By Tim Clark / / Penn State, Football, Column, Tim's Two Cents
Two

The sky is falling.

Or maybe the sky is not falling.

For fans of the Penn State Nittany Lions, the season starts Saturday. So the sky is falling crowd could turn out to be correct, but they just might be wrong.

Playing Nevada, FIU, and Villanova doesn’t tell you a whole lot. Many teams “scheduled down” like Penn State, so attempting to make a definitive prediction on the season based on games like those is foolish. It is why having rankings in September is silly. Anyone want a do over on Clemson?

Penn State’s Whiteout opponent, Oregon, didn’t exactly play Murderer’s Row. The Quackers loaded up on the not so great states of Oregon, Oklahoma, and Montana. Oregon’s first conference game was against powerhouse Northwestern. Admittedly, the Ducks were more dominant against their inferior opponents than Penn State was against their inferior opponents.

I get the Nittany Lions angst. James Franklin’s crew was incredibly ordinary for the first three games of the season. At points it felt like the team was sleepwalking. It was, in a word, uninspiring.

Are there true concerns? Maybe.

Star quarterback Drew Allar has been erratic, missing on simple swing passes by two yards. He has been seen occasionally pouting on the sideline. Not great for a senior. His performance, to date, has definitely been suboptimal.

Experts raved in the preseason about how dominant the Penn State offensive line would play. I have not seen said dominance. The Lions O-line has been mostly average. With a pair of running backs like Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton, Penn State should be able to run wild. That really has not happened against three much weaker teams.

The defense has been solid, for the most part. Of course the argument could be made that they weren’t tested yet.

All of these things are true.

All of these things are being screamed from the mountaintop by pessimistic Penn State fans.

Remember, I held my nose and picked Penn State to win it all. And I never jinx anyone. Actually that is just my baseball picks. Anyway, my final reason to seal my pick was the old “if not now, then when” theory. I think players and coaches alike know and feel that sentiment. This has to be the year if it is going to happen. Many Blue and Whiters are saying otherwise.

Let me make a counter argument to all of this hand wringing.

Oregon hasn’t faced a defense anywhere close to Penn State’s caliber. Montana State, Oregon State, Oklahoma State, and Northwestern aren’t exactly offensive juggernauts, so the Ducks defense is still an unknown, too. They certainly haven’t seen a team with the talent(on paper at least) of Penn State’s skill people.

Oregon will also have to travel across the country. When they traveled to Northwestern a couple of weeks ago the Ducks took a while to start quacking. Oh, and it is the White Out game for. Now, I don’t think the White Out is usually a big factor. The game is played on the field, and Oregon has played in loud venues before. However, it is something you never know how teams will respond to until the game kicks off.

My point in all of this is that we don’t know if Oregon is as good as they have looked to date, or if Penn State is as shaky as many think they are. When you play a series of patsies it is difficult to cull anything from those games.

We can argue Penn State’s out of conference schedule another time, but for now let’s pump the brakes on the Nittany Lions demise. I know James Franklin’s history —particularly against top ten teams— makes it easy to be pessimistic. I have yet to meet a Penn State fan that likes the guy. I know fans that like Franklin exist, but it may be in the same sense that leprechauns exist. Again, I get the angst.

If Penn State beats Oregon and roll into the Ohio State game undefeated, nobody will be reliving the Villanova game and the Franklin doubt will die down until they visit Columbus.

I think the Nittany Lions will do just that on Saturday night. First, I picked Penn State to win it all this year so I am not jumping ship already. Plus, I find it hard to imagine Oregon coming the entire way across the country and beating Penn State in that environment. The Duck love from the national media is a bit over the top. Penn State’s will outscore the Ducks and make enough stops on defense to secure victory.

Of course, I could be wrong.

What a Weekend

It begins Friday night at 9:00 EST with TCU visiting Arizona State. The Big 12 is wide open, making all of these games important.

Get your clicker finger loosened up for Saturday.

Noon window:

  • USC vs Illinois
  • Notre Dame vs Arkansas

3:30 window:

  • Ohio State vs Washington
  • LSU vs Ole Miss
  • Auburn vs Texas A&M
  • Indiana vs Iowa

7:30 window:

  • Arizona vs Iowa State
  • Oregon vs Penn State
  • Alabama vs Georgia

This is our first serious full day of great games for the season. Sit back, order a pizza, and enjoy. Oh, and don’t forget it is also Ryder Cup weekend.

Tweet of the Week

Only Lane would take time to celebrate with the players with an alley oop while the game is going on.

 

 

The Weekly Shiny Penny

We use the phrase “Now I’ve seen everything.” Probably not. Try this on for size.

 


A Penny For My Final Thought…

Konnor Griffin should be the starting shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates on opening day next season.

I have covered, ad nauseam, the issues the Pittsburgh Pirates have. It all starts with the penny pinching, could care less attitude of owner Bob Nutting. The fact that Nutting may not fire incompetent GM Ben Cherington. The incompetence of Cherington from poor trade after poor trade to idiotic free agent signings. The complete inability to develop hitters in their own system.

But then there is Griffin. They haven’t had time to ruin him yet. So, why give it time?

These are Griffin’s stats this year.

 

Griffin rocketed through the Pirates farm system, finishing in AA Altoona. While playing for the Curve, Griffin hit .356.

The Pirates other problem is slow playing their best prospects. For the past ten years, the Pirates never call up prospects early. They hold them, mainly for financial reasons.

Griffin is ready.

He has nothing else to prove in the minor leagues. I’m sure the Pirates will start Griffin in AAA next season. They will keep him there until his super 2 time passes. As usual, they will be wrong.

As a matter of fact, depending on who the Pirates sign or trade for —we all know it won’t be anyone good— Griffin immediately becomes the Pirates best hitter.

Finally, this would be a great PR move for the Pirates. Griffin would be the talk of baseball to start the season. He was the high school player of the year and followed that up with minor league player of the year. Only Joe Mauer, Byron Buxton, Bobby Witt, and Jackson Holiday accomplished that feat. Reaching the big leagues at 20 years of age is reserved for stars. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a bona fide offensive star, and playing shortstop to boot.

The Pirates should try something new and do the right thing.

The Pirates starting shortstop on opening day 2026 should be Konnor Griffin.

Just my two cents…