- We probably lose this game without the Clifford injury, but it isn't certain and I think if we meet them in the B10 Championship it's still a 50/50 contest. It simply took us too long to adjust to his running and their 80% blitzing.
- We adjusted to Clifford by starting to blitz more - imo this was because while our 4 man rush COULD get pressure, they couldn't do it without exposing a running lane and so the blitz allowed us to get pressure without as much risk of leaving a gap. IMO the surprise of the game was how well PSU handled our DL. My belief is that the key to our plan was for our DE's not to run too far up the field in order to maintain containment on Clifford. This means that our DT's ABSOLUTELY need to bull rush the interior linemen in order to collapse the pocket and we might get sacks when Clifford tries to escape a shrinking pocket much like prior QB's had to. However, we never were able to collapse the pocket and when we tried our twist stunts we got out of our gaps and Clifford ran. This is why we needed to blitz.
- The throw that Petras makes in Video 1 below was perhaps the key to the game. Down 17-3 on a 3rd and 9 he sticks in the pocket to give Ragaini time to clear the middle and then throws an accurate ball that allows RAC yardage. Great poise in a key moment and good delivery .... one that perhaps only a 6'5" QB can make.
- Our running plays take a bit too long to hit the point of attack, and it was exposing us to those outside blitzes. I would prefer that we find some quicker hitting plays in the playbook and perhaps even use gap blocking instead of zone blocking on those plays to hit the holes quicker and eliminating the effect of the outside blitz. Wish I had a clip but some of you will remember the example of us trying to run a counter play as the FB goes to the left side and we do block a decent hole there, but the RB who started to the right never is able to cut it back as a blitz from the weak side takes him down.
- Love how Johnson used a head fake in the 3rd video to cement the CB and allow him to get past him on the sideline and then use his quick burst to destroy angles from other DB's until he slips another tackle and then goes down. That had the feel of an NFL type of play that someone like Diggs would make - he just runs different as someone posted. I think a lot of us felt he had to get into the end zone or we'd be stuck with another FG, but we finally hit a goalline throw and Jones did a great job getting "in" to the endzone (lol).
- I think PSU's defense is a tough one for Petras who I think makes a lot of pre-snap reads with where he wants to go, and PSU ends up confusing him. That seemed to happen early on with the end zone throws where nobody was open. Finally we got one with Jones, but I wonder how much of it was getting lucky with the coverage versus knowing what coverage they would have. It appeared to me that we may have tendencies to throw sidelines a lot inside the 15 yard line and they took those away. I don't recall us throwing into the middle of the field much when we are close to the goal line. We get a good rub route for the Slot WR Jones and the DB has to drop 3 yards further than he wanted to get around his teammate, which was just enough for Jones to make the pylon (video 3).
- I wonder what Moss' NFL prospects will be. He definitely seems worthy of getting a good shot, and in some respects may be better than Hawkins even though I expect Hawkins to go earlier as long as he stops holding jerseys
Koerner should also make a camp if not get drafted as he is sneaky fast (as seen in the Maryland tackle) and seems to tackle well. the plays those 2 made on those deep INT's were as good as I've seen DB's make in a long time. CB Diggs from Dallas made a similar INT today (his 6th), and their ability to track the ball and get to the catching point better than the WR was impressive (video 4) - Speaking of Hawkins, his tackle on the 4th down play was HUGE, but left me feeling a bit scared because if the RB isn't off balance due to the throw being so far behind him, I'm not sure he goes down on the hit by Hawkins who didn't even attempt to wrap up. I know he had to go high to avoid the RB falling forward for the 1st down, but it isn't the first time I've seen him just try to shoulder a guy into the ground. Big time closing speed and hit, though.
- On the big play to Ragaini I thought he came from the right side but both he and Johnson (on the outside) ran posts from the left side. He broke his to the middle early and Johnson went deeper before breaking to the middle. Ragaini hit the breaks well and the DB's kept moving because usually when the QB rolls out the coverage is supposed to roll towards the QB side of the field. That's why this wasn't a broken coverage imo but he was just schemed open and we simply had to wait until there wasn't a blitz coming from the rollout side of the field. With PSU blitzing 80% of the time, it was hard to find the right spot, but the got it right. One of the plays that will go down in history. (video 5)
- Our special teams Punter, Kicker, Returners and Coverage is great. Can't ever remember feeling so good about them as a package. The fact that both our Kicker and Punter did so well in windy conditions and in a critical game was fantastic and is totally under valued by the national guys who only focus on our defense. The fact that we kept PSU trapped in the North end zone for much of the 4th quarter was the key in the game, and the Fans were our ace in the hole there. That north end zone was the boa constrictor in this game.
