I did not get to type up a recap of Penn State vs. Purdue like I had expected due to the “joys of condominium living” but a few quick thought before we focus on Northwestern:
- Remember how the Boilmakers were supposed to have an advantage over Penn State in the special teams department? How did that work out for them? Not well for the most part, though kickoff coverage was lacking for both teams. A missed field goal, a missed extra point and a missed two-point conversion really hurt the visitors. Meanwhile, the home team had the special teams player of the week, again, was Anthony Fera. His 69 yard punt was huge.
- The quarterback duel continues — Rob Bolden looked decnet early and made a nice throw in between two defenders to Brandon Moseby-Felder (I think) to the 1 yard line. Still, he got yanked early and barely cameback, although Matt McGloin still had his moments like another interception near the goal line. I’ll say this for Bolden, when he hits the bottom of somebody’s shoe, it winds up in the hands of the right team, a claim McGloin cannot make.
- Great to see the wideouts step up with Derek Moye out with a broken foot (did he break it in a volleyball game?)
- Andrew Szczerba is going through some tough times off the field, but on it he’s terrible. An off-sides penalty after a 9 yard McGloin scramble to make it 2nd and 1 was killer as was the dropped touchdown. Remember when Penn State was a tight end factory?
- Gerald Hodges and Nate Stupar make me happy. Both are performing well and Stupar has really stepped up in Michael Mauti’s place. Good for him.
- Silas Redd ran for over 100 yards, but was not as dominant as he had been, largely because the offensive line was not. Still, that’s 3 in a row over 100 for Redd.
- It was a typical Dave Witvoet game, officiating-wise. Bad calls like Chaz Powell’s 15 yard excessive celebration penalty (terrible rule/call by an official incapable of discretion) and the Nick Sukay interception that should have not been (we’ll take it) were positively Witvoetian.
- I toasted to win with Jim Beam Black, a decent mid-range bourbon. It is just regular Jim Beam aged longer.
Joe Paterno spent the whole game in the box.
Okay, I got in more to say than I thought I would. On to Northwestern.
