I'm not complaining about winning at Happy Valley. In fact, among my friend group, I was the most leery of Penn State, given that most of their losses have been tight and that they still have a VERY talented roster.
What we saw on offense wasn't overly surprising, since injuries have started to hit us and we saw Iowa do similar things.
Defensively, I was surprised against the run game. Talented backs and line? Sure. I didn't feel like our D-Line got pushed around...I thought we held our own at the point of attack, but then unlike almost every other game this year, their backs came busting through the lines. Did they just keep our D Line more engaged and we were unable to get off of blocks and tackle? Was our tackling uncharacteristically poor? Were they just better than we've faced?
I think you answered your thread title question in your first paragraph.
People shouldn't be fooled by Penn State's record. They're loaded with talent, they're in every game, and their home stadium provides an environment like few others. A win by the visiting team in Happy Valley, no matter the visitor's ranking, is never a given.
Penn State took Oregon to double OT in State College. They lost by five at UCLA, by 1 to Northwestern, by 1 at Iowa, and they were down at the half by just 3 at the Shoe against the Buckeyes.
ESPN's Power Index has Penn State 21st nationally. Sagarin has them at 16. We beat a good team on the road. I don't care about style points. I'll take the W.
The voters in the polls seem to have agreed with your assessment. I was surprised we held on to #2, let alone by the margin between us & A and M. I think anyone who watched the whole game knew how hard PSU played, but not everyone is paying that much attention,
But.....I'm a lot more concerned about our teams health and confidence than where we stand in the polls or playoff picture.
It's a long season. The team seems a little gassed and definitely dinged up. Add in that PSU is extremely talented and was extremely motivated to get a big win. Their last chance of the season for a win like that.
Fortunately the team has some breathing room now. They need to focus on winning out but there is a little bit of time off coming up. that should help a lot. They will need all hands on deck for the BIG championship and beyond...
Penn State is playing with the same 4&5 * studs that had them ranked #2 preseason.
just because they've had some bad luck doesn't mean they aren't capable of playing with anyone.......especially in front of their 100,000+ home crowd.
congrats to Indiana for grinding it out
Yes, fact not highlighted is Bucks played the NL in Columbus. IUFB defeated them in College Station. Books recognize and build point spreads with that point in mind.
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