BSD Mailbag 10.22.21

How confident are you in Coach Yurcich’s ability to get Ta’Quan Roberson coached up and ready to go for Saturday’s game against Illinois? What about Ohio State?

So far Yurcich has proven to be creative and adaptive, so I am confident that beating Illinois at home should be easy enough. Beating Ohio State in Columbus with Roberson at quarterback would be very impressive.—Gerry Dincher

I’m actually pretty confident. I think that Roberson (and Veilleux, if necessary) will benefit immensely from practicing with the 1s, and Yurcich will have them ready to go this week. Also, Illinois is pretty bad so that likely won’t take much (Iowa’s defense may be the best we’ll see from October on in the season, so that game was a tough ask for anyone).

And while beating OSU with Roberson would be impressive (even more so in the shoe), I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that because all signs point to Cliff being ready to go for that game – if not a few series this week.

Can the PSU defense score enough points to win on Saturday?—LBU_409er

They probably can (Illinois doesn’t cough up the ball a lot, but this defense will be the best they’ve seen all season) – but they won’t need to. I’m probably too confident right now, but this game shouldn’t be particularly close.

What is your favorite non-PSU win in college football? mine is OSU over Michigan in 2016 for obvious reason. Purdue over Iowa in 2021 might be clear #2 now.—mook1525

I’ve got a couple (a lot of them because of where I was when watching the game, not just because of the outcome):

· Ohio State over Clemson, 2021

· Michigan State over Iowa, 2015

· Purdue over Ohio State, 2018

· Texas over USC, 2006

But probably my favorite…

It had everything! Rivalries and overconfident big brother/scrappy younger brother vibes, incredible defense between two very good and evenly match teams…and a definitive answer that punting is most definitely winning – if you can get the punt off.

It’s a week later, and I’m still wondering...why would CJF bother to make a five minute on-camera statement denying something no one thought was true in the first place? And in doing so introduce questions that create doubt (should we really go back and look at 14 years of PSU and Vandy film to verify?!). When in doubt follow the money, but where does the money lead?—Smee

If Ferentz hadn’t spoken about it and riled everyone up again in his presser the day before, Franklin wouldn’t have either and would have just let it go. Because your statement that “no one thought” it was true was definitely not the case – Ferentz and his coaches and fans obviously thought it was true, or else he wouldn’t have spoken about smelling rats.

I think it’s more about pride than introducing questions or creating doubt – because Ferentz blatantly called Franklin a cheater, and that’s not something you can just let go. He, like all football coaches, is prideful, and wouldn’t stand for being called something that was blatantly not true. I was actually very, very happy with Franklin’s beginning tirade, as it voiced a lot of what the fanbase was left thinking after the Tuesday presser in IC.

Narduzzi came out in support of James Franklin saying he never had issues with PSU players faking injury when they played each other. Does this make him second to Ferentz in the ranking of trash people? Where does Pat Fitzgerald fit in? Can you give us a whole trashy-to-classy B1G coaches ranking?—skarocksoi

I’m not so sure that being right on this one issue can move Narduzzi up that much…and trashy isn’t really how I’d describe it. More like, smarmy. And on that smarmy factor, here is my “trashy-to-classy” coaches rankings:

14. Bret Bielema. Even though I complimented him on his upfront assholery last week, that doesn’t make him any less trashy. Deservedly at the bottom here.

13. Pat Fitzgerald. Y’all know how I feel here.

12. Kirk Ferentz. For obvious reasons.

11. Jim Harbaugh. Sleepovers and milk, and being a jerk to fans in our stadium.

10. Tom Allen. I feel like I saw him make some questionable comments after last year’s game, but I can’t find any record of that. Is it my memory or did this really happen? Either way, it’s clouding my judgment of him.

9. Scott Frost. Ultimately, it’s all the coach’s responsibility for wins or losses – you can’t just shift the blame on others. The buck stops at the top.

8. Greg Schiano. I need to see more out of him than just what seems to be trash talk.

7. Ryan Day. It’s the tan for me, dawg.

6. Mike Locksley. Starting now it’s just a crapshoot.

5. PJ Fleck. How long does he stay in MN rowing the boat?

4. Paul Chryst. I dunno where to put him, this is basically all lumped together right now.

3. James Franklin. I love him, I know others don’t. But this is my ranking and also it feels like a stretch to put him at #1 even though he’s #1 in my heart.

2. Mel Tucker. Seems to just keep quiet and get the job done, which I can get behind.

1. Jeff Brohm. Takes the top seat because he just beat another #2 team.

The coaching carousel rumor mill is starting up again. PURELY HYPOTHETICAL – Who would PSU go after to replace Franklin if he left for another program? Who would you actually want to hire?—MightyMax409

I mean, I think when we got CJF it was clear that we were (and are, and have been since then) willing to spend top dollar to get the best coach for Penn State. So I think the sky’s the limit with who they’d go after; I’m sure Matt Rhule gets a call, as do the usual current suspects of Luke Fickell and Matt Campbell, and current or former assistants like Mike Yurcich, Brent Pry, or Joe Moorhead. I’d like to see someone like Mark Stoops get a shot, though – what he’s done at Kentucky has been pretty impressive.

Which B1G head coach weighs the most—LarzLion

It’s gotta be Bielema, right? I dunno, maybe Locksley might be close now.

having finally gotten a close up of the Demon Deacon…Creepiest mascot… Demon Deacon, Purdue Pete or Big/Lil Red?—3Yardout

For me, it will always be Purdue Pete. Lil Red you can just deflate, and I don’t find the Demon Deacon that creepy (because he just seems like an overgrown muppet).

Purdue Pete, on the other hand, is creepiness personified. It’s the slight grin. The lifeless eyes that are almost all pupil. The waxy sheen to the face, and the lack of softness anywhere. It looks like he would just walk right through you if you were in his way, and not in a pleasant sort of way. Possessed.

Is there a worse run NFL franchise than the WFT?

Taylors jersey retired

You retire only the 3rd jersey in your long history, you release the info a few days after your former GM’s racist emails are exposed, the photo op pregame was in front of a row of porto-potties, and you let Patrick Mahomes brother dance on the ‘roped off’ number. and what you did to the cheerleaders.

What a disgrace—kingkub

As a WFT born and raised via my mother (who herself grew up in the DMV and was thus born and raised a Washington fan), I can unequivocally say that there is not a worse-run NFL franchise. It’s been going slowly downhill ever since Dan Snyder took over, with a massive nosedive the last few years – for a franchise that for decades touted its waiting list for single game (let alone season) tickets, it’s now 32^nd in league attendance. That, above all else, indicates how bad things are, because above all else, Snyder loves money. He doesn’t care about doing the right thing (that’s not why he changed the name) – he just cares about licensing fees and selling merch. And it shows. He is a trash human being and the franchise has become garbage under him.

Do you think a certain former EMU student knows how much of a MEME god he has become on this site?—JayMPSU

I don’t think he was a student but rather an alum, and I highly doubt he has any idea. That makes it more delightful, doesn’t it?

And it sounds like he’s not just a legend on the EMU boards either! This is so great. The internet, folks!

Could we have a new good fan policy here in the BSD community?

I am bothered by how many of us went over to Black Heart Gold Pants to rub salt in their wounds. It wasn’t necessary and caused friction that is not a good reflection of Penn State fans as a fanbase. Sure there were asshole Iowa fans over here last week stirring up shit, but that doesn’t make it right for us to do the same thing. We should always be gracious. If we go to another blog, it should be in good will or in good humor. Two wrongs don’t make a right.—Gerry Dincher

I’m all for a good fan policy, but unofficially. I think the crew here does a pretty good job of self-policing most of the time, and I agree that it looks bad going over to another board to gloat. But everyone here is adults (mostly) and I’m not your mother so I can’t tell you what to do. Every fanbase has their jerks, and we’re no different, as much as we would like to think otherwise.

Winter is coming. And, as the world turns frigid, what is your go-to dinner food? Mine is either sausage lasagna or beef enchiladas.—RWReese

I love comfort foods like beef chili or chicken pot pie (with scratch biscuits instead of crust). I also love a good hearty soup.

You go to the emergency room, and are admitted so various tests can be run. Upon admittance, while the extent of your possibly life-threatening issue has yet-to-be-determined, the nurse asks you, “Are you an organ donor?” What are your thoughts and how do you respond?—Smee

I can’t tell if this is supposed to be a reference to a movie or tv show that I haven’t seen (or am not remembering), but I am absolutely an organ donor so while it might be a little disturbing to be asked, I’d probably stammer that I was.

Side note, if you want to be an organ donor (even if it’s just some of your organs, or you have some you absolutely don’t want to donate), please talk to your family about your wishes – don’t just add it to your driver’s license. Both parts are important for donation, or for not donating, because when your organs are available to be donated, odds are you won’t be able to weigh in on it…

What is your favorite soundtrack album that you actually listen to? Loving Interstellar lately—PSU1979dude

My answer to this depends on whether you’re talking about a movie score, with the background music throughout the film, or an actual soundtrack – which may not have all of the songs played during the movie.

My absolute favorite movie score is and likely will always be the Empire Strikes Back – it has all of the good themes of Star Wars, and some bonus content in there (like the asteroid field sequence).

In terms of soundtracks, I still love Black Panther’s soundtrack (in no small part because I am a Kendrick Lamar fan) and will listen to it randomly when I need a pick me up to get me thru the day (or the drive home from the bars in State College).

What are good Halloween costumes to have available year round?

There have been two times this past year that I wish I would’ve had a tux from Dumb & Dumber, so thinking Halloween might be a good excuse to pick one up. Also came across this Gritty costume and could see it being a worthwhile investment, especially as my company is encouraging more video calls. Anything else I’m missing?—Succss With Honor Always

I’ve never been a big costume person. For costume parties, I go as minimal as possible, if I can’t get out of wearing one entirely. I do enjoy your Gritty costume idea (who doesn’t love Gritty, even if you’re a fan of other NHL teams??), but the one costume I keep threatening to buy is the glasses, wigs, and clip-on tie like the Beastie Boys wear in the Sabotage video. It feels niche enough to not be “gotten” by everyone, but funny enough on its face that it would be appreciated by folks who don’t even get it.