It's one thing to win a game. It's quite another thing to win a game that nobody expects you to win. Not even yourself. It's just a great deal more fun when Penn State surprises and delights. Which they did last night against Michigan when they achieved a solid 41-31 win.
Yes, that's right. I confess that I held only slight hope that the Nittany Lions would come out on top over Michigan. I wasn't even that excited about a game under the lights. About the only thing I was really excited about was that we had a family member - my husband's daughter Terri Lynn - visiting us from out of town, and we were tailgating with friends - Charlie and Lindley - from Memphis Tennessee who would make it to Beaver Stadium only once this year. We were anxious to see them and catch up.
I was also quite curious about whether or not the Project 7 initiative by students would fill up the stands by kickoff. And I was glad that the weather was decent, albeit predicted to be a bit cold by game time.
Photo panorama - View From Our Seats - Penn State vs Iowa 2011 - by Carolyn M. Todd
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Penn State vs. Michigan Football: Students Start Project 7 to Fill Stands Early
Evidently there's a group of students who are as upset as I am about the empty stands in the student section at Penn State. That's welcome news!
Here's my photo of the student section at the Illinois game as the team ran out onto the field, about 5 minutes before kickoff:
This was Homecoming at Penn State, and it was quite embarrassing. We were, after all, playing a Big Ten team, Illinois, in a competitive game. My students would argue with me, however, that the problem was a 12 noon game.
Here's my photo of the student section at the Illinois game as the team ran out onto the field, about 5 minutes before kickoff:
This was Homecoming at Penn State, and it was quite embarrassing. We were, after all, playing a Big Ten team, Illinois, in a competitive game. My students would argue with me, however, that the problem was a 12 noon game.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Ugly Penn State Win Against Minnesota Gophers Better Than No Win
In his press conference last week, Coach Joe Paterno stated that the Penn State football team had to make plays.
Penn State cornerback D'Anton Lynn responded to that challenge late in the second quarter when he intercepted an errant pass in the end zone by Minnesota quarterback Adam Weber and then, rather than take a knee, ran it back 58 yards to midfield.
One play later, on a 42-yard pass from 3rd string backup quarterback Matt McGloin to wide receiver Derek Moye, Penn State scored its 3rd touchdown to make the score 21-7. Not bad for McGloin's first career pass completion as quarterback!
That series - the interception and the long pass - resulted in a 14 point swing. We prevented Minnesota from scoring 7 points, and we scored a quick 7 points. The difference in the 33-21 game was 12 points.
Penn State cornerback D'Anton Lynn responded to that challenge late in the second quarter when he intercepted an errant pass in the end zone by Minnesota quarterback Adam Weber and then, rather than take a knee, ran it back 58 yards to midfield.
One play later, on a 42-yard pass from 3rd string backup quarterback Matt McGloin to wide receiver Derek Moye, Penn State scored its 3rd touchdown to make the score 21-7. Not bad for McGloin's first career pass completion as quarterback!
That series - the interception and the long pass - resulted in a 14 point swing. We prevented Minnesota from scoring 7 points, and we scored a quick 7 points. The difference in the 33-21 game was 12 points.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Illinois Exploits Penn State's Team Weaknesses
It's a good thing I didn't plan a big party after yesterday's game to celebrate my husband Terry's 250th game in a row (see Saturday's Centre Daily Times PSU Memories column here or reproduced in the below post).
If anyone had stuck around after the game long enough to go to such a party, it would have felt like a funeral. It was best to keep it a low-key day and celebrate another time.
If anyone had stuck around after the game long enough to go to such a party, it would have felt like a funeral. It was best to keep it a low-key day and celebrate another time.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Penn State October Big Ten Schedule: Which Mascots Will Remain Standing?
The Hawkeyes, the Illini, the Gophers, and the Wolverines. Quite a schedule for Penn State in October, and not a good start in the Big Ten. Herky the Hawkeye will stand tall on our mantel piece until next season. As mentioned last week, this is getting quite tiresome.
This week we play the Illini of Illinois. They don't have a mascot. That was true when we first joined the Big Ten and is true now.
"What about Chief Illiniwek?" some would ask. Wasn't he their mascot when Penn State joined the Big Ten?
This week we play the Illini of Illinois. They don't have a mascot. That was true when we first joined the Big Ten and is true now.
"What about Chief Illiniwek?" some would ask. Wasn't he their mascot when Penn State joined the Big Ten?
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Penn State at Iowa: Disappointing Game, Always a Fun Atmosphere
The Game, Such As It Was
Pardon me if I don't talk much about Saturday night's game. Our "view from the stands" was looking at the jumbo-tron for play action. When you're in the corner of the end zone in the 5th row, even under the best conditions it's hard to get a feel for the game.
Depth perception vanishes about halfway down the field. Action that occurs in front of you is great. But unfortunately it always seems when you're sitting at the corner of the south end zone that your team's best actions are near the north end zone.
Pardon me if I don't talk much about Saturday night's game. Our "view from the stands" was looking at the jumbo-tron for play action. When you're in the corner of the end zone in the 5th row, even under the best conditions it's hard to get a feel for the game.
Depth perception vanishes about halfway down the field. Action that occurs in front of you is great. But unfortunately it always seems when you're sitting at the corner of the south end zone that your team's best actions are near the north end zone.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)