Jiminsantafe asks: Are we going to win those last two games?
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
We very well could, especially if the team plays how they played against Indiana and in the fourth quarter against Michigan State! But as we all know from the rest of this season, just because the team can play this way doesn’t mean it will. And I don’t think the game being a 7pm kickoff helps Penn State at all – and no, I cannot elaborate on why I think that.
PSU_Lions_84 asks: State drew back-to-back roughing the passer calls that
appeared, to my biased eyes, quite ticky-tack. Are we approaching a “no contact with QB’s” era in CFB? Maybe hang a couple flags off their belt and end the play when one is captured.
Those calls definitely felt more NFL than NCAA to me as well. I completely understand wanting to focus on player safety – but there’s a difference between that and whatever’s going on with treating quarterbacks like they’re very special snowflakes. And those “roughing the passer” calls were INFINITELY less harmful to MSU’s (very tough) quarterback getting hit legally over and over again in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter when the Spartans inexplicably were continuing to have him drop back against a defensive front completely owning the line of scrimmage while down 18 with no shot of a comeback! Those calls by the Michigan State coaching staff were more detrimental to the game and player safety than whatever “roughing the passer” bullshit the refs wanted to pull out of their hats.
vern05 asks: Is the fact that Penn State has not done something completely unprecedented and hired a coach away from another program mid-season evidence that Pat Kraft is “panicking” or “doesn’t have a plan” or “in a disaster”?
We live in a time now where being contrarian and having the most nihilistic takes on every topic, sports to politics to even grocery shopping, is lauded by so many. It in itself is what is profoundly depressing and disheartening, moreso to me than the actual real underlying issues that the hot takers (in some instances, anyway) are trying to highlight.
In seriousness to a sarcastic question, what great coach outright is going to leave their program in the middle of the season, for a job they can’t even take until December at the earliest? Or even announce that they’re going to leave in few months? That’s a recipe for whatever program they’d be currently attached to having a toilet season as well, and in fact shows much poorer leadership skills than I’d ever want to see attached to Penn State athletics.
Gerry Dincher asks: Who was the worst offensive coordinator of the James Franklin era at Penn State? Who was the best offensive coordinator? Same for defensive coordinators.
This is a fourfold answer, but your first prong is the most obvious answer and I’m not sure it’s close (unless folks are blinded by their own recency bias). John Donovan was very clearly the worst offensive coordinator at Penn State under Franklin, as evidenced by the fact that he also was the worst coordinator Washington had for a while – even after Donovan had spent a few rehabilitation years out of the playcalling business between those jobs.
The best offensive coordinator in the Franklin era is a tougher call, because I’m not sure it’s clear cut. The one that had the most success is undoubtedly Joe Moorehead – but is that because he had Saquon Barkley and Trace McSorley, or because of the playcalling itself? Some of his decisions were still baffling. I also do think Ricky Rahne got more flack than he deserved, especially in hindsight with the trio of Ciarrocca, Yurcich, and Kotelnicki coming after him.
The worst defensive coordinator is likely Bob Shoop, though Pry at times baffled me (the losses against USC and OSU in 2017 were almost solely defensive issues). I also think, controversially perhaps, that Jim Knowles’ inexplicable lack of adjusting to the players he had instead of the players he wanted earlier this season puts him near the top of the list.
I’d say that Manny Diaz was the best coordinator Franklin has hired at any of the coordinator positions across his career, so that’s going to be the hands-down pick for best DC hire in my opinion.
CaroLion asks: What’s your prediction for Franklin’s tenure as the leader of the Hokies? Will he exceed his accomplishments at PSU and actually make VT “elite enough?” Or, does he build them up and make them relevant with consistent 8-10 win seasons? Or, does he fall short of expectations and is shown the door in 3-4 years?
Frankin will most likely only be at VT for 3-4 years but not because he’s fired; he’ll leave for a more “elite” job that he can win a title at. Because I do think he’ll be successful at VT, especially for Tech standards; they’ll likely get back into the 9-10 wins per year column immediately under his leadership, and will have immeasurable upgrades of talent. Franklin will also benefit from having an easier schedule than he did at Penn State, and from being closer to the southern recruiting hotbeds. But the ceiling is capped at VT, in my opinion, and consistently making the playoffs is their program’s high water mark (and many would be so happy about that!) but not what Franklin ultimately wants as a head coach.
trianglepsu asks: What’s your best comparison to Franklin moving on to Va Tech? For me it’s like my daughter’s ex-boyfriend moving on after their breakup. He was mid, I know she can do better, I’m kinda happy for him, and glad we don’t have the baggage anymore.
I think this is an apt comparison. Especially because Franklin wasn’t a bad guy, he just hit his ceiling with us and was no longer a fit for the future of the program. I’d narrow your comparison to him being her first ex-boyfriend, making her learn quite a lot about herself and where she sees her future than she knew when they first became entangled – but now that she’s grown up, she realizes she wants something more that he can’t give her. And that’s ok!
chulupabatman asks: VT plays BC next year. Assuming BOB still has a job, it’s going to be like watching your two ex-girlfriends hang out together at midfield after the game.
Who’s side are you taking and rooting for?
It’s too early for me to pick sides; there’s almost a full year of sound bites to be had, where one or both of them could put their foots in their mouths and say something that would make me root against them. I want whichever coach is more publicly respectful of their time at PSU to win! And that may include not porching half our roster this offseason.
Darth Recon asks: What are your thoughts on Tan Tom’s criticism of Cael’s decision to not wrestle the National Duals and being displeased with how we “see things and do things”? I suppose it is not what he would have done?
The thing that gets me the most about this is, Ohio State had an absolutely lights-out tournament! Their wrestlers outwrestled their rankings time and again, and their performance vaulted them up from 6th in the dual rankings to 1st – many folks had been questioning why they were ranked so high, but no more because of the actual wrestling they did over the weekend. The focus should be on that.
But it’s Tom Ryan, and instead he’s focused on Penn State and Cael Sanderson. What a sad, small man. Enjoy those caribbean shores in four months, buddy – our staff will be also traveling internationally, but for meaningful competitions (like they were two weeks before the duals, where half of our starting lineup were competing for international gold).
seemsez asks: If you were producing an oscar-bait movie about the 2018 ncaa wrestling championships who would you have play:
1) bo nickal
2) jeff byers
3) those two ohio state fans in the background whose souls are leaving their bodies?
bonus: who is the screenwriter and what is the plot?
I’m answering with your bonus first, because that informs the casting choices to me. And once again, I’m going to pick Nancy Meyers and the plot being a sports rom-com. Because I’m nothing if not consistent, right?
As for the casting, since he’s been an absolute ace at recent rom coms, I’d go Glen Powell as Bo. And someone like Jason Sudeikis for Byers – he’d nail the utter excitement and going from ho-hum sports play-by-play to utter chaos really well.
sbfranci asks: Does PK hover/smother? Seems like he is around the head coach more frequently than ADs at other large programs. ( Terry now, and previously James). Sidelines, locker room, etc. Doesn’t seem like I see other ADs around the head coach as frequently. Do others notice this or is it just me?
It’s not just you – but I also don’t know how much of this is normal, especially his constant stagefront presence at non-football events. I don’t pay attention to the athletic directors of other big-time programs (I don’t watch consistent non-football for any one school like I do for Penn State), so I can’t tell if this is just how the AD game is supposed to be played now or not.
Also, I don’t hate that he seems to love all sports at PSU, not just football.
Nowadays, you have to have a big ego to run a department like this, and that includes being very visible in social media. I’d be interested in if it’s an exception or the rule, though.
kingkub asks: What cool PSU item have you found on EBay/ETSY/garage sale item that you’ve found?
I don’t really do EBay or garage sales, but I’ve been gifted cool stuff found at them – like old PSU basketball gear or canvas prints of wrestling at Rec Hall from years ago. Some of the coolest items my friends have found have been at Nittany Surplus, though, so I definitely recommend checking them out – the Engineering building sale last year before its demolition was a trove.
LarzLion asks: Will you be watching the F1 race after the PSU game? I know…late start at 1:00am ET. Do you have a pick?
Will not. Unlike some of my friends and my brother, I’m not a huge F1 fan. I don’t kink shame, though, so I hope you have a blast watching it!
Smee asks: Have you switched all the toilet seats in your apartment/home to quiet/soft/slow closing toilet seats yet?!
I don’t even know what this is and now I’m intrigued?? What are these quiet toilet seats you speak of?
My toilet seats in my house are often so loud that when I shut it in my en-suite upstairs, the Darth Vader clapper that turns on one of my living room lights downstairs hears it and goes off. So this is an interesting potential development for me.
kingkub asks: Which camp do you fall into—driving a car until it finally dies or becomes a money pit, or treating a car as a regular expense like rent or healthcare and replacing it every 3–4 years through leasing or buying?
I’ve got a car that’s about three years old. It had some issues early on, but it drives well now and has all the key safety features. It’s also more than halfway paid off. Lately, though, I’ve been thinking about the next couple of years. I’m paying more each month than I would if I leased, and I’m realizing there won’t be much equity in the car if I trade it in.
With technology constantly improving—especially when it comes to safety—and with us getting older and noticing some loss of spatial awareness and reaction time (not me, the missus!), I’m starting to lean toward trading it in and leasing going forward.
What are your thoughts?
Definitely the former. I just bought a new (used) car off a friend earlier this year, but still have kept my prior car – which I bought new in 2013 and has almost 150k miles on it. I can’t seem to let it go, even though I have the new car, because you just never know when you will need a backup! Also, it’s not really worth much, and passes inspection at this point, so I might as well have it as a $1k piece of mind…
LarzLion asks: Have you ever had turduckin for Thanksgiving?
It’s been probably 20 years, but yes. I don’t remember it being remarkable in either a bad or good way? I do generally love duck, though it’s not a Thanksgiving bird for me.
seemsez asks: follow up: tofurkey?
Not that I can remember, but I do enjoy many tofu dishes so I’d be down to try it. As long as it’s properly sauced/seasoned and not overdone!
Smee asks: Is it a grilled cheese sandwich or a toasted cheese sandwich? And, how do we feel about Velveeta?
It completely depends on how it’s cooked. If you cook it in a saucepan or on an actual grill, it’s absolutely a grilled cheese sandwich. If you’re baking it on a sheet pan, it’s a toasted cheese sandwich. I’ve, of course, had both and they each have their time and place, but if I’m making it I’ll generally go former.
Similarly, Velveeta also has its uses! I particularly use it in queso, but I would add Velveeta or American cheese if I had it on hand to a grilled cheese sandwich for texture/consistency purposes – at this point in my life, I would never have either be the sole cheese in a grilled cheese sandwich, though, as I prefer other flavors being the primary forward taste in a sandwich.
LTFT5 asks: What is a dish/food that you make at home and say “damn! this is every bit as good as what I would get at a restaurant?”
I can make quite a few things that I’m proud of. I tend to be the go-to for making mac and cheese for tailgates every year (or cheesy spaetzle for Oktoberfest), and I’m very good at homemade pie crust – and the pie crusts you get at most restaurants just don’t taste as good as mine, to me. Generally I stick to fruit or gourd pies, not ones you have to parbake.
kingkub asks: AI is only getting better. First it was an actress that Hollywood wanted to hire, now it is the #1 country song that is totally computer generated.
Will AI start to replace some of the analysts that the football team hires or will the NCAA (lol) pass some rule to limit the use of AI?
The AI bubble is going to crash within the next few years, and I think that happens before the technology can be integrated into football. Generally, sports are slower than other industries to adopt new technologies, and football is among the slowest (though I’m looking at you, MLB and robot umps).
