening. The guy hasn't exactly set the world on fire at USC.
 
Word is that Chesney is headed for UCLA. So scratch him off the list as well.

Like I said, we're not really a hot-ticket destination at this point. Sucks but that's the realitor

Don't see Riley happening. The guy hasn't exactly set the world on fire at USC.
The Lions job IS hot, you are not. Very few teams have deeper pockets for a coach. We own the NE and mid Atlantic television markets.
 
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The Lions job IS hot, you are not. Very few teams have deeper pockets for a coach. We own the NE and mi television market.

Wait, what??? I'm super hot. Just ask my wife... ;)

No seriously, all kidding aside, if we were as hot as you think, they'd be lining up to coach us...instead of the opposite.

You wanna bet on Lincoln Riley? I'll give you odds.

This is 2025, Mary. Not 1975...or 1985...or even 1995. A lot of water has gone over the dam during the last 30 years.

Let's see how this plays out. Money can buy anything...but the coaching products are fast disappearing off the shelves.

Sign Terry up...
 
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