Is it too early to talk about Penn State?

[tigerman1186 537]

I know we're suppose to take each game at their time, but what are your thoughts about PSU??? They look very stout up front and we haven't had much success against Big Ten schools in the past...hopefully the new coaching staff will have some better ideas than the past regime...

[EastAl_Tiger 228]

once they spend the appropriate 5 minutes "game planning" for Alabama State (because that's what coaches do), I imagine they'll get down to PSU

[AUreo 758]

Penn State has a tough tough defense but the passing game needs some work.

This a good analysis overall:

“The Nittany Lions found something with vertical routes over the top using Dotson, but the underneath stuff is very much a work in progress. Clifford finished 18 of 33 for 247 yards with a touchdown but showed far more accuracy on deep throws than shorter to intermediate routes.”

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/penn-state-vs-wisconsin-score-takeaways-no-19-nittany-lions-upset-no-12-badgers-in-defensive-slugfest/live/

[AuCivilEng1 11,107]

Don’t overlook the Hornets! They’d love nothing more than to scare the crap out of us for 2 or 3 quarters. 1-0 every week!

[W.E.D 11,070]

Their DE #17 will give us some fits.

I'm not too worried about their offense. It's gonna be all about how our offense foe against a real team.

Edited September 5, 2021 by W.E.D

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

Its never too early to talk about the first real game of the year.

Penn State looked decent, but they're beatable.  Wisconsin choked a win away late yesterday.  I think our D is faster than Wisconsin's, which should give PSU some problems.

Wisconsin's offense also plays in a box, so I'm not sure how PSU will match up against a team like us that spreads it out a little more.

[woodford 3,688]

I’m worried about the defense and the atmosphere. Gotta win up front. If Tank has holes to run through we have a great chance to win. 

[auskull 239]

Just don't see much in Al State except a scrimmage, but we need those games early to get settled in. Penn State and Wisconsin were tough in the trenches. That was good early game experience for them and will help them improve for when we play them. Love seeing us come out and dominate teams we should dominate. Just business like and focused at every position on every play. Penn State will be our first test and then we can kinda get an idea about how this season might go. Just looking for consistency and improvement each game. LSU  was a flop. I over-rated them and don't believe UCLA is as good as they looked. Well see however. 

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

2 minutes ago, auskull said:

LSU  was a flop. I over-rated them and don't believe UCLA is as good as they looked. Well see however. 

UCLA wins the Pac 12 this year.  Easiest money I made yesterday was UCLA money line.

[NoALtiger 3,875]

Nope not to early at all for us. I have no doubt Harsin will have the boys ready to take care of business quickly next week and then the hype will really build. Great scheduling move here, super stoked to see AU play in Happy Valley. 

[AuburnTiger4Life 2,225]

3-2 final score

[aubiefifty 17,487]

1 hour ago, Brad_ATX said:

UCLA wins the Pac 12 this year.  Easiest money I made yesterday was UCLA money line.

you think auburn can beat them down there this year?

[aubiefifty 17,487]

i think harsin is not the type of coach to do stupid stuff so we have a decent chance but they get fired up for those white out games and it seems to elevate their play.

[WDE_OxPx_2010 5,334]

1 hour ago, Brad_ATX said:

UCLA wins the Pac 12 this year.  Easiest money I made yesterday was UCLA money line.

Least surprising upset of the weekend to me. UCLA is loaded and LSU is on the downward spiral. We'll beat LSU by 14+ in red stick in a game that isn't even really that close.

[AU_Canoe 239]

I have some friends that work for PSU and I chatted with them this morning. They said there is hype around campus for the Auburn game and the win over Wisconsin has amplified that. However, they admit their team has a lot of unknowns which seemed to be echoed here but then again AU is still establishing it's own baseline in determining what is our average game. Not sure if there is time to determine that before PSU. 

The "unknowns" between the teams will make the game even more intriguing. I would imagine we will see how Harsin's methodology adapts to this next level of competition. It's a good ramp up and measuring stick before we get to the next level of gameplay, i.e., Georgia, Alabama, maybe A&M. 

[oracle79 3,569]

If we can prevent their big plays on offense, and stick with our running game, we will wear them down. Wisconsin should have beaten them except for their turnovers and giving up big play scores. It will be a great test for our O-line to see how much they've developed. And to see how Bo plays on the road in an adverse environment. If we win, look out.😉

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

1 hour ago, aubiefifty said:

you think auburn can beat them down there this year?

Yup.  It was striking how bad LSU looked on the lines.

[Hank2020 3,232]

8 minutes ago, Brad_ATX said:

Yup.  It was striking how bad LSU looked on the lines.

Remember, they were playing UCLA, not Akron.

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

Just now, Hank2020 said:

Remember, they were playing UCLA, not Akron.

I know who we played and am not comparing our games.

But when was the last time you saw a big SEC team get over-powered on the line of scrimmage by a Pac 12 school?  LSU has major issues.

[Hank2020 3,232]

Just now, Brad_ATX said:

I know who we played and am not comparing our games.

But when was the last time you saw a big SEC team get over-powered on the line of scrimmage by a Pac 12 school?  LSU has major issues.

I don’t see UCLA as a classic big 12 school but definitely in the top of that conference. I also believe their coach is a solid coach. Just my opinion though. Your right though, you weren’t really comparing the two outcomes.

[JDUBB4AU 5,138]

Bos running ability will help AU win at PSU

[AUx 3,016]

5 minutes ago, JDUBB4AU said:

Bos running ability will help AU win at PSU

Yes, but ... Need a ready-to-go backup QB. When Bo gets frustrated and runs, he sometimes thinks he's hulk and looks for a hit. And, later-on, the uats and thuGas are bad about targeting when a QB is sliding. So need somebody more than ready to step in for a play or two if he needs time to shake out the cobwebs. Little more concerned about Finley if he had to run the offense under a strong rush and tired OL.

[AU_Canoe 239]

Sometimes the best thing for a quarterback, who is frazzled and making mistakes, is to sit him on the bench to watch the game for a bit. A reset of sorts. It was not in Malzahn's mantra but with our future competition's level of defense there most likely will be moments when Bo resorts to previous behaviors and it will be interesting to see how Harsin handles it. 

 

[AUx 3,016]

6 minutes ago, AU_Canoe said:

Sometimes the best thing for a quarterback, who is frazzled and making mistakes, is to sit him on the bench to watch the game for a bit. A reset of sorts. It was not in Malzahn's mantra but with our future competition's level of defense there most likely will be moments when Bo resorts to previous behaviors and it will be interesting to see how Harsin handles it. 

 

Yes but  ...   I trust this staff a bit more than the prior that, if they don't yank the starter for unnecessarily scrambling a couple times, maybe they are accurately assessing risk of using the backup vs creating a 'teachable' moment for the starter. If QB is throwing to other team more often than our receivers, then I'd expect them to try something different before time expires.

[AuburnEagle79 2,171]

If we control the LOS and Bo keeps things in the road, I think we win by 10 plus. Our D is fast, and I think PSU will have issues on offense.

My biggest worry is how our O looks in that environment. It's gonna be really loud.