Penn State vs. Buffalo: Another Ugly Game

It’s simple keep for Penn State, quarterback Christian Hackenberg upright. That’s easier said that done. Against Temple last Saturday the offensive line gave up mind boggling ten sacks, so there’s that. Surprisingly enough however, the Nittany Lions run game was somewhat successful; Akeel Lynch led the way with 78 yards on 10 carries including a 44-yard touchdown run. The only thing head coach James Franklin has going for him is that the next five games are at home and they’re against Buffalo, Rutgers, San Diego State, Army, and Indiana, all of which are winnable games. We said the same thing about Temple and that didn’t turn out so well. 

I’ve read all the message boards; I’ve read all the open letters to head coach James Franklin and his coaching staff, specifically John Donovan and Herb Hand, essentially screaming at them through words on a screen. It seems that Penn State fans forget when the team really struggled. It seems that they forget that Penn State has gone through this before. It seems that they forget when Penn State won 7 games over two seasons. What they also forget is a year after that happened the Nittany Lions went 11-1 and won the 2006 Orange Bowl against Florida State. What I’m trying to say is that these things happen to teams, they struggle and rebuild, and those same fans who stuck with Penn State during the darkest of times need to stick with them through one really, really bad game.

Here are some numbers to go by if you don’t remember those struggles.

• ·      Penn State’s offense in 2003 scored 19.3 points per game, which at that time was good for 99 out of 117 teams.
• ·      Penn State’s offense in 2004 scored 17.7 points per game, which at that time was good for 113 out of 120 teams.
• ·      Penn State’s offense in 2014 scored 20.6 points per game, which was good for 113 out of 128 teams. 
• ·      In 2003, Penn State’s offense averaged 313.3 yards per game.
• ·      In 2004, Penn State’s offense averaged 310.7 yards per game.
• ·      In 2014, Penn State’s offense averaged 335.3 yards per game.
•           In 2003, quarterback Zack Mills threw for 1,404 yards, 6 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. The following season Mills threw for 1,722 yards, 9 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Compared, quarterback Christian Hackenberg threw for 2,977 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions.

What do these numbers mean? Nothing. My guess is most of you might not even know what I’m talking about when I refer to those seasons, or who Zack Mills is, but what I’m trying to get across is that until Penn State loses 6-4 like they did in 2004 to Iowa, it could be worse. 

Franklin and his team open as a 21-point favorite against Buffalo and if I were still a betting man I don’t think I would take the points. Unless something drastic changes and the offensive line becomes somewhat decent and doesn’t look like a JV team, the Lions could struggle yet again against the pass rush. With that said, it is Buffalo (I hate saying it like that now) and Penn State does out talent them, so I think they get the win at home. We’ll call it Penn State 24, Buffalo 7 in a very ugly game.