Big Six Posted September 26, 2006 Author Share Posted September 26, 2006 [b]Week 6, 2006 #2 Penn State 24, #13 Purdue 17[/b] [code] [b]Purdue 0 7 7 3 17 Penn State 0 7 10 7 24[/b] [b]First Quarter[/b] No scoring. [b]Second Quarter[/b] PNST TD 12:48 7-0 Calvin Ferguson 1 YD Run (Stephan Phillips Kick). PUR TD 06:05 7-7 Jordan Davis 1 YD Pass from Derek Howell (Walter Orr Kick). [b]Third Quarter[/b] PUR TD 04:06 14-7 Richard Smith 4 YD Pass from Derek Howell (Walter Orr Kick). PNST FG 01:18 14-10 Stephan Phillips 30 YD PNST TD 00:00 17-14 Calvin Ferguson 81 YD Run (Stephan Phillips Kick). [b]Fourth Quarter[/b] PNST TD 07:53 24-14 Jason Cruz 38 YD Pass from Joe Collins (Stephan Phillips Kick). PUR FG 04:34 24-17 Walter Orr 40 YD [b]Penn State Individual Statistics: Passing:[/b] Joe Collins 21-35-305, 1 TD, 2 int. [b]Rushing:[/b] Calvin Ferguson 26-178, Man Ward 8-36, Jerry Freeman 2-5, Raymundo Parker 1-1, Joe Collins 1-0, Randy Culpepper 1-(-2). [b]Receiving:[/b] Randy Culpepper 6-91, Jason Cruz 5-76, Calvin Ferguson 3-49, Modesto Stark 3-44, Jerry Hubbard 3-40, Theodore Dick 1-8, Man Ward 1-0. [b]Key Run Blocks:[/b] Chris Sandoval 1. [b]Pancakes:[/b] Chris Sandoval 2, Todd Main 2, Fred Felton 1, Wes Herring 1, Anthony Lloyd 1. [b]Kicking:[/b] Stephan Phillips 1-3 FG, 3-3 XP. [b]Punting:[/b] Philip Redd 6-44.5 [b]Kick Returns:[/b] Eugene Nichols 2-22.5 [b]Punt Returns:[/b] Alphonso Collins 4-9.8 [b]Sacks:[/b] Milton Cole 1, John Bell 1. [b]Interceptions:[/b] Francis Taylor 2-0, Richard Phillips 1-0. [b]Tackles:[/b] Charles Brown 7, John Becker 6, Milton Cole 5, Francis Taylor 4, William Gross 3, Richard Phillips 3, John Bell 2, Daniel Jackson 1, John James 1, Jerry Martin 1, Leonard Hill 1, Roy Thompson 1. [b]Stuffs:[/b] Charles Brown 1, John Becker 1, Francis Taylor 1. [b]Hurries:[/b] John Becker 3, Milton Cole 2, John Bell 2, William Gross 1. [b]Passes Defended:[/b] Francis Taylor 2, William Gross 1, Roy Thompson 1. [/code] This week began on a down note, as we received news from the AD’s office that three more of our players would be ineligible to play until they pulled their grades up. Among them was Miguel Gregory, who hasn’t exactly endeared himself to anybody around here lately. Miguel cracked a rib in the Minnesota game, the one in which he played so well. With Calvin Ferguson completely healthy, it would have been foolish to give Miguel 20 carries, but we didn’t bury him on the bench, either. He carried the ball nine times against Northwestern, and caught a pass. Apparently, that wasn’t enough for him, and he spent the next week sulking in his room and not going to class. He is an extremely talented football player, and he is a big part of our plans for the next two years. He’s frustrated right now, and we’re frustrated with him. We would hate to see him leave Penn State, but I can’t say right now that won’t happen. On a more positive note, Dan Delgado, Roy Thompson, and Phil Vanderpool were all cleared to come back from their academic suspensions. Dan will be rotating with Man Ward at fullback, Roy will play in our nickel and dime packages, and Phil will rejoin our special teams units. Dan, in particular, has made real strides in the classroom and looks like he might have a 2.5 this semester. Besides the academic problems, this was a very good week for us. We beat a talented Purdue team by playing solid defense and making big plays on offense. With Gregory out, Calvin Ferguson went into the game knowing he’d get the large majority of the carries. We gave it to him 26 times and he got us 178 yards, including 81 on one big run at the end of the third quarter. It was a simple inside run we call 22 Straight, and our left guard, Chris Sandoval, opened up a huge hole. Calvin took off, got into their secondary, and turned it into a footrace. If there’s anyone in college football who can catch Calvin Ferguson from behind, I haven’t seen him, and he had his first opportunity to shift into high gear on that play. The fans loved it; it’s been a long time since they’ve seen a Penn State player with that kind of speed. Calvin also capped a 14 play drive that took over seven minutes off the clock with a one-yard TD in the second quarter. That was our longest drive of the season, and it gave our defense a good, long rest. They needed it against a Purdue offense that could strike quickly—which it did a couple of times. Richard Sierra, who torched Notre Dame for 243 rushing yards two weeks ago, broke a big one against us that set up the TD that put them ahead in the third quarter. Because of the injury to Sam Neff, Joe Collins also knew he’d be playing the entire game. Joe responded to this situation extremely well, and had the best game any of our quarterbacks have had all year. He threw two interceptions, but he demonstrated the ability to move the ball and command the offense. It looks like he’s found a go-to receiver in true freshman Jason Cruz. Joe and Jason hooked up several times for good gains, including a 38-yard TD where Jason caught the ball on a slant and outran the Purdue defense to the end zone. We got a great game from Francis Taylor, who had two interceptions, broke up two other passes, and dropped a ballcarrier behind the line on a big third down play late in the game. Charles Brown was fantastic again, and John Becker had his typical outstanding game. Now the stage is set for the game of the year: Michigan and Penn State; Number One against Number Two, in the largest football stadium in the country. The Wolverines are coming off a big win against Notre Dame, and are really riding high right now. Michigan lost their starting left tackle, a big redshirt freshman named Ryan Adams, for the season with a knee injury two weeks ago. Sam Neff will be out for us again, but otherwise, we're healthy too. Michigan two very good quarterbacks whom they have been rotating in and out: Will Donaldson, a senior, and a redshirt freshman named Boyd Massey. Steve Griffin gained over 1100 yards last season, and they have a true freshman running back named Keith Peterson who was almost as highly regarded as Calvin Ferguson coming out of high school. Put it all together, and they have the most explosive offense we will face all year. Their defense is just about as good as ours is; we’re ranked #4 nationally, and they are #5. Opposing teams average exactly a yard less per game against us, but they’re allowing three fewer points per game: 13 to our 16. The mood on our campus is electric, and I’m sure it’s the same way in Ann Arbor. And, as if there was any need for more excitement, College GameDay will be on hand. I’ve been hesitant to mention the term “national championship,” but there’s no getting around the fact that a shot at that very thing might be riding on this week’s game. As a coach, or as a player, you never know when you might have that chance again, so you have to enjoy the feeling when you can. I hope our players take the time to let some of that excitement soak in, because they’ll remember it for the rest of their lives. [b]Elsewhere in the Big Ten:[/b] #17 Wisconsin 41, # 24 Minnesota 31 Michigan State 35, Illinois 17 #1 Michigan 24, #8 Notre Dame 13 Indiana 34, Iowa 31 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted September 26, 2006 Author Share Posted September 26, 2006 [b]Week 6, 2006 #2 Penn State 24, #13 Purdue 17[/b] [code] [b]Purdue 0 7 7 3 17 Penn State 0 7 10 7 24[/b] [b]First Quarter[/b] No scoring. [b]Second Quarter[/b] PNST TD 12:48 7-0 Calvin Ferguson 1 YD Run (Stephan Phillips Kick). PUR TD 06:05 7-7 Jordan Davis 1 YD Pass from Derek Howell (Walter Orr Kick). [b]Third Quarter[/b] PUR TD 04:06 14-7 Richard Smith 4 YD Pass from Derek Howell (Walter Orr Kick). PNST FG 01:18 14-10 Stephan Phillips 30 YD PNST TD 00:00 17-14 Calvin Ferguson 81 YD Run (Stephan Phillips Kick). [b]Fourth Quarter[/b] PNST TD 07:53 24-14 Jason Cruz 38 YD Pass from Joe Collins (Stephan Phillips Kick). PUR FG 04:34 24-17 Walter Orr 40 YD [b]Penn State Individual Statistics: Passing:[/b] Joe Collins 21-35-305, 1 TD, 2 int. [b]Rushing:[/b] Calvin Ferguson 26-178, Man Ward 8-36, Jerry Freeman 2-5, Raymundo Parker 1-1, Joe Collins 1-0, Randy Culpepper 1-(-2). [b]Receiving:[/b] Randy Culpepper 6-91, Jason Cruz 5-76, Calvin Ferguson 3-49, Modesto Stark 3-44, Jerry Hubbard 3-40, Theodore Dick 1-8, Man Ward 1-0. [b]Key Run Blocks:[/b] Chris Sandoval 1. [b]Pancakes:[/b] Chris Sandoval 2, Todd Main 2, Fred Felton 1, Wes Herring 1, Anthony Lloyd 1. [b]Kicking:[/b] Stephan Phillips 1-3 FG, 3-3 XP. [b]Punting:[/b] Philip Redd 6-44.5 [b]Kick Returns:[/b] Eugene Nichols 2-22.5 [b]Punt Returns:[/b] Alphonso Collins 4-9.8 [b]Sacks:[/b] Milton Cole 1, John Bell 1. [b]Interceptions:[/b] Francis Taylor 2-0, Richard Phillips 1-0. [b]Tackles:[/b] Charles Brown 7, John Becker 6, Milton Cole 5, Francis Taylor 4, William Gross 3, Richard Phillips 3, John Bell 2, Daniel Jackson 1, John James 1, Jerry Martin 1, Leonard Hill 1, Roy Thompson 1. [b]Stuffs:[/b] Charles Brown 1, John Becker 1, Francis Taylor 1. [b]Hurries:[/b] John Becker 3, Milton Cole 2, John Bell 2, William Gross 1. [b]Passes Defended:[/b] Francis Taylor 2, William Gross 1, Roy Thompson 1. [/code] This week began on a down note, as we received news from the AD’s office that three more of our players would be ineligible to play until they pulled their grades up. Among them was Miguel Gregory, who hasn’t exactly endeared himself to anybody around here lately. Miguel cracked a rib in the Minnesota game, the one in which he played so well. With Calvin Ferguson completely healthy, it would have been foolish to give Miguel 20 carries, but we didn’t bury him on the bench, either. He carried the ball nine times against Northwestern, and caught a pass. Apparently, that wasn’t enough for him, and he spent the next week sulking in his room and not going to class. He is an extremely talented football player, and he is a big part of our plans for the next two years. He’s frustrated right now, and we’re frustrated with him. We would hate to see him leave Penn State, but I can’t say right now that won’t happen. On a more positive note, Dan Delgado, Roy Thompson, and Phil Vanderpool were all cleared to come back from their academic suspensions. Dan will be rotating with Man Ward at fullback, Roy will play in our nickel and dime packages, and Phil will rejoin our special teams units. Dan, in particular, has made real strides in the classroom and looks like he might have a 2.5 this semester. Besides the academic problems, this was a very good week for us. We beat a talented Purdue team by playing solid defense and making big plays on offense. With Gregory out, Calvin Ferguson went into the game knowing he’d get the large majority of the carries. We gave it to him 26 times and he got us 178 yards, including 81 on one big run at the end of the third quarter. It was a simple inside run we call 22 Straight, and our left guard, Chris Sandoval, opened up a huge hole. Calvin took off, got into their secondary, and turned it into a footrace. If there’s anyone in college football who can catch Calvin Ferguson from behind, I haven’t seen him, and he had his first opportunity to shift into high gear on that play. The fans loved it; it’s been a long time since they’ve seen a Penn State player with that kind of speed. Calvin also capped a 14 play drive that took over seven minutes off the clock with a one-yard TD in the second quarter. That was our longest drive of the season, and it gave our defense a good, long rest. They needed it against a Purdue offense that could strike quickly—which it did a couple of times. Richard Sierra, who torched Notre Dame for 243 rushing yards two weeks ago, broke a big one against us that set up the TD that put them ahead in the third quarter. Because of the injury to Sam Neff, Joe Collins also knew he’d be playing the entire game. Joe responded to this situation extremely well, and had the best game any of our quarterbacks have had all year. He threw two interceptions, but he demonstrated the ability to move the ball and command the offense. It looks like he’s found a go-to receiver in true freshman Jason Cruz. Joe and Jason hooked up several times for good gains, including a 38-yard TD where Jason caught the ball on a slant and outran the Purdue defense to the end zone. We got a great game from Francis Taylor, who had two interceptions, broke up two other passes, and dropped a ballcarrier behind the line on a big third down play late in the game. Charles Brown was fantastic again, and John Becker had his typical outstanding game. Now the stage is set for the game of the year: Michigan and Penn State; Number One against Number Two, in the largest football stadium in the country. The Wolverines are coming off a big win against Notre Dame, and are really riding high right now. Michigan lost their starting left tackle, a big redshirt freshman named Ryan Adams, for the season with a knee injury two weeks ago. Sam Neff will be out for us again, but otherwise, we're healthy too. Michigan two very good quarterbacks whom they have been rotating in and out: Will Donaldson, a senior, and a redshirt freshman named Boyd Massey. Steve Griffin gained over 1100 yards last season, and they have a true freshman running back named Keith Peterson who was almost as highly regarded as Calvin Ferguson coming out of high school. Put it all together, and they have the most explosive offense we will face all year. Their defense is just about as good as ours is; we’re ranked #4 nationally, and they are #5. Opposing teams average exactly a yard less per game against us, but they’re allowing three fewer points per game: 13 to our 16. The mood on our campus is electric, and I’m sure it’s the same way in Ann Arbor. And, as if there was any need for more excitement, College GameDay will be on hand. I’ve been hesitant to mention the term “national championship,” but there’s no getting around the fact that a shot at that very thing might be riding on this week’s game. As a coach, or as a player, you never know when you might have that chance again, so you have to enjoy the feeling when you can. I hope our players take the time to let some of that excitement soak in, because they’ll remember it for the rest of their lives. [b]Elsewhere in the Big Ten:[/b] #17 Wisconsin 41, # 24 Minnesota 31 Michigan State 35, Illinois 17 #1 Michigan 24, #8 Notre Dame 13 Indiana 34, Iowa 31 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted October 2, 2006 Author Share Posted October 2, 2006 [b]Week 7, 2006 #1 Michigan 31, #2 Penn State 26[/b] [code] [b]Penn State Michigan[/b] 28 First Downs 19 136 Rushing Yds. 236 357 Passing Yds. 163 493 Total Yds. 399 6-15 3rd Down Eff. 7-14 1-1 4th Down Eff. 0-1 7-67 Penalties 12-54 33:42 Possession 26:18 [/code] [code] [b]Penn State 0 6 6 14 26 Michigan 14 7 3 7 31 First Quarter[/b] MICH TD 06:46 7-0 Jeffrey Daniels 13 YD Pass from Will Donaldson (Leo Shipley Kick). MICH TD 01:46 14-0 Steve Griffin 78 YD Run (Leo Shipley Kick). [b]Second Quarter[/b] PNST FG 11:43 14-3 Stephan Phillips 43 YD MICH TD 09:11 21-3 Ian Wilson 12 YD Pass from Will Donaldson (Leo Shipley Kick). PNST FG 00:00 21-6 Stephan Phillips 40 YD [b]Third Quarter[/b] PNST TD 08:23 21-12 Calvin Ferguson 2 YD Run (2 Pts Failed) MICH FG 03:24 24-12 Leo Shipley 35 YD [b]Fourth Quarter[/b] PNST TD 12:31 24-19 Calvin Ferguson 1 YD Run (Stephan Phillips Kick). MICH TD 09:08 31-19 21 YD Int Return by Julio Gilbert (Leo Shipley Kick). PNST TD 07:13 31-26 Jerry Hubbard 12 YD Pass from Joe Collins (Stephan Phillips Kick). [b]Penn State Individual Statistics: Passing:[/b] Joe Collins 26-39-357, 1 TD, 1 int.; Philip Redd 0-1. [b]Rushing:[/b] Calvin Ferguson 28-98, Man Ward 5-54, Randy Culpepper 1-5, Jerry Freeman 1-2, Dan Delgado 1-(-3). [b]Receiving:[/b] Jerry Hubbard 7-149, Randy Culpepper 10-99, Theodore Dick 3-54, Modesto Stark 2-29, Dan Delgado 1-12, Calvin Ferguson 2-9, Jason Cruz 1-5. [b]Key Run Blocks:[/b] Chris Sandoval 1, Fred Felton 1. [b]Pancakes:[/b] Chris Sandoval 3, Fred Felton 2, Todd Main 2, Wes Herring 1, Anthony Lloyd 1. [b]Kicking:[/b] Stephan Phillips 2-2 FG, 2-2 XP. [b]Punting:[/b] Philip Redd 5-41.6 [b]Kick Returns:[/b] George Drummond 1-25.0, Eugene Nichols 4-24.2 [b]Punt Returns:[/b] Alphonso Collins 5-7.6 [b]Sacks:[/b] John Bell 1, Jerry Martin 1, John James 1. [b]Interceptions:[/b] Francis Taylor 1-0. [b]Tackles:[/b] William Gross 10, Charles Brown 9, John Becker 8, Francis Taylor 5, Daniel Jackson 4, Leonard Hill 4, George Harris 2, John Bell 1, Jerry Martin 1, John James 1, Jerry Magee 1, Roy Thompson 1. [b]Stuffs:[/b] William Gross 1. [b]Hurries:[/b] John Becker 1, John James 1. [b]Passes Defended:[/b] Francis Taylor 2, Daniel Jackson 2, Roy Thompson 1. [/code] It was one of the most exciting football games I’ve ever been a part of, and despite the fact that the ending was a disappointment, we found out a lot of positive things about our team this week. We were down 21-3 to the top-ranked team in the nation, playing before a crowd of over 107,000 hostile fans, and we refused to give up. We came back and gave ourselves a chance to win on our final possession. As is usually the case in a close game like this one, a handful of big plays could be said to have decided the outcome. We let their outstanding running back, Steve Griffin, bust loose on a 78-yard TD run in the first quarter. That’s the second long run we’ve allowed in two weeks, and this time it made a lot bigger difference. Joe Collins, who otherwise played an outstanding game, threw an interception in the fourth quarter that linebacker Julio Gilbert returned for a TD. Joe felt terrible about that, but those things will happen against a team as good as Michigan is. I think Joe made a much stronger statement about the kind of quarterback he’s becoming over the entire course of the second half, when he led us back into the game. With 3:17 remaining, we forced Michigan to punt. Alphonso Collins returned it to our 34, and an incidental facemask penalty put the ball on the 39. We got a first down on an interference call, and Calvin Ferguson gave us another with runs of nine and six yards. On first and ten from their 43, Man Ward got a great block from Chris Sandoval and picked up 14 yards. Man ran the ball extremely well this week, and we’re going to find ways to get the rock into his hands more often now. Now the ball is on Michigan’s 29. Collins hit Randy Culpepper on a short corner route: 12 yards and another first down, and there was 1:57 left to play. Ferguson picked up nine more yards off tackle, down to the 8—but then Michigan’s defense made a stand. Collins threw incomplete to Modesto Stark on second and one. Ferguson was stopped on the next play for a very short gain, and with just over a minute to play, we faced fourth and less than a yard. We decided to let Ward try to move the pile. It didn’t look like he made it, and Michigan’s defense started celebrating. Then they saw the flag on the field. Their strong safety was called for grabbing Man’s facemask, and we got five yards, a first down, and a new lease on life. The game became very simple at that point. We had four downs and fifty seconds to score from the four-yard line. There wasn’t a man, woman, or child sitting down, and the noise was as loud as I’ve ever heard it get at Michigan—and that’s pretty loud. On first down, we set up in the shotgun. We tried to cross them up with a draw play, and Jerry Freeman picked up two yards. We called time out, and decided to try a pass. Collins found Ward running a little hook and hit him right in the numbers for a touchdown. The Big House itself seemed to howl with anguish…but there was another yellow flag on the field. Modesto Stark was called for holding, nullifying the touchdown. The penalty backed us up ten yards to the 12. Looking at the films, the question of whether or not Mo made a bad play can easily be asked. Their defensive end, Billy Phillips, was drawing a bead on Collins, and if Mo hadn’t grabbed his shirt, Phillips would have blasted Collins for a sack. We would have lost five yards had Joe been sacked—plus we would have lost the down as well. As it was, Collins didn’t get hammered to the turf by Phillips, who weighs 278 pounds; the clock stops; and we still have three plays, if we have time to run them all. For all intents and purposes, we traded five yards for those advantages. Instead of third and goal from the seven, it’s second and goal from the 12. Which situation would you rather face, if you have to have a touchdown? On second and 12, Collins threw an incomplete pass, but on the next play Culpepper got open on a curl pattern and Collins made a nice throw. Randy didn’t have room to get into the end zone, so he stepped out of bounds at the 5 to stop the clock. Fourth and goal, five yards to go, and seven seconds on the clock. Collins set up in the shotgun, and we sent Culpepper and Jerry Hubbard on a double slant route. The result was a play I must say will be a classic moment in Penn State, Michigan, and Big Ten football for years and years to come. There won’t be time for another play, so the only possible negative result for Michigan is a Penn State touchdown. They’ll gladly let our guy catch a pass, as long as he doesn’t get across the goal line. Of course, Joe, Randy, and Jerry all know this, too. Collins figured his best chance was to get the ball into a receiver’s hands and see if he could bull his way into the end zone. Culpepper was more open than Hubbard, so Joe threw his way. Randy, the ball, and Michigan safety Stephen Johnson all arrived at the same time. Randy blasted him, but Johnson held on and dragged him down just short of the goal line. There was no time left on the clock, so the game ended right there. Our offense did an outstanding job throughout the last three quarters, moving the ball and putting points on the board, and our defense played every bit as well. They allowed only one field goal in the last 39 minutes of the game and gave the offense a chance to cut into that lead. The stats make it look like our defense got chewed up worse than it did. We gave up 236 yards on the ground, but a big chunk of that came on two long runs. William Gross, Charles Brown, Francis Taylor, and John Becker graded out the highest. Apparently a few moron bloggers were making Modesto Stark out to be a goat because of the holding penalty. For one thing, they haven’t seen the films, and they might not be aware of how close Collins came to being sacked. Joe says there is no doubt Phillips would have had him, and that there was no way he could have gotten rid of the ball first. Collins could have fumbled when Phillips nailed him. There’s no guarantee we would have scored with only two plays. And, they conveniently forget that without the facemask call against Michigan the series before, we would have lost the ball on downs with 50 seconds left. The referees giveth, and the referees taketh away. Our loss dropped us a half-game behind Michigan and Ohio State in the Big Ten standings. They’re both 3-0, and we’re 3-1. We play the Buckeyes in two weeks, but first we have to take on an Iowa team that really put a hurting on Michigan State this week. We also lost a spot in the polls, trading spots with Oklahoma. And we probably lost any chance we had at a national championship. It’s far to early to talk any more about that. Leave that to the guys on TV. [b]Elsewhere in the Big Ten:[/b] #7 Ohio State 36, # 13 Purdue 24 Iowa 49, Michigan State 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted October 2, 2006 Author Share Posted October 2, 2006 [b]Week 7, 2006 #1 Michigan 31, #2 Penn State 26[/b] [code] [b]Penn State Michigan[/b] 28 First Downs 19 136 Rushing Yds. 236 357 Passing Yds. 163 493 Total Yds. 399 6-15 3rd Down Eff. 7-14 1-1 4th Down Eff. 0-1 7-67 Penalties 12-54 33:42 Possession 26:18 [/code] [code] [b]Penn State 0 6 6 14 26 Michigan 14 7 3 7 31 First Quarter[/b] MICH TD 06:46 7-0 Jeffrey Daniels 13 YD Pass from Will Donaldson (Leo Shipley Kick). MICH TD 01:46 14-0 Steve Griffin 78 YD Run (Leo Shipley Kick). [b]Second Quarter[/b] PNST FG 11:43 14-3 Stephan Phillips 43 YD MICH TD 09:11 21-3 Ian Wilson 12 YD Pass from Will Donaldson (Leo Shipley Kick). PNST FG 00:00 21-6 Stephan Phillips 40 YD [b]Third Quarter[/b] PNST TD 08:23 21-12 Calvin Ferguson 2 YD Run (2 Pts Failed) MICH FG 03:24 24-12 Leo Shipley 35 YD [b]Fourth Quarter[/b] PNST TD 12:31 24-19 Calvin Ferguson 1 YD Run (Stephan Phillips Kick). MICH TD 09:08 31-19 21 YD Int Return by Julio Gilbert (Leo Shipley Kick). PNST TD 07:13 31-26 Jerry Hubbard 12 YD Pass from Joe Collins (Stephan Phillips Kick). [b]Penn State Individual Statistics: Passing:[/b] Joe Collins 26-39-357, 1 TD, 1 int.; Philip Redd 0-1. [b]Rushing:[/b] Calvin Ferguson 28-98, Man Ward 5-54, Randy Culpepper 1-5, Jerry Freeman 1-2, Dan Delgado 1-(-3). [b]Receiving:[/b] Jerry Hubbard 7-149, Randy Culpepper 10-99, Theodore Dick 3-54, Modesto Stark 2-29, Dan Delgado 1-12, Calvin Ferguson 2-9, Jason Cruz 1-5. [b]Key Run Blocks:[/b] Chris Sandoval 1, Fred Felton 1. [b]Pancakes:[/b] Chris Sandoval 3, Fred Felton 2, Todd Main 2, Wes Herring 1, Anthony Lloyd 1. [b]Kicking:[/b] Stephan Phillips 2-2 FG, 2-2 XP. [b]Punting:[/b] Philip Redd 5-41.6 [b]Kick Returns:[/b] George Drummond 1-25.0, Eugene Nichols 4-24.2 [b]Punt Returns:[/b] Alphonso Collins 5-7.6 [b]Sacks:[/b] John Bell 1, Jerry Martin 1, John James 1. [b]Interceptions:[/b] Francis Taylor 1-0. [b]Tackles:[/b] William Gross 10, Charles Brown 9, John Becker 8, Francis Taylor 5, Daniel Jackson 4, Leonard Hill 4, George Harris 2, John Bell 1, Jerry Martin 1, John James 1, Jerry Magee 1, Roy Thompson 1. [b]Stuffs:[/b] William Gross 1. [b]Hurries:[/b] John Becker 1, John James 1. [b]Passes Defended:[/b] Francis Taylor 2, Daniel Jackson 2, Roy Thompson 1. [/code] It was one of the most exciting football games I’ve ever been a part of, and despite the fact that the ending was a disappointment, we found out a lot of positive things about our team this week. We were down 21-3 to the top-ranked team in the nation, playing before a crowd of over 107,000 hostile fans, and we refused to give up. We came back and gave ourselves a chance to win on our final possession. As is usually the case in a close game like this one, a handful of big plays could be said to have decided the outcome. We let their outstanding running back, Steve Griffin, bust loose on a 78-yard TD run in the first quarter. That’s the second long run we’ve allowed in two weeks, and this time it made a lot bigger difference. Joe Collins, who otherwise played an outstanding game, threw an interception in the fourth quarter that linebacker Julio Gilbert returned for a TD. Joe felt terrible about that, but those things will happen against a team as good as Michigan is. I think Joe made a much stronger statement about the kind of quarterback he’s becoming over the entire course of the second half, when he led us back into the game. With 3:17 remaining, we forced Michigan to punt. Alphonso Collins returned it to our 34, and an incidental facemask penalty put the ball on the 39. We got a first down on an interference call, and Calvin Ferguson gave us another with runs of nine and six yards. On first and ten from their 43, Man Ward got a great block from Chris Sandoval and picked up 14 yards. Man ran the ball extremely well this week, and we’re going to find ways to get the rock into his hands more often now. Now the ball is on Michigan’s 29. Collins hit Randy Culpepper on a short corner route: 12 yards and another first down, and there was 1:57 left to play. Ferguson picked up nine more yards off tackle, down to the 8—but then Michigan’s defense made a stand. Collins threw incomplete to Modesto Stark on second and one. Ferguson was stopped on the next play for a very short gain, and with just over a minute to play, we faced fourth and less than a yard. We decided to let Ward try to move the pile. It didn’t look like he made it, and Michigan’s defense started celebrating. Then they saw the flag on the field. Their strong safety was called for grabbing Man’s facemask, and we got five yards, a first down, and a new lease on life. The game became very simple at that point. We had four downs and fifty seconds to score from the four-yard line. There wasn’t a man, woman, or child sitting down, and the noise was as loud as I’ve ever heard it get at Michigan—and that’s pretty loud. On first down, we set up in the shotgun. We tried to cross them up with a draw play, and Jerry Freeman picked up two yards. We called time out, and decided to try a pass. Collins found Ward running a little hook and hit him right in the numbers for a touchdown. The Big House itself seemed to howl with anguish…but there was another yellow flag on the field. Modesto Stark was called for holding, nullifying the touchdown. The penalty backed us up ten yards to the 12. Looking at the films, the question of whether or not Mo made a bad play can easily be asked. Their defensive end, Billy Phillips, was drawing a bead on Collins, and if Mo hadn’t grabbed his shirt, Phillips would have blasted Collins for a sack. We would have lost five yards had Joe been sacked—plus we would have lost the down as well. As it was, Collins didn’t get hammered to the turf by Phillips, who weighs 278 pounds; the clock stops; and we still have three plays, if we have time to run them all. For all intents and purposes, we traded five yards for those advantages. Instead of third and goal from the seven, it’s second and goal from the 12. Which situation would you rather face, if you have to have a touchdown? On second and 12, Collins threw an incomplete pass, but on the next play Culpepper got open on a curl pattern and Collins made a nice throw. Randy didn’t have room to get into the end zone, so he stepped out of bounds at the 5 to stop the clock. Fourth and goal, five yards to go, and seven seconds on the clock. Collins set up in the shotgun, and we sent Culpepper and Jerry Hubbard on a double slant route. The result was a play I must say will be a classic moment in Penn State, Michigan, and Big Ten football for years and years to come. There won’t be time for another play, so the only possible negative result for Michigan is a Penn State touchdown. They’ll gladly let our guy catch a pass, as long as he doesn’t get across the goal line. Of course, Joe, Randy, and Jerry all know this, too. Collins figured his best chance was to get the ball into a receiver’s hands and see if he could bull his way into the end zone. Culpepper was more open than Hubbard, so Joe threw his way. Randy, the ball, and Michigan safety Stephen Johnson all arrived at the same time. Randy blasted him, but Johnson held on and dragged him down just short of the goal line. There was no time left on the clock, so the game ended right there. Our offense did an outstanding job throughout the last three quarters, moving the ball and putting points on the board, and our defense played every bit as well. They allowed only one field goal in the last 39 minutes of the game and gave the offense a chance to cut into that lead. The stats make it look like our defense got chewed up worse than it did. We gave up 236 yards on the ground, but a big chunk of that came on two long runs. William Gross, Charles Brown, Francis Taylor, and John Becker graded out the highest. Apparently a few moron bloggers were making Modesto Stark out to be a goat because of the holding penalty. For one thing, they haven’t seen the films, and they might not be aware of how close Collins came to being sacked. Joe says there is no doubt Phillips would have had him, and that there was no way he could have gotten rid of the ball first. Collins could have fumbled when Phillips nailed him. There’s no guarantee we would have scored with only two plays. And, they conveniently forget that without the facemask call against Michigan the series before, we would have lost the ball on downs with 50 seconds left. The referees giveth, and the referees taketh away. Our loss dropped us a half-game behind Michigan and Ohio State in the Big Ten standings. They’re both 3-0, and we’re 3-1. We play the Buckeyes in two weeks, but first we have to take on an Iowa team that really put a hurting on Michigan State this week. We also lost a spot in the polls, trading spots with Oklahoma. And we probably lost any chance we had at a national championship. It’s far to early to talk any more about that. Leave that to the guys on TV. [b]Elsewhere in the Big Ten:[/b] #7 Ohio State 36, # 13 Purdue 24 Iowa 49, Michigan State 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted October 5, 2006 Author Share Posted October 5, 2006 [b]Week 8, 2006 #3 Penn State 24, Iowa 6[/b] [code] [b]Penn State Iowa[/b] 19 First Downs 17 168 Yards Rushing 111 208 Yards Passing 180 376 Total Yards 291 4-17 Penalties 4-28 3-13 3rd Down Eff. 5-17 0-0 4th Down Eff. 0-0 27:57 Possession 33:03 [/code] [code] [b]Penn State 3 0 0 21 24 Iowa 0 3 3 0 6 First Quarter[/b] PNST FG 01:19 3-0 Stephan Phillips 26 YD [b]Second Quarter[/b] IOWA FG 00:26 3-3 Jeremy Jones 29 YD [b]Third Quarter[/b] IOWA FG 01:11 6-3 Jeremy Jones 28 YD [b]Fourth Quarter[/b] PNST TD 10:49 10-6 Calvin Ferguson 4 YD Run (Stephan Phillips Kick). PNST TD 08:34 17-6 Randy Culpepper 44 YD Pass from Joe Collins (Stephan Phillips Kick). PNST TD 05:25 24-6 Calvin Ferguson 33 YD Pass from Joe Collins (Stephan Phillips Kick). [b]Penn State Individual Statistics: Passing:[/b] Joe Collins 16-26-207, 2 TD, 1 int.; Bobby Burton 1-2-1. [b]Rushing:[/b] Calvin Ferguson 23-132, Man Ward 1-20, Dan Delgado 3-15, Jerry Freeman 5-14, Joe Collins 2-(-3). [b]Receiving:[/b] Randy Culpepper 6-121, Calvin Ferguson 5-49, Modesto Stark 2-19, Jerry Hubbard 3-15, Theodore Dick 1-4. [b]Key Run Blocks:[/b] Todd Main 2, Chris Sandoval 2, Dan Delgado 2, Fred Felton 1. [b]Pancakes:[/b] Todd Main 1, Fred Felton 1, Anthony Lloyd 1. [b]Kicking:[/b] Stephan Phillips 1-1 FG, 3-3 XP. [b]Punting:[/b] Philip Redd 8-47.9 [b]Kick Returns:[/b] Eugene Nichols 2-16.0 [b]Punt Returns:[/b] Alphonso Collins 5-7.4 [b]Sacks:[/b] John Bell 2, John James 1. [b]Interceptions:[/b] Charles Brown 1-23, Roy Thompson 1-10. [b]Tackles:[/b] John Becker 12, William Gross 11, Charles Brown 8, Richard Phillips 6, Francis Taylor 6, Milton Cole 3, John Bell 3, Daniel Jackson 2, Roy Thompson 2, George Harris 1, Travis Moore 1, John James 1, Lawrence Hill 1. [b]Stuffs:[/b] Charles Brown 4, John Becker 3, William Gross 2, John Bell 1. [b]Hurries:[/b] John James 2, Milton Cole 1, George Harris 1 [b]Passes Defended:[/b] Daniel Jackson 1. [/code] It’s natural for a team to suffer a letdown after a physically and emotionally draining game like the one we played at Michigan last week. Fortunately, that didn’t happen to us. Our defense played particularly well, and against an Iowa team that played very well defensively too, our offense finally got rolling in the fourth quarter to seal the win. David Tanner challenged the defense to step up and demonstrate why it’s ranked among the best in the nation. The players responded extremely well. Charles Brown hit everything that moved, and had four TFLs. As a unit they recorded ten stuffs, which is outstanding. John Becker and William Gross had twelve and eleven tackles respectively, John Bell had two sacks, and Brown and Roy Thompson each had interceptions. If our defense keeps playing this well, we won’t lose another game all season. Calvin Ferguson had another excellent game, and scored twice. The second came on a pass play, when Joe Collins checked down and found him open in the flat. Collins dumped it off to Ferguson, Calvin juked one guy, and then it became a footrace to the end zone. Calvin won’t lose many of those, and he turned a two-yard pass into a 33-yard TD. That play demonstrated perfectly why we looked for speed when we went out recruiting last year. We’re a little banged up now, and hopefully everyone will be able to play against Ohio State this week. Milton Cole was accidentally stuck in the eye, and his cornea is scratched. He’ll probably be able to go, wearing a face shield. We told him he looks even badder, and I think he liked that. Our first string center, Wes Herring, dislocated his elbow, and it looks like Clark Hill will start in his place against the Buckeyes. We’re going into the Ohio State game as eight-point favorites, but I think the game might be even closer. They had a week off last week, so they’ve had an extra week to prepare for us. Ohio State is deadly against the run, so we’ll probably find it tough to move the ball against them. Miguel Gregory is back from his academic suspension, so we’ll be able to run two good tailbacks at them. That will help some, but we’ll need Collins to make something happen so they can’t load the box with eight guys against us. I read that Randy Culpepper leads Division I receivers with 52 catches so far this season. He’s had a great senior year and has given our offense outstanding leadership. Look for him to enjoy a long, productive NFL career…but for now, look for him to give Ohio State worlds of trouble this coming Saturday. [b]Elsewhere in the Big Ten:[/b] #1 Michigan 31, #17 Purdue 3 Minnesota 28, Illinois 14 Northwestern 19, Indiana 9 #13 Wisconsin 34, Michigan State 24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted October 5, 2006 Author Share Posted October 5, 2006 [b]Week 8, 2006 #3 Penn State 24, Iowa 6[/b] [code] [b]Penn State Iowa[/b] 19 First Downs 17 168 Yards Rushing 111 208 Yards Passing 180 376 Total Yards 291 4-17 Penalties 4-28 3-13 3rd Down Eff. 5-17 0-0 4th Down Eff. 0-0 27:57 Possession 33:03 [/code] [code] [b]Penn State 3 0 0 21 24 Iowa 0 3 3 0 6 First Quarter[/b] PNST FG 01:19 3-0 Stephan Phillips 26 YD [b]Second Quarter[/b] IOWA FG 00:26 3-3 Jeremy Jones 29 YD [b]Third Quarter[/b] IOWA FG 01:11 6-3 Jeremy Jones 28 YD [b]Fourth Quarter[/b] PNST TD 10:49 10-6 Calvin Ferguson 4 YD Run (Stephan Phillips Kick). PNST TD 08:34 17-6 Randy Culpepper 44 YD Pass from Joe Collins (Stephan Phillips Kick). PNST TD 05:25 24-6 Calvin Ferguson 33 YD Pass from Joe Collins (Stephan Phillips Kick). [b]Penn State Individual Statistics: Passing:[/b] Joe Collins 16-26-207, 2 TD, 1 int.; Bobby Burton 1-2-1. [b]Rushing:[/b] Calvin Ferguson 23-132, Man Ward 1-20, Dan Delgado 3-15, Jerry Freeman 5-14, Joe Collins 2-(-3). [b]Receiving:[/b] Randy Culpepper 6-121, Calvin Ferguson 5-49, Modesto Stark 2-19, Jerry Hubbard 3-15, Theodore Dick 1-4. [b]Key Run Blocks:[/b] Todd Main 2, Chris Sandoval 2, Dan Delgado 2, Fred Felton 1. [b]Pancakes:[/b] Todd Main 1, Fred Felton 1, Anthony Lloyd 1. [b]Kicking:[/b] Stephan Phillips 1-1 FG, 3-3 XP. [b]Punting:[/b] Philip Redd 8-47.9 [b]Kick Returns:[/b] Eugene Nichols 2-16.0 [b]Punt Returns:[/b] Alphonso Collins 5-7.4 [b]Sacks:[/b] John Bell 2, John James 1. [b]Interceptions:[/b] Charles Brown 1-23, Roy Thompson 1-10. [b]Tackles:[/b] John Becker 12, William Gross 11, Charles Brown 8, Richard Phillips 6, Francis Taylor 6, Milton Cole 3, John Bell 3, Daniel Jackson 2, Roy Thompson 2, George Harris 1, Travis Moore 1, John James 1, Lawrence Hill 1. [b]Stuffs:[/b] Charles Brown 4, John Becker 3, William Gross 2, John Bell 1. [b]Hurries:[/b] John James 2, Milton Cole 1, George Harris 1 [b]Passes Defended:[/b] Daniel Jackson 1. [/code] It’s natural for a team to suffer a letdown after a physically and emotionally draining game like the one we played at Michigan last week. Fortunately, that didn’t happen to us. Our defense played particularly well, and against an Iowa team that played very well defensively too, our offense finally got rolling in the fourth quarter to seal the win. David Tanner challenged the defense to step up and demonstrate why it’s ranked among the best in the nation. The players responded extremely well. Charles Brown hit everything that moved, and had four TFLs. As a unit they recorded ten stuffs, which is outstanding. John Becker and William Gross had twelve and eleven tackles respectively, John Bell had two sacks, and Brown and Roy Thompson each had interceptions. If our defense keeps playing this well, we won’t lose another game all season. Calvin Ferguson had another excellent game, and scored twice. The second came on a pass play, when Joe Collins checked down and found him open in the flat. Collins dumped it off to Ferguson, Calvin juked one guy, and then it became a footrace to the end zone. Calvin won’t lose many of those, and he turned a two-yard pass into a 33-yard TD. That play demonstrated perfectly why we looked for speed when we went out recruiting last year. We’re a little banged up now, and hopefully everyone will be able to play against Ohio State this week. Milton Cole was accidentally stuck in the eye, and his cornea is scratched. He’ll probably be able to go, wearing a face shield. We told him he looks even badder, and I think he liked that. Our first string center, Wes Herring, dislocated his elbow, and it looks like Clark Hill will start in his place against the Buckeyes. We’re going into the Ohio State game as eight-point favorites, but I think the game might be even closer. They had a week off last week, so they’ve had an extra week to prepare for us. Ohio State is deadly against the run, so we’ll probably find it tough to move the ball against them. Miguel Gregory is back from his academic suspension, so we’ll be able to run two good tailbacks at them. That will help some, but we’ll need Collins to make something happen so they can’t load the box with eight guys against us. I read that Randy Culpepper leads Division I receivers with 52 catches so far this season. He’s had a great senior year and has given our offense outstanding leadership. Look for him to enjoy a long, productive NFL career…but for now, look for him to give Ohio State worlds of trouble this coming Saturday. [b]Elsewhere in the Big Ten:[/b] #1 Michigan 31, #17 Purdue 3 Minnesota 28, Illinois 14 Northwestern 19, Indiana 9 #13 Wisconsin 34, Michigan State 24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted October 25, 2006 Author Share Posted October 25, 2006 [b]Week 9, 2006 #6 Ohio State 41, #3 Penn State 13[/b] [code] [b]Ohio State 21 6 7 7 -- 41 Penn State 0 10 0 3 -- 13 Ohio State Penn State 28 First Downs 18 285 Yards Rushing 115 350 Yards Passing 278 [color=red][b]635[/color][/b] Total Yards 393 8-93 Penalties 4-40 12-17 3rd Down Eff. 2-12 0-0 4th Down Eff. 0-2 33:50 Possession 26:10 First Quarter[/b] OHST TD 10:40 7-0 Gerald Forbes 22 YD Run (Louis Jackson Kick). OHST TD 06:43 14-0 George Beatty 33 YD Pass from Scott Honeycutt (Louis Jackson Kick). OHST TD 00:55 21-0 Robert Goodwin 6 YD Run (Louis Jackson Kick). [b]Second Quarter[/b] PNST TD 11:07 21-7 Calvin Ferguson 59 YD Pass from Joe Collins (Stephan Phillips Kick). OHST FG 08:31 24-7 Louis Jackson 50 YD OHST FG 04:19 27-7 Louis Jackson 42 YD PNST FG 00:51 27-10 Stephan Phillips 27 YD [b]Third Quarter[/b] OHST TD 05:11 34-10 Larry Albright 47 YD Pass from Mario Allison (Louis Jackson Kick). [b]Fourth Quarter[/b] OHST TD 13:30 41-10 George Beatty 17 YD Pass from Mario Allison (Louis Jackson Kick). PNST FG 09:12 41-13 Stephan Phillips 46 YD [b]Penn State Individual Statistics: Passing:[/b] Joe Collins 14-31-278, 1 TD, 1 INT; Robert Dillard 0-2. [b]Rushing:[/b] Calvin Ferguson 14-79, Miguel Gregory 6-41, Man Ward 1-5, Joe Collins 1-4, Dan Delgado 1-0, Jerry Freeman 1-(-2). [b]Receiving:[/b] Randy Culpepper 7-153, Calvin Ferguson 3-79, Jerry Hubbard 2-23, Theodore Dick 1-12, Dan Delgado 1-11. [b]Key Run Blocks:[/b] Todd Main 2, Chris Silverman 1, Dan Delgado 1. [b]Pancakes:[/b] Chris Sandoval 2, Chris Silverman 1. [b]Kicking:[/b] Stephan Phillips 2-2 FG, 1-1 XP. [b]Punting:[/b] Philip Redd 5-38.4. [b]Kick Returns:[/b] Eugene Nichols 4-21.2, Calvin Ferguson 2-14.0. [b]Punt Returns:[/b] Alphonso Collins 1-11. [b]Sacks:[/b] John Becker 1, Jerry Magee 1. [b]Interceptions:[/b] Jerry Martin 1-10. [b]Tackles:[/b] William Gross 14, John Becker 12, Charles Brown 7, Francis Taylor 6, Lawrence Hill 5, Roy Thompson 4, George Harris 2, Andrew Stone 2, Richard Phillips 2, Jerry Magee 2, Travis Moore 2, Jerry Magee 1, Gabriel Kidd 1, Milton Cole 1. [b]Stuffs:[/b] William Gross 2. [b]Hurries:[/b] Jerry Martin 2, William Gross 1. [b]Passes Defended:[/b] Francis Taylor 2, Daniel Jackson 2, Charles Brown 1, Roy Thompson 1. [/code] Penn State fans, I apologize for what you had to endure this week. Those 107,282 of you who paid good money to watch the game at Beaver Stadium didn’t get your money’s worth, unless you were rooting for Ohio State. Sure, the Buckeyes are a very, very good football team. There is no excuse, however, for our defense to allow them to gain 635 yards from scrimmage. Do you realize that total DOUBLED our per-game average going into this week? We allowed Ohio State to gain 285 yards rushing. We shouldn’t allow half that many yards rushing in a game! We did absolutely nothing to slow down their star running back, Gerald Forbes, and his backup went for over 100 yards, too. It’s very difficult to find anything positive to say about this week’s game. Thank goodness we have an off week coming up, because we need all the time we can get to work this disaster out of our system. Our next opponent is Michigan State, our rivals for the Land Grant Trophy. They’ve lost three straight games, and I know they’ll come in hungry for a victory. Their quarterback, Roger Rich, is a real playmaker, and they also have a very good running back, William Gill. They’ll throw everything they have at us, and after they watch the films of our defense’s performance against Ohio State, they’ll have every reason to believe they’ll be able to move the ball against us. [b]Elsewhere in the Big Ten:[/b] #1 Michigan 24, Northwestern 13 Illinois 19, Indiana 7 Minnesota 28, Purdue 12 #11 Wisconsin 31, Iowa 23 #13 Notre Dame, Michigan State 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted October 25, 2006 Author Share Posted October 25, 2006 [b]Week 9, 2006 #6 Ohio State 41, #3 Penn State 13[/b] [code] [b]Ohio State 21 6 7 7 -- 41 Penn State 0 10 0 3 -- 13 Ohio State Penn State 28 First Downs 18 285 Yards Rushing 115 350 Yards Passing 278 [color=red][b]635[/color][/b] Total Yards 393 8-93 Penalties 4-40 12-17 3rd Down Eff. 2-12 0-0 4th Down Eff. 0-2 33:50 Possession 26:10 First Quarter[/b] OHST TD 10:40 7-0 Gerald Forbes 22 YD Run (Louis Jackson Kick). OHST TD 06:43 14-0 George Beatty 33 YD Pass from Scott Honeycutt (Louis Jackson Kick). OHST TD 00:55 21-0 Robert Goodwin 6 YD Run (Louis Jackson Kick). [b]Second Quarter[/b] PNST TD 11:07 21-7 Calvin Ferguson 59 YD Pass from Joe Collins (Stephan Phillips Kick). OHST FG 08:31 24-7 Louis Jackson 50 YD OHST FG 04:19 27-7 Louis Jackson 42 YD PNST FG 00:51 27-10 Stephan Phillips 27 YD [b]Third Quarter[/b] OHST TD 05:11 34-10 Larry Albright 47 YD Pass from Mario Allison (Louis Jackson Kick). [b]Fourth Quarter[/b] OHST TD 13:30 41-10 George Beatty 17 YD Pass from Mario Allison (Louis Jackson Kick). PNST FG 09:12 41-13 Stephan Phillips 46 YD [b]Penn State Individual Statistics: Passing:[/b] Joe Collins 14-31-278, 1 TD, 1 INT; Robert Dillard 0-2. [b]Rushing:[/b] Calvin Ferguson 14-79, Miguel Gregory 6-41, Man Ward 1-5, Joe Collins 1-4, Dan Delgado 1-0, Jerry Freeman 1-(-2). [b]Receiving:[/b] Randy Culpepper 7-153, Calvin Ferguson 3-79, Jerry Hubbard 2-23, Theodore Dick 1-12, Dan Delgado 1-11. [b]Key Run Blocks:[/b] Todd Main 2, Chris Silverman 1, Dan Delgado 1. [b]Pancakes:[/b] Chris Sandoval 2, Chris Silverman 1. [b]Kicking:[/b] Stephan Phillips 2-2 FG, 1-1 XP. [b]Punting:[/b] Philip Redd 5-38.4. [b]Kick Returns:[/b] Eugene Nichols 4-21.2, Calvin Ferguson 2-14.0. [b]Punt Returns:[/b] Alphonso Collins 1-11. [b]Sacks:[/b] John Becker 1, Jerry Magee 1. [b]Interceptions:[/b] Jerry Martin 1-10. [b]Tackles:[/b] William Gross 14, John Becker 12, Charles Brown 7, Francis Taylor 6, Lawrence Hill 5, Roy Thompson 4, George Harris 2, Andrew Stone 2, Richard Phillips 2, Jerry Magee 2, Travis Moore 2, Jerry Magee 1, Gabriel Kidd 1, Milton Cole 1. [b]Stuffs:[/b] William Gross 2. [b]Hurries:[/b] Jerry Martin 2, William Gross 1. [b]Passes Defended:[/b] Francis Taylor 2, Daniel Jackson 2, Charles Brown 1, Roy Thompson 1. [/code] Penn State fans, I apologize for what you had to endure this week. Those 107,282 of you who paid good money to watch the game at Beaver Stadium didn’t get your money’s worth, unless you were rooting for Ohio State. Sure, the Buckeyes are a very, very good football team. There is no excuse, however, for our defense to allow them to gain 635 yards from scrimmage. Do you realize that total DOUBLED our per-game average going into this week? We allowed Ohio State to gain 285 yards rushing. We shouldn’t allow half that many yards rushing in a game! We did absolutely nothing to slow down their star running back, Gerald Forbes, and his backup went for over 100 yards, too. It’s very difficult to find anything positive to say about this week’s game. Thank goodness we have an off week coming up, because we need all the time we can get to work this disaster out of our system. Our next opponent is Michigan State, our rivals for the Land Grant Trophy. They’ve lost three straight games, and I know they’ll come in hungry for a victory. Their quarterback, Roger Rich, is a real playmaker, and they also have a very good running back, William Gill. They’ll throw everything they have at us, and after they watch the films of our defense’s performance against Ohio State, they’ll have every reason to believe they’ll be able to move the ball against us. [b]Elsewhere in the Big Ten:[/b] #1 Michigan 24, Northwestern 13 Illinois 19, Indiana 7 Minnesota 28, Purdue 12 #11 Wisconsin 31, Iowa 23 #13 Notre Dame, Michigan State 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted October 25, 2006 Author Share Posted October 25, 2006 [b]Week 10, 2006[/b] We've had a good week of practice; the off week could not have come at a better time for us. It gave us a chance to get healthy, for one thing. Several of the players who had been nagged by minor injuries--Milton Cole, Charles Brown, Jerry Martin--aren't having problems any more. Wes Herring's elbow is much better, too, and he should be ready to play on Saturday against Michigan State. Here's how the Big Ten standings look right now: [code] [b]B10 OVR PTS OPP[/b] Michigan 6-0 9-0 311 131 Ohio State 5-0 7-1 278 117 Wisconsin 5-1 8-1 306 191 Penn State 4-2 7-2 243 177 Minnesota 2-4 4-5 237 245 Michigan St. 2-4 3-6 195 242 Purdue 2-4 4-5 184 212 Iowa 2-4 3-5 187 182 Illinois 1-4 1-7 106 276 Northwestern 1-4 1-7 152 193 Indiana 1-4 1-7 115 217 [/code] As you can see, there's a Big Four and a Little Seven this year. Each of the top four teams in the conference are ranked in the top ten in the most recent poll, although I can't imagine how anyone who watched us play Ohio State could justify ranking us ninth and the Buckeyes tenth. Ohio State pounded Illinois, and LOST two positions in the media's poll! I guess I'm biased, but I believe we coaches have done a much better job of identifying the best teams in the country. We agree with the media that Michigan should be #1, but the coaches rank Ohio State #4. I figure the coaches have ranked us right about where we belong; we're at #11 now. I've tried to emphasize more positive things at practice and in our team meetings this week. We still have a very good chance to move up in the conference standings, because the three teams ahead of us will play a round robin over the next few weeks. That means they each have two very tough games left to play, and someone has to lose those games. We, on the other hand, have made it through the toughest stretch of our schedule, and have Michigan State and Illinois ahead of us. And, while both of them are capable of playing well on any given Saturday, I'd much rather be playing them than Wisconsin and Michigan, for example. [b]Elsewhere in the Big Ten:[/b] #1 Michigan 30, Minnesota 22 Iowa 17, Northwestern 16 #8 Ohio State 54, Illinois 10 Purdue 22, Michigan State 10 #11 Wisconsin 35, Indiana 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted October 25, 2006 Author Share Posted October 25, 2006 [b]Week 10, 2006[/b] We've had a good week of practice; the off week could not have come at a better time for us. It gave us a chance to get healthy, for one thing. Several of the players who had been nagged by minor injuries--Milton Cole, Charles Brown, Jerry Martin--aren't having problems any more. Wes Herring's elbow is much better, too, and he should be ready to play on Saturday against Michigan State. Here's how the Big Ten standings look right now: [code] [b]B10 OVR PTS OPP[/b] Michigan 6-0 9-0 311 131 Ohio State 5-0 7-1 278 117 Wisconsin 5-1 8-1 306 191 Penn State 4-2 7-2 243 177 Minnesota 2-4 4-5 237 245 Michigan St. 2-4 3-6 195 242 Purdue 2-4 4-5 184 212 Iowa 2-4 3-5 187 182 Illinois 1-4 1-7 106 276 Northwestern 1-4 1-7 152 193 Indiana 1-4 1-7 115 217 [/code] As you can see, there's a Big Four and a Little Seven this year. Each of the top four teams in the conference are ranked in the top ten in the most recent poll, although I can't imagine how anyone who watched us play Ohio State could justify ranking us ninth and the Buckeyes tenth. Ohio State pounded Illinois, and LOST two positions in the media's poll! I guess I'm biased, but I believe we coaches have done a much better job of identifying the best teams in the country. We agree with the media that Michigan should be #1, but the coaches rank Ohio State #4. I figure the coaches have ranked us right about where we belong; we're at #11 now. I've tried to emphasize more positive things at practice and in our team meetings this week. We still have a very good chance to move up in the conference standings, because the three teams ahead of us will play a round robin over the next few weeks. That means they each have two very tough games left to play, and someone has to lose those games. We, on the other hand, have made it through the toughest stretch of our schedule, and have Michigan State and Illinois ahead of us. And, while both of them are capable of playing well on any given Saturday, I'd much rather be playing them than Wisconsin and Michigan, for example. [b]Elsewhere in the Big Ten:[/b] #1 Michigan 30, Minnesota 22 Iowa 17, Northwestern 16 #8 Ohio State 54, Illinois 10 Purdue 22, Michigan State 10 #11 Wisconsin 35, Indiana 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted October 30, 2006 Author Share Posted October 30, 2006 [B]Week 11, 2006 #9 Penn State 30, Michigan State 15[/B] [code] [B]Michigan State 2 10 0 3 15 Penn State 7 7 13 3 30 Mich. St. Penn State[/B] 13 First Downs 25 97 Yards Rushing 222 189 Yards Passing 229 286 Total Yards 451 12-125 Penalties 5-38 1-12 3rd Down Eff. 8-17 0-0 4th Down Eff. 0-0 23:41 Possession 36:22 First Quarter PNST TD 07:37 7-0 Miguel Gregory 13 YD Run (Stephan Phillips Kick). MIST SAF 03:27 7-2 Lloyd Culver sacked Joe Collins in the end zone for a safety. Second Quarter MIST TD 11:24 9-7 William Gill 1 YD Run (Hugh Stover Kick). PNST TD 07:55 14-9 Modesto Stark 13 YD Pass from Joe Collins (Stephan Phillips Kick). MIST FG 00:00 14-12 Hugh Stover 25 YD Third Quarter PNST FG 11:42 17-12 Stephan Phillips 23 YD PNST FG 05:52 20-12 Stephan Phillips 35 YD PNST TD 01:00 27-12 Calvin Ferguson 3 YD Run (Stephan Phillips Kick). Fourth Quarter MIST FG 13:53 27-15 Hugh Stover 50 YD PNST FG 07:53 30-15 Stephan Phillips 29 YD [b]Penn State Individual Statistics: Passing:[/b] Joe Collins 20-33-220, 1 TD, 1 INT; Bobby Burton 1-1-9. [b]Rushing:[/b] Calvin Ferguson 30-160, Dan Delgado 4-45, Miguel Gregory 9-32, Man Ward 3-3, Joe Collins 1-0, Jerry Freeman 1-(-1). [b]Receiving:[/b] Randy Culpepper 8-94, Jerry Hubbard 5-47, Theodore Dick 2-40, Calvin Ferguson 3-14, Modesto Stark 1-13, Miguel Gregory 1-12, Dan Delgado 1-9. [b]Key Run Blocks:[/b] Chris Sandoval 1, Chris Silverman 1, Fred Felton 1, Anthony Lloyd 1. [b]Pancakes:[/b] Chris Sandoval 1, Wes Herring 1, Todd Main 1. [b]Kicking:[/b] Stephan Phillips 3-3 FG, 3-3 XP. [b]Punting:[/b] Philip Redd 6-46.8 [b]Kick Returns:[/b] Eugene Nichols 2-29.5 [b]Punt Returns:[/b] Alphonso Collins 5-7.8 [b]Sacks:[/b] Jerry Martin 1. [b]Interceptions:[/b] Leonard Hill 1-15, Andrew Stone 1-0. [b]Tackles:[/b] William Gross 7, Francis Taylor 7, Charles Brown 4, John Becker 3, Leonard Hill 3, Jerry Martin 2, Milton Cole 2, Jerry Magee 1, Daniel Jackson 1, Richard Phillips 1, Andrew Stone 1. [b]Stuffs:[/b] Jerry Martin 1, Milton Cole 1. [b]Hurries:[/b] John Becker 1, Milton Cole 1, Jerry Magee 1. [b]Passes Defended:[/b] Francis Taylor 2, Daniel Jackson 2, William Gross 1. [/code] I’m just about as satisfied with this week’s game as I was dissatisfied with last week’s. Against Ohio State, we played as poor a game defensively as I’ve ever seen. Against Michigan State this week, our defense stood and delivered. David Tanner drew up a solid game plan, and our players executed it skillfully. We did an outstanding job of containing the Spartans’ quarterback, Roger Rich. We pressured him all afternoon long, forcing him to get rid of the ball quickly and make throws he hadn’t planned to make. Rich completed only 13 of his 35 throws, and we intercepted him twice. Our defense also neutralized their other weapon, running back William Gill, holding him to 58 yards. We allowed less than half the yardage we’d given up last week. Our defensive players and coaches will find it much easier to hold their heads up high this week. Francis Taylor played a particularly good game, showing a real willingness to play tough against the run while doing his customary fine job in coverage. And, as they have all year, Charles Brown, William Gross, and John Becker played extremely well. Milton Cole cut his chin pretty badly in the first quarter and missed the rest of the game. His backup, junior Frank Golden, played well in his place, and Milton will be ready to play against Illinois. In fact, we came out of the game with our health basically intact. Safety Leonard Hill has a hurt elbow, and we’ll be keeping a close eye on him, but he’s the only player who might not be on the field next Saturday. I’m also very happy with what we accomplished on offense against Michigan State. Once again, coordinator George Dickson had our players well-prepared for the defensive looks we faced, and the players did the rest. We ran 84 plays from scrimmage; 50 runs and 34 passes. We ended up gaining almost the same number of yards each way: 229 passing, and an impressive 222 more on the ground. That’s the first time we’ve rushed for 200 or more yards since our first game of the season. Calvin Ferguson carried the ball 30 times for us, which was the highest number of carries we’ve given to a back since I’ve been here. Calvin had absolutely no problem with that, and he was running as well in the fourth quarter as he had been in the first. He went over 1000 yards for the season very early in the game, and his total of 1132 yards ranks him second to Ed Crockett of Wisconsin among the Big Ten’s rushing leaders. Ferguson has demonstrated that he’s every bit as talented as we thought he was when we recruited him. We’re looking forward to seeing just how good he will become. Chris Sandoval led an outstanding performance by our offensive line; they opened up holes for our backs all day long and kept pass rushers off Joe Collins, too. Again, I’m very satisfied with our performance, top to bottom. Wisconsin handed Ohio State its first Big Ten loss of the season. Michigan had the week off, so they’re now in first place in the conference by themselves, with a 6-0 record. The Wolverines and Badgers play next week, and everybody in Nittany Nation will be pulling for Wisconsin this Saturday. The outcome of that game won’t matter much unless we beat Illinois, so we’ll leave the scoreboard-watching to the fans. [B]Elsewhere in the Big Ten:[/B] Indiana 27, Minnesota 13 #7 Wisconsin 12, #10 Ohio State 7 Northwestern 31, Purdue 28 Iowa 34, Illinois 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted October 30, 2006 Author Share Posted October 30, 2006 [B]Week 11, 2006 #9 Penn State 30, Michigan State 15[/B] [code] [B]Michigan State 2 10 0 3 15 Penn State 7 7 13 3 30 Mich. St. Penn State[/B] 13 First Downs 25 97 Yards Rushing 222 189 Yards Passing 229 286 Total Yards 451 12-125 Penalties 5-38 1-12 3rd Down Eff. 8-17 0-0 4th Down Eff. 0-0 23:41 Possession 36:22 First Quarter PNST TD 07:37 7-0 Miguel Gregory 13 YD Run (Stephan Phillips Kick). MIST SAF 03:27 7-2 Lloyd Culver sacked Joe Collins in the end zone for a safety. Second Quarter MIST TD 11:24 9-7 William Gill 1 YD Run (Hugh Stover Kick). PNST TD 07:55 14-9 Modesto Stark 13 YD Pass from Joe Collins (Stephan Phillips Kick). MIST FG 00:00 14-12 Hugh Stover 25 YD Third Quarter PNST FG 11:42 17-12 Stephan Phillips 23 YD PNST FG 05:52 20-12 Stephan Phillips 35 YD PNST TD 01:00 27-12 Calvin Ferguson 3 YD Run (Stephan Phillips Kick). Fourth Quarter MIST FG 13:53 27-15 Hugh Stover 50 YD PNST FG 07:53 30-15 Stephan Phillips 29 YD [b]Penn State Individual Statistics: Passing:[/b] Joe Collins 20-33-220, 1 TD, 1 INT; Bobby Burton 1-1-9. [b]Rushing:[/b] Calvin Ferguson 30-160, Dan Delgado 4-45, Miguel Gregory 9-32, Man Ward 3-3, Joe Collins 1-0, Jerry Freeman 1-(-1). [b]Receiving:[/b] Randy Culpepper 8-94, Jerry Hubbard 5-47, Theodore Dick 2-40, Calvin Ferguson 3-14, Modesto Stark 1-13, Miguel Gregory 1-12, Dan Delgado 1-9. [b]Key Run Blocks:[/b] Chris Sandoval 1, Chris Silverman 1, Fred Felton 1, Anthony Lloyd 1. [b]Pancakes:[/b] Chris Sandoval 1, Wes Herring 1, Todd Main 1. [b]Kicking:[/b] Stephan Phillips 3-3 FG, 3-3 XP. [b]Punting:[/b] Philip Redd 6-46.8 [b]Kick Returns:[/b] Eugene Nichols 2-29.5 [b]Punt Returns:[/b] Alphonso Collins 5-7.8 [b]Sacks:[/b] Jerry Martin 1. [b]Interceptions:[/b] Leonard Hill 1-15, Andrew Stone 1-0. [b]Tackles:[/b] William Gross 7, Francis Taylor 7, Charles Brown 4, John Becker 3, Leonard Hill 3, Jerry Martin 2, Milton Cole 2, Jerry Magee 1, Daniel Jackson 1, Richard Phillips 1, Andrew Stone 1. [b]Stuffs:[/b] Jerry Martin 1, Milton Cole 1. [b]Hurries:[/b] John Becker 1, Milton Cole 1, Jerry Magee 1. [b]Passes Defended:[/b] Francis Taylor 2, Daniel Jackson 2, William Gross 1. [/code] I’m just about as satisfied with this week’s game as I was dissatisfied with last week’s. Against Ohio State, we played as poor a game defensively as I’ve ever seen. Against Michigan State this week, our defense stood and delivered. David Tanner drew up a solid game plan, and our players executed it skillfully. We did an outstanding job of containing the Spartans’ quarterback, Roger Rich. We pressured him all afternoon long, forcing him to get rid of the ball quickly and make throws he hadn’t planned to make. Rich completed only 13 of his 35 throws, and we intercepted him twice. Our defense also neutralized their other weapon, running back William Gill, holding him to 58 yards. We allowed less than half the yardage we’d given up last week. Our defensive players and coaches will find it much easier to hold their heads up high this week. Francis Taylor played a particularly good game, showing a real willingness to play tough against the run while doing his customary fine job in coverage. And, as they have all year, Charles Brown, William Gross, and John Becker played extremely well. Milton Cole cut his chin pretty badly in the first quarter and missed the rest of the game. His backup, junior Frank Golden, played well in his place, and Milton will be ready to play against Illinois. In fact, we came out of the game with our health basically intact. Safety Leonard Hill has a hurt elbow, and we’ll be keeping a close eye on him, but he’s the only player who might not be on the field next Saturday. I’m also very happy with what we accomplished on offense against Michigan State. Once again, coordinator George Dickson had our players well-prepared for the defensive looks we faced, and the players did the rest. We ran 84 plays from scrimmage; 50 runs and 34 passes. We ended up gaining almost the same number of yards each way: 229 passing, and an impressive 222 more on the ground. That’s the first time we’ve rushed for 200 or more yards since our first game of the season. Calvin Ferguson carried the ball 30 times for us, which was the highest number of carries we’ve given to a back since I’ve been here. Calvin had absolutely no problem with that, and he was running as well in the fourth quarter as he had been in the first. He went over 1000 yards for the season very early in the game, and his total of 1132 yards ranks him second to Ed Crockett of Wisconsin among the Big Ten’s rushing leaders. Ferguson has demonstrated that he’s every bit as talented as we thought he was when we recruited him. We’re looking forward to seeing just how good he will become. Chris Sandoval led an outstanding performance by our offensive line; they opened up holes for our backs all day long and kept pass rushers off Joe Collins, too. Again, I’m very satisfied with our performance, top to bottom. Wisconsin handed Ohio State its first Big Ten loss of the season. Michigan had the week off, so they’re now in first place in the conference by themselves, with a 6-0 record. The Wolverines and Badgers play next week, and everybody in Nittany Nation will be pulling for Wisconsin this Saturday. The outcome of that game won’t matter much unless we beat Illinois, so we’ll leave the scoreboard-watching to the fans. [B]Elsewhere in the Big Ten:[/B] Indiana 27, Minnesota 13 #7 Wisconsin 12, #10 Ohio State 7 Northwestern 31, Purdue 28 Iowa 34, Illinois 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted October 31, 2006 Author Share Posted October 31, 2006 [B]Week 12, 2006 #9 Penn State 33, Illinois 20[/B] [code] [B]Penn State 21 9 3 0 33 Illinois 3 0 14 3 20 Illinois Penn State[/B] 17 First Downs 13 87 Yards Rushing 366 187 Yards Passing 76 274 Total Yards 442 8-65 Penalties 12-128 6-17 3rd Down Eff. 4-15 0-0 4th Down Eff. 1-2 29:59 Possession 30:01 [B]First Quarter [/B] PNST TD 14:04 7-0 Calvin Ferguson 91 YD Run (Stephan Phillips Kick). ILL FG 08:23 7-3 Donald Nguyen 38 YD PNST TD 02:58 14-3 59 YD Punt Return by Alphonso Collins (Stephan Phillips Kick). PNST TD 00:00 21-3 Calvin Ferguson 59 YD Run (Stephan Phillips Kick). [B]Second Quarter[/B] PNST TD 09:31 28-3 Miguel Gregory 40 YD Run (Stephan Phillips Kick). PNST SAF 04:32 30-3 Charles Brown stuffed John Martin in the end zone for a safety. [B]Third Quarter[/B] ILL TD 13:12 30-10 John Martin 1 YD Run (Donald Nguyen Kick). ILL TD 07:04 30-17 John Martin 1 YD Run (Donald Nguyen Kick). PNST FG 02:21 33-17 Stephan Phillips 46 YD [B]Fourth Quarter[/B] ILL FG 07:08 33-20 Donald Nguyen 38 YD [b]Penn State Individual Statistics: Passing:[/b] Joe Collins 7-17-73, 1 INT; Sam Neff 1-1-3. [b]Rushing:[/b] Calvin Ferguson 22-247, Miguel Gregory 13-107, Man Ward 4-7, George Drummond 1-5, Dan Delgado 1-1, Jerry Freeman 1-0. [b]Receiving:[/b] Randy Culpepper 5-53, Jerry Hubbard 1-15, Man Ward 1-5, Modesto Stark 1-3. [b]Key Run Blocks:[/b] Chris Sandoval 2, Fred Felton 2. [b]Pancakes:[/b] Chris Sandoval 1. [b]Kicking:[/b] Stephan Phillips 1-2 FG, 4-4 XP. [b]Punting:[/b] Philip Redd 7-44.6 [b]Kick Returns:[/b] Eugene Nichols 3-26.3 [b]Punt Returns:[/b] Alphonso Collins 5-17.0 [b]Sacks:[/b] Jerry Martin 2, Milton Cole 1. [b]Interceptions:[/b] Charles Brown 1-0. [b]Tackles:[/b] Richard Phillips 8, William Gross 7, John Becker 7, Charles Brown 7, Francis Taylor 6, George Harris 3, Milton Cole 2, Lawrence Hill 2, Jerry Martin 2, Roy Thompson 2, Travis Moore 2, Andrew Stone 2, Daniel Jackson 2, Billy Davis 2, Lawrence Griffin 1, Eugene Nichols 1, Frank Golden 1, Alphonso Collins 1. [b]Stuffs:[/b] Charles Brown 2, John Becker 1, Richard Phillips 1, Milton Cole 1, Lawrence Hill 1. [b]Hurries:[/b] Milton Cole 2. [b]Passes Defended:[/b] Francis Taylor 2, George Harris 2, William Gross 1, Dustin Wood 1. [/code] This week’s game was one we should have won, and we did. In the process, we demonstrated that we have the ability to break big, game-changing plays, and one of our most exciting players established himself as a Heisman Trophy candidate. On our third play from scrimmage, Calvin Ferguson took a handoff on a simple power run off left tackle. Todd Main made an incredible block to spring Ferguson, and Calvin burst to the outside. When Calvin turns a play into a foot race, nobody will catch him, and that’s exactly what happened. A holding penalty had put us back on our nine yard line, so Calvin’s touchdown run went for 91 yards. The play energized our entire team, and that emotion fueled several more big plays during the first half. On his first punt return, Alphonso Collins was hit hard and fumbled the ball away to the Illini, so he was anxious to redeem himself. The next time he touched the ball, he took it 59 yards for a touchdown. Then, on the final play of the quarter, Ferguson took a pitch from Collins around left end for another 59-yard scoring play. For the day, Calvin finished with 247 yards on 22 rushes. He could probably have had 300 yards or more if we’d let him, but we wanted Miguel Gregory to get some carries, too. Miguel gained over 100 yards himself, and just as we did against South Florida, we had two running backs in triple figures. Gregory also contribued a big play of his own, scoring on a 40-yard run in the second quarter. We played old-fashioned football this week, keeping the ball on the ground on offense and playing suffocating, hard-hitting defense. Charles Brown smacked Illinois' best running back, John Martin, down in their end zone for a safety--our second this season. With a 30-3 lead at halftime, we were able to get a lot of guys in the game, and Illinois scored two touchdowns against our second- and third-team defenses. On Monday the finalists for the major yearly awards were announced. Ferguson is in the running for the Heisman Trophy and the Doak Walker award. Calvin is, of course, a freshman, so it’s not likely he’ll receive either award this year. He'll enter our bowl game with 1379 yards rushing and twelve touchdowns, and he's caught 24 passes for 287 yards and three more scores. By the time he’s finished here at Penn State, he will probably be regarded among the best backs in the school’s history. Calvin isn’t the only Nittany Lion with a chance at some post-season recognition. Return man Alphonso Collins is on the list for the Mosi Tatupu Award. Our kickers, Philip Redd and Stephan Phillips, are nominated for the Ray Guy and Lou Groza Awards. And, Milton Cole is a finalist for the Outland Trophy. All of these players, except Ferguson, are seniors, and it would be fantastic for at least one of them to end his Penn State career with a prestigious award. We’ve completed our regular season with a 9-2 record, and we went 6-2 in the Big Ten. Michigan’s victory over Wisconsin put the Wolverines into position to clinch the Big Ten championship with a win over Ohio State in two weeks. Wisconsin’s season is now over, and their record is exactly the same as ours. We’re placed third in the conference due to the tiebreaker system, so it looks like we’ll be going back to the Outback Bowl. I’m pleased with that outcome, and I hope our fans will be, too. [B]Elsewhere in the Big Ten:[/B] #1 Michigan 27, #4 Wisconsin 6 Michigan State 29, Northwestern 28 #13 Ohio State 33, Indiana 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted October 31, 2006 Author Share Posted October 31, 2006 [B]Week 12, 2006 #9 Penn State 33, Illinois 20[/B] [code] [B]Penn State 21 9 3 0 33 Illinois 3 0 14 3 20 Illinois Penn State[/B] 17 First Downs 13 87 Yards Rushing 366 187 Yards Passing 76 274 Total Yards 442 8-65 Penalties 12-128 6-17 3rd Down Eff. 4-15 0-0 4th Down Eff. 1-2 29:59 Possession 30:01 [B]First Quarter [/B] PNST TD 14:04 7-0 Calvin Ferguson 91 YD Run (Stephan Phillips Kick). ILL FG 08:23 7-3 Donald Nguyen 38 YD PNST TD 02:58 14-3 59 YD Punt Return by Alphonso Collins (Stephan Phillips Kick). PNST TD 00:00 21-3 Calvin Ferguson 59 YD Run (Stephan Phillips Kick). [B]Second Quarter[/B] PNST TD 09:31 28-3 Miguel Gregory 40 YD Run (Stephan Phillips Kick). PNST SAF 04:32 30-3 Charles Brown stuffed John Martin in the end zone for a safety. [B]Third Quarter[/B] ILL TD 13:12 30-10 John Martin 1 YD Run (Donald Nguyen Kick). ILL TD 07:04 30-17 John Martin 1 YD Run (Donald Nguyen Kick). PNST FG 02:21 33-17 Stephan Phillips 46 YD [B]Fourth Quarter[/B] ILL FG 07:08 33-20 Donald Nguyen 38 YD [b]Penn State Individual Statistics: Passing:[/b] Joe Collins 7-17-73, 1 INT; Sam Neff 1-1-3. [b]Rushing:[/b] Calvin Ferguson 22-247, Miguel Gregory 13-107, Man Ward 4-7, George Drummond 1-5, Dan Delgado 1-1, Jerry Freeman 1-0. [b]Receiving:[/b] Randy Culpepper 5-53, Jerry Hubbard 1-15, Man Ward 1-5, Modesto Stark 1-3. [b]Key Run Blocks:[/b] Chris Sandoval 2, Fred Felton 2. [b]Pancakes:[/b] Chris Sandoval 1. [b]Kicking:[/b] Stephan Phillips 1-2 FG, 4-4 XP. [b]Punting:[/b] Philip Redd 7-44.6 [b]Kick Returns:[/b] Eugene Nichols 3-26.3 [b]Punt Returns:[/b] Alphonso Collins 5-17.0 [b]Sacks:[/b] Jerry Martin 2, Milton Cole 1. [b]Interceptions:[/b] Charles Brown 1-0. [b]Tackles:[/b] Richard Phillips 8, William Gross 7, John Becker 7, Charles Brown 7, Francis Taylor 6, George Harris 3, Milton Cole 2, Lawrence Hill 2, Jerry Martin 2, Roy Thompson 2, Travis Moore 2, Andrew Stone 2, Daniel Jackson 2, Billy Davis 2, Lawrence Griffin 1, Eugene Nichols 1, Frank Golden 1, Alphonso Collins 1. [b]Stuffs:[/b] Charles Brown 2, John Becker 1, Richard Phillips 1, Milton Cole 1, Lawrence Hill 1. [b]Hurries:[/b] Milton Cole 2. [b]Passes Defended:[/b] Francis Taylor 2, George Harris 2, William Gross 1, Dustin Wood 1. [/code] This week’s game was one we should have won, and we did. In the process, we demonstrated that we have the ability to break big, game-changing plays, and one of our most exciting players established himself as a Heisman Trophy candidate. On our third play from scrimmage, Calvin Ferguson took a handoff on a simple power run off left tackle. Todd Main made an incredible block to spring Ferguson, and Calvin burst to the outside. When Calvin turns a play into a foot race, nobody will catch him, and that’s exactly what happened. A holding penalty had put us back on our nine yard line, so Calvin’s touchdown run went for 91 yards. The play energized our entire team, and that emotion fueled several more big plays during the first half. On his first punt return, Alphonso Collins was hit hard and fumbled the ball away to the Illini, so he was anxious to redeem himself. The next time he touched the ball, he took it 59 yards for a touchdown. Then, on the final play of the quarter, Ferguson took a pitch from Collins around left end for another 59-yard scoring play. For the day, Calvin finished with 247 yards on 22 rushes. He could probably have had 300 yards or more if we’d let him, but we wanted Miguel Gregory to get some carries, too. Miguel gained over 100 yards himself, and just as we did against South Florida, we had two running backs in triple figures. Gregory also contribued a big play of his own, scoring on a 40-yard run in the second quarter. We played old-fashioned football this week, keeping the ball on the ground on offense and playing suffocating, hard-hitting defense. Charles Brown smacked Illinois' best running back, John Martin, down in their end zone for a safety--our second this season. With a 30-3 lead at halftime, we were able to get a lot of guys in the game, and Illinois scored two touchdowns against our second- and third-team defenses. On Monday the finalists for the major yearly awards were announced. Ferguson is in the running for the Heisman Trophy and the Doak Walker award. Calvin is, of course, a freshman, so it’s not likely he’ll receive either award this year. He'll enter our bowl game with 1379 yards rushing and twelve touchdowns, and he's caught 24 passes for 287 yards and three more scores. By the time he’s finished here at Penn State, he will probably be regarded among the best backs in the school’s history. Calvin isn’t the only Nittany Lion with a chance at some post-season recognition. Return man Alphonso Collins is on the list for the Mosi Tatupu Award. Our kickers, Philip Redd and Stephan Phillips, are nominated for the Ray Guy and Lou Groza Awards. And, Milton Cole is a finalist for the Outland Trophy. All of these players, except Ferguson, are seniors, and it would be fantastic for at least one of them to end his Penn State career with a prestigious award. We’ve completed our regular season with a 9-2 record, and we went 6-2 in the Big Ten. Michigan’s victory over Wisconsin put the Wolverines into position to clinch the Big Ten championship with a win over Ohio State in two weeks. Wisconsin’s season is now over, and their record is exactly the same as ours. We’re placed third in the conference due to the tiebreaker system, so it looks like we’ll be going back to the Outback Bowl. I’m pleased with that outcome, and I hope our fans will be, too. [B]Elsewhere in the Big Ten:[/B] #1 Michigan 27, #4 Wisconsin 6 Michigan State 29, Northwestern 28 #13 Ohio State 33, Indiana 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted November 1, 2006 Author Share Posted November 1, 2006 [B]Week 16, 2006[/B] Last week we received the press release listing the national and Big Ten award winners for the season. All of us at Penn State are very proud of Calvin Ferguson, who was named NCAA Freshman of the Year! Calvin leads a lengthy list of Nittany Lions who received post-season honors this year. Here is the complete listing: [code] [B]Player Award[/B] Calvin Ferguson, RB NCAA Freshman of the Year Calvin Ferguson, RB Big Ten Freshman of the Year Milton Cole, DE First Team, All-Big Ten Francis Taylor, CB First Team, All-Big Ten Philip Redd, P First Team, All-Big Ten Calvin Ferguson, RB Second Team, All-Big Ten Dan Delgado, FB Second Team, All-Big Ten Chris Sandoval, G Second Team, All-Big Ten John Bell, DT Second Team, All-Big Ten Todd Main, T Third Team, All-Big Ten Stephan Phillips, K Third Team, All-Big Ten John Becker, LB Third Team, All-Big Ten Charles Brown, S Third Team, All-Big Ten [/code] Cole, Taylor, Redd, and Phillips are the only award winners who are seniors, so we’ll have quite a few outstanding players to form the core of our team next year. And, in Ferguson and Bell, who is a redshirt freshman, we have two of the most outstanding young players in the nation. I’m a little surprised that Randy Culpepper didn’t earn All-Big Ten recognition. To be honest, our style of play probably hurt his chances. We played two teams at the end of the season which we could run the ball against effectively, so Culpepper didn’t get as many balls thrown his way. And, while Joe Collins is certainly a capable quarterback, he doesn’t have a big-time arm like John McKinney gave us last year. Consequently, our offense has been a little more run-oriented this year. We’ve averaged 40 rushes and 32 passes per game, and while we rank second in the Big Ten in rushing yardage (2052 yards, behind Michigan with 2311), we place ninth in the conference in passing yardage (2548 yards). The Heisman Trophy was won by Peter Valenzuela, a junior running back from Texas who exploded onto the scene out of the junior college ranks this season. He gained 1736 yards rushing and caught 55 passes, and scored 22 touchdowns. Valenzuela won the Doak Walker award, too. We’ll be practicing for the next four weeks to get ready to face Alabama in the Outback Bowl. They have a 9-2 record just like we do, and finished behind two very good football teams—Florida and Mississippi—in a tough Southeastern Conference. The Crimson Tide has an explosive offense, the most productive in Division I. We should be able to move the ball against them, but our defense will face an even sterner test than it did against Ohio State. With the holidays coming up, I’m looking forward to spending more time with Kristin and the kids. I’ll admit that after another successful season, I’m feeling much more comfortable as a head coach. That makes it much easier to relax and enjoy life, and football too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted November 1, 2006 Author Share Posted November 1, 2006 [B]Week 16, 2006[/B] Last week we received the press release listing the national and Big Ten award winners for the season. All of us at Penn State are very proud of Calvin Ferguson, who was named NCAA Freshman of the Year! Calvin leads a lengthy list of Nittany Lions who received post-season honors this year. Here is the complete listing: [code] [B]Player Award[/B] Calvin Ferguson, RB NCAA Freshman of the Year Calvin Ferguson, RB Big Ten Freshman of the Year Milton Cole, DE First Team, All-Big Ten Francis Taylor, CB First Team, All-Big Ten Philip Redd, P First Team, All-Big Ten Calvin Ferguson, RB Second Team, All-Big Ten Dan Delgado, FB Second Team, All-Big Ten Chris Sandoval, G Second Team, All-Big Ten John Bell, DT Second Team, All-Big Ten Todd Main, T Third Team, All-Big Ten Stephan Phillips, K Third Team, All-Big Ten John Becker, LB Third Team, All-Big Ten Charles Brown, S Third Team, All-Big Ten [/code] Cole, Taylor, Redd, and Phillips are the only award winners who are seniors, so we’ll have quite a few outstanding players to form the core of our team next year. And, in Ferguson and Bell, who is a redshirt freshman, we have two of the most outstanding young players in the nation. I’m a little surprised that Randy Culpepper didn’t earn All-Big Ten recognition. To be honest, our style of play probably hurt his chances. We played two teams at the end of the season which we could run the ball against effectively, so Culpepper didn’t get as many balls thrown his way. And, while Joe Collins is certainly a capable quarterback, he doesn’t have a big-time arm like John McKinney gave us last year. Consequently, our offense has been a little more run-oriented this year. We’ve averaged 40 rushes and 32 passes per game, and while we rank second in the Big Ten in rushing yardage (2052 yards, behind Michigan with 2311), we place ninth in the conference in passing yardage (2548 yards). The Heisman Trophy was won by Peter Valenzuela, a junior running back from Texas who exploded onto the scene out of the junior college ranks this season. He gained 1736 yards rushing and caught 55 passes, and scored 22 touchdowns. Valenzuela won the Doak Walker award, too. We’ll be practicing for the next four weeks to get ready to face Alabama in the Outback Bowl. They have a 9-2 record just like we do, and finished behind two very good football teams—Florida and Mississippi—in a tough Southeastern Conference. The Crimson Tide has an explosive offense, the most productive in Division I. We should be able to move the ball against them, but our defense will face an even sterner test than it did against Ohio State. With the holidays coming up, I’m looking forward to spending more time with Kristin and the kids. I’ll admit that after another successful season, I’m feeling much more comfortable as a head coach. That makes it much easier to relax and enjoy life, and football too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted November 1, 2006 Author Share Posted November 1, 2006 [B]Week 20, 2006[/B] (Unfortunately, I advanced past the point where I could look at the stats from Penn State’s contest with Alabama in the Outback Bowl. I apologize to everybody who enjoys looking at the detailed stats reports each week.) For the second straight year, we beat a tough SEC opponent in the Outback Bowl. We followed the offensive blueprint that had worked so well during the last weeks of the season: establishing our ground game early on. That created opportunities for our passing attack as well, and we gained nearly 600 yards from scrimmage in a 41-31 victory over Alabama. Calvin Ferguson rushed for 180 yards, and he also caught a screen pass and outraced the Alabama defense for a 65-yard scoring play. Joe Collins threw four TD passes, two of them going to Randy Culpepper in his final game for the Nittany Lions. I particularly enjoyed watching Randy score those touchdowns; it was a very fitting way for a great player to end his college career. In two seasons playing for me, Randy caught 140 passes—80 of them this year—and he finished 2006 four yards short of 1000 for the season. If I’d known that at the time, I would have found a way to get the ball to him one more time. Our defense knew it would have its hands full with Alabama’s potent offense. It did as good a job of containing the Crimson Tide as anybody had since South Carolina held them to 20 points back in October. Quarterback Ray Bartlett had huge shoes to fill, succeeding Alabama’s Heisman Trophy winner, Dan Hamilton. Bartlett had a very good game against us, and so did running back Steven Barton. He was a third-team All-American, and he demonstrated his skills against us in his final college game. I’m a good friend of Alabama’s coach, Jeffrey Harding. He’s about my age, and we’ve basically grown up as coaches together. He runs a good, clean program, and I’m looking forward to playing against him often over the years to come. About a week after we got back, I had my yearly meeting with our AD, Scott Dunbar. I left with a big, big smile on my face. We completed the season with a 10-2 record for the second consecutive year. The media ranked us 6th in its final poll, while all the other polls had us somewhere in the teens. Here’s a comparison of our records and rankings from 2005 and 2006: [code] [B]Year Record Coa Med CPU GDCS Off Rnk Def Rnk[/B] 2005 10-2 14 16 13 17 372 66 413 98 2006 10-2 16 6 15 14 430 19 357 30 Coa: Penn State's ranking in the coaches' poll. Med: Penn State's ranking in the media poll. CPU: Penn State's computer ranking. GDCS: Penn State's ranking in the Grey Dog Championship Series. Off: Average yards per game for Penn State's offense Def: Average yards per game allowed by Penn State's defense. Rnk: Penn State's ranking among Division I teams in offense and defense. [/code] Scott evaluates our program each season in several areas: performance, talent level, recruiting, meeting our board’s expectations, and building or maintaining our program’s prestige. He gave me a report card with straight As, and his overall evaluation was even higher: an A+! I was a good student in high school and college, but it’s been a long time since I’ve received a grade that high. I think I’m going to ask him to put it in writing, maybe in an email I can print and hang on our refrigerator with the young Rogers’ schoolwork. In a week or so, we’ll be intensifying our recruiting efforts. Two of our juniors are considering the possibility of declaring for the NFL draft: linebacker John Becker and safety Charles Brown. Selfishly, I’d like to keep them both in State College, but I also recognize their talent and realize they’re both talented enough to play pro football. They’ll need to make their minds up in several weeks. I’m taking two weeks off from football, completely. The kids have a long weekend coming up, so Kristin and I are taking them skiing up in Vermont. It will be a great chance for us to all enjoy spending time together. I don’t think I let Kristin know often enough I appreciate her, and I always wish I could extend the day so I could spend much, much more time with my family. The next couple weeks, they will be all I’m focusing on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted November 1, 2006 Author Share Posted November 1, 2006 [B]Week 20, 2006[/B] (Unfortunately, I advanced past the point where I could look at the stats from Penn State’s contest with Alabama in the Outback Bowl. I apologize to everybody who enjoys looking at the detailed stats reports each week.) For the second straight year, we beat a tough SEC opponent in the Outback Bowl. We followed the offensive blueprint that had worked so well during the last weeks of the season: establishing our ground game early on. That created opportunities for our passing attack as well, and we gained nearly 600 yards from scrimmage in a 41-31 victory over Alabama. Calvin Ferguson rushed for 180 yards, and he also caught a screen pass and outraced the Alabama defense for a 65-yard scoring play. Joe Collins threw four TD passes, two of them going to Randy Culpepper in his final game for the Nittany Lions. I particularly enjoyed watching Randy score those touchdowns; it was a very fitting way for a great player to end his college career. In two seasons playing for me, Randy caught 140 passes—80 of them this year—and he finished 2006 four yards short of 1000 for the season. If I’d known that at the time, I would have found a way to get the ball to him one more time. Our defense knew it would have its hands full with Alabama’s potent offense. It did as good a job of containing the Crimson Tide as anybody had since South Carolina held them to 20 points back in October. Quarterback Ray Bartlett had huge shoes to fill, succeeding Alabama’s Heisman Trophy winner, Dan Hamilton. Bartlett had a very good game against us, and so did running back Steven Barton. He was a third-team All-American, and he demonstrated his skills against us in his final college game. I’m a good friend of Alabama’s coach, Jeffrey Harding. He’s about my age, and we’ve basically grown up as coaches together. He runs a good, clean program, and I’m looking forward to playing against him often over the years to come. About a week after we got back, I had my yearly meeting with our AD, Scott Dunbar. I left with a big, big smile on my face. We completed the season with a 10-2 record for the second consecutive year. The media ranked us 6th in its final poll, while all the other polls had us somewhere in the teens. Here’s a comparison of our records and rankings from 2005 and 2006: [code] [B]Year Record Coa Med CPU GDCS Off Rnk Def Rnk[/B] 2005 10-2 14 16 13 17 372 66 413 98 2006 10-2 16 6 15 14 430 19 357 30 Coa: Penn State's ranking in the coaches' poll. Med: Penn State's ranking in the media poll. CPU: Penn State's computer ranking. GDCS: Penn State's ranking in the Grey Dog Championship Series. Off: Average yards per game for Penn State's offense Def: Average yards per game allowed by Penn State's defense. Rnk: Penn State's ranking among Division I teams in offense and defense. [/code] Scott evaluates our program each season in several areas: performance, talent level, recruiting, meeting our board’s expectations, and building or maintaining our program’s prestige. He gave me a report card with straight As, and his overall evaluation was even higher: an A+! I was a good student in high school and college, but it’s been a long time since I’ve received a grade that high. I think I’m going to ask him to put it in writing, maybe in an email I can print and hang on our refrigerator with the young Rogers’ schoolwork. In a week or so, we’ll be intensifying our recruiting efforts. Two of our juniors are considering the possibility of declaring for the NFL draft: linebacker John Becker and safety Charles Brown. Selfishly, I’d like to keep them both in State College, but I also recognize their talent and realize they’re both talented enough to play pro football. They’ll need to make their minds up in several weeks. I’m taking two weeks off from football, completely. The kids have a long weekend coming up, so Kristin and I are taking them skiing up in Vermont. It will be a great chance for us to all enjoy spending time together. I don’t think I let Kristin know often enough I appreciate her, and I always wish I could extend the day so I could spend much, much more time with my family. The next couple weeks, they will be all I’m focusing on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted November 2, 2006 Author Share Posted November 2, 2006 Here's a full statistical report for the 2006 Penn State Nittany Lions: [code] [B]2007 Passing Stats # POS NAME G ATT CMP CMP% YDS YDS/ATT TD INT LG GP BP SACK RATING[/B] 2 QB Sam Neff 6 74 49 66.20% 602 8.1 5 1 46 4 5 4 154.1 18 QB Joe Collins 11 276 159 57.60% 2127 7.7 13 10 65 11 15 18 130.6 20 QB Bobby Burton 6 27 14 51.90% 98 3.6 0 2 15 0 2 4 67.5 5 P Philip Redd 12 2 0 0.00% 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 QB Robert Dillard 1 2 0 0.00% 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 [B]2007 Rushing Stats # POS NAME G RUSH YDS YPG YPC TD LG CR MH FUM FLOST[/B] 32 RB Calvin Ferguson 12 274 1559 0 5.69 13 91 7 4 3 1 30 RB Miguel Gregory 9 81 529 0 6.53 4 60 3 0 1 1 33 FB Man Ward 12 36 213 0 5.92 0 25 0 0 1 0 42 FB Daniel Delgado 7 17 91 0 5.35 0 29 0 0 0 0 35 RB Jerry Freeman 8 17 71 0 4.18 0 36 0 1 0 0 80 WR Randy Culpepper 12 10 35 0 3.5 0 8 0 0 4 3 88 WR Theodore Dick 12 1 11 0 11 0 11 0 0 0 0 40 FB Todd Price 3 4 9 0 2.25 0 5 0 0 0 0 41 RB George Drummond 2 1 5 0 5 0 5 0 0 0 0 18 QB Joe Collins 11 5 4 0 0.8 0 4 0 0 1 0 31 RB Raymundo Parker 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 20 QB Bobby Burton 6 5 1 0 0.2 0 1 0 0 0 0 84 WR Jerry Hubbard 12 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 QB Sam Neff 6 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 [B]2007 Receiving Stats # POS NAME G ATT REC YDS YPG YPC YAC TD LG GC DP DP% IR[/B] 80 WR Randy Culpepper 12 148 80 996 0 12.4 318 4 46 7 3 2 3 84 WR Jerry Hubbard 12 84 45 615 0 13.7 157 3 44 5 4 4.8 5 32 RB Calvin Ferguson 12 43 27 361 0 13.4 279 3 65 1 1 2.3 0 88 WR Theodore Dick 12 45 25 315 0 12.6 71 2 37 2 2 4.4 2 83 TE Modesto Stark 12 36 25 269 0 10.8 65 3 37 1 0 0 1 86 WR Jason Cruz 7 18 10 121 0 12.1 21 2 38 1 0 0 2 30 RB Miguel Gregory 9 12 5 68 0 13.6 38 1 25 1 0 0 0 42 FB Daniel Delgado 7 5 3 32 0 10.7 12 0 12 0 0 0 0 33 FB Man Ward 12 7 4 29 0 7.2 17 0 15 0 1 14.3 0 82 TE James Virgil 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31 RB Raymundo Parker 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 [B]2007 Offensive Line Stats # POS NAME G RB PNK SA HOLD FALSE MISSBL[/B] 62 OG Chris Sandoval 12 13 18 1 0 0 1 69 OT Todd Main 12 9 8 3 2 2 6 66 OG Chris Silverman 8 9 2 3 0 0 2 65 OT Fred Felton 11 8 7 4 2 3 4 71 OG Anthony Lloyd 11 4 5 1 0 2 6 42 FB Daniel Delgado 7 3 0 0 0 0 1 75 OT Warren Kirkpatrick 4 0 0 3 0 0 4 33 FB Man Ward 12 0 0 0 0 0 3 40 FB Todd Price 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 51 C Clark Hill 5 0 0 2 1 0 5 52 C Wesley Herring 12 0 7 7 3 1 8 64 OG Ryan Lopez 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 67 OT Leland Olson 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 82 TE James Virgil 4 0 0 0 1 0 1 83 TE Modesto Stark 12 0 0 3 2 2 15 [B]2007 Kicking Stats # POS NAME G XP FG 1-29 FG 30-39 FG 40-49 FG 50+ FG% LONG POINTS[/B] 19 K Stephan Phillips 12 37-38 9-Sep 8-Jul 10-Aug 0-2 82.8%% 48 109 [B]2007 Punting Stats # POS NAME G PUNTS AVG NET TB IN20 LONG[/B] 5 P Philip Redd 12 66 44.1 37.4 8 14 66 19 K Stephan Phillips 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 [B]2007 Kick Return Stats # POS NAME G RET YDS AVG LONG TD[/B] 44 FS Eugene Nichols 12 34 847 24.9 47 0 32 RB Calvin Ferguson 12 4 87 21.8 45 0 41 RB George Drummond 2 1 25 25 25 0 [B]2007 Punt Return Stats # POS NAME G RET YDS AVG LONG TD[/B] 22 WR Phil Vanderpool 5 1 8 8 8 0 21 SS Richard Phillips 11 1 9 9 9 0 27 CB Alphonso Collins 11 40 487 12.2 82 2 [B]2007 Defensive Stats # POS NAME G TAK SOLO AST SACK STF HUR DP PD INT DEF TD MISSTAK OOP BPA[/B]53 ILB William Gross 12 94 61 33 1 7 4 1 5 1 0 6 3 4 50 OLB John Becker 12 93 73 20 3 11 8 1 2 2 0 0 1 1 38 FS Charles Brown 12 89 58 31 1 11 0 0 3 2 0 1 1 1 26 CB Francis Taylor 12 60 35 25 0 3 0 0 15 6 0 1 0 0 97 DE Milton Cole 12 37 29 8 7 5 14 5 0 0 0 0 1 0 23 SS Lawrence Hill 11 35 23 12 1 4 0 0 2 2 0 3 1 4 21 SS Richard Phillips 11 34 19 15 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 5 2 6 37 CB Daniel Jackson 12 28 18 10 0 1 0 0 12 0 0 9 5 2 39 CB Roy Thompson 9 13 8 5 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 4 0 3 58 OLB Travis Moore 6 12 7 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 91 DT John Bell 12 12 11 1 6 2 6 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 59 OLB George Harris 10 12 5 7 0 0 1 0 2 0 1 4 0 2 96 DT Jerry Magee 12 10 6 4 4 0 7 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 90 DE Jerry Martin 11 9 9 0 5 2 2 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 49 ILB Andrew Stone 5 7 5 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 1 27 CB Alphonso Collins 11 6 0 6 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 47 OLB Dustin Wood 5 5 3 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 94 DT John James 7 4 3 1 2 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 48 FS Gabriel Kidd 3 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 93 DE Agustin George 3 3 3 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 82 TE James Virgil 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 46 OLB Billy Davis 2 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 44 FS Eugene Nichols 12 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 85 TE Brian Hagen 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 81 WR James Pollack 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 92 DE Frank Golden 2 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 78 OT Lawrence Griffin 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 24 CB Robert Jackson 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 98 DE Lee Elrod 5 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 [/code] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted November 2, 2006 Author Share Posted November 2, 2006 Here's a full statistical report for the 2006 Penn State Nittany Lions: [code] [B]2007 Passing Stats # POS NAME G ATT CMP CMP% YDS YDS/ATT TD INT LG GP BP SACK RATING[/B] 2 QB Sam Neff 6 74 49 66.20% 602 8.1 5 1 46 4 5 4 154.1 18 QB Joe Collins 11 276 159 57.60% 2127 7.7 13 10 65 11 15 18 130.6 20 QB Bobby Burton 6 27 14 51.90% 98 3.6 0 2 15 0 2 4 67.5 5 P Philip Redd 12 2 0 0.00% 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 QB Robert Dillard 1 2 0 0.00% 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 [B]2007 Rushing Stats # POS NAME G RUSH YDS YPG YPC TD LG CR MH FUM FLOST[/B] 32 RB Calvin Ferguson 12 274 1559 0 5.69 13 91 7 4 3 1 30 RB Miguel Gregory 9 81 529 0 6.53 4 60 3 0 1 1 33 FB Man Ward 12 36 213 0 5.92 0 25 0 0 1 0 42 FB Daniel Delgado 7 17 91 0 5.35 0 29 0 0 0 0 35 RB Jerry Freeman 8 17 71 0 4.18 0 36 0 1 0 0 80 WR Randy Culpepper 12 10 35 0 3.5 0 8 0 0 4 3 88 WR Theodore Dick 12 1 11 0 11 0 11 0 0 0 0 40 FB Todd Price 3 4 9 0 2.25 0 5 0 0 0 0 41 RB George Drummond 2 1 5 0 5 0 5 0 0 0 0 18 QB Joe Collins 11 5 4 0 0.8 0 4 0 0 1 0 31 RB Raymundo Parker 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 20 QB Bobby Burton 6 5 1 0 0.2 0 1 0 0 0 0 84 WR Jerry Hubbard 12 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 QB Sam Neff 6 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 [B]2007 Receiving Stats # POS NAME G ATT REC YDS YPG YPC YAC TD LG GC DP DP% IR[/B] 80 WR Randy Culpepper 12 148 80 996 0 12.4 318 4 46 7 3 2 3 84 WR Jerry Hubbard 12 84 45 615 0 13.7 157 3 44 5 4 4.8 5 32 RB Calvin Ferguson 12 43 27 361 0 13.4 279 3 65 1 1 2.3 0 88 WR Theodore Dick 12 45 25 315 0 12.6 71 2 37 2 2 4.4 2 83 TE Modesto Stark 12 36 25 269 0 10.8 65 3 37 1 0 0 1 86 WR Jason Cruz 7 18 10 121 0 12.1 21 2 38 1 0 0 2 30 RB Miguel Gregory 9 12 5 68 0 13.6 38 1 25 1 0 0 0 42 FB Daniel Delgado 7 5 3 32 0 10.7 12 0 12 0 0 0 0 33 FB Man Ward 12 7 4 29 0 7.2 17 0 15 0 1 14.3 0 82 TE James Virgil 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31 RB Raymundo Parker 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 [B]2007 Offensive Line Stats # POS NAME G RB PNK SA HOLD FALSE MISSBL[/B] 62 OG Chris Sandoval 12 13 18 1 0 0 1 69 OT Todd Main 12 9 8 3 2 2 6 66 OG Chris Silverman 8 9 2 3 0 0 2 65 OT Fred Felton 11 8 7 4 2 3 4 71 OG Anthony Lloyd 11 4 5 1 0 2 6 42 FB Daniel Delgado 7 3 0 0 0 0 1 75 OT Warren Kirkpatrick 4 0 0 3 0 0 4 33 FB Man Ward 12 0 0 0 0 0 3 40 FB Todd Price 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 51 C Clark Hill 5 0 0 2 1 0 5 52 C Wesley Herring 12 0 7 7 3 1 8 64 OG Ryan Lopez 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 67 OT Leland Olson 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 82 TE James Virgil 4 0 0 0 1 0 1 83 TE Modesto Stark 12 0 0 3 2 2 15 [B]2007 Kicking Stats # POS NAME G XP FG 1-29 FG 30-39 FG 40-49 FG 50+ FG% LONG POINTS[/B] 19 K Stephan Phillips 12 37-38 9-Sep 8-Jul 10-Aug 0-2 82.8%% 48 109 [B]2007 Punting Stats # POS NAME G PUNTS AVG NET TB IN20 LONG[/B] 5 P Philip Redd 12 66 44.1 37.4 8 14 66 19 K Stephan Phillips 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 [B]2007 Kick Return Stats # POS NAME G RET YDS AVG LONG TD[/B] 44 FS Eugene Nichols 12 34 847 24.9 47 0 32 RB Calvin Ferguson 12 4 87 21.8 45 0 41 RB George Drummond 2 1 25 25 25 0 [B]2007 Punt Return Stats # POS NAME G RET YDS AVG LONG TD[/B] 22 WR Phil Vanderpool 5 1 8 8 8 0 21 SS Richard Phillips 11 1 9 9 9 0 27 CB Alphonso Collins 11 40 487 12.2 82 2 [B]2007 Defensive Stats # POS NAME G TAK SOLO AST SACK STF HUR DP PD INT DEF TD MISSTAK OOP BPA[/B]53 ILB William Gross 12 94 61 33 1 7 4 1 5 1 0 6 3 4 50 OLB John Becker 12 93 73 20 3 11 8 1 2 2 0 0 1 1 38 FS Charles Brown 12 89 58 31 1 11 0 0 3 2 0 1 1 1 26 CB Francis Taylor 12 60 35 25 0 3 0 0 15 6 0 1 0 0 97 DE Milton Cole 12 37 29 8 7 5 14 5 0 0 0 0 1 0 23 SS Lawrence Hill 11 35 23 12 1 4 0 0 2 2 0 3 1 4 21 SS Richard Phillips 11 34 19 15 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 5 2 6 37 CB Daniel Jackson 12 28 18 10 0 1 0 0 12 0 0 9 5 2 39 CB Roy Thompson 9 13 8 5 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 4 0 3 58 OLB Travis Moore 6 12 7 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 91 DT John Bell 12 12 11 1 6 2 6 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 59 OLB George Harris 10 12 5 7 0 0 1 0 2 0 1 4 0 2 96 DT Jerry Magee 12 10 6 4 4 0 7 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 90 DE Jerry Martin 11 9 9 0 5 2 2 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 49 ILB Andrew Stone 5 7 5 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 1 27 CB Alphonso Collins 11 6 0 6 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 47 OLB Dustin Wood 5 5 3 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 94 DT John James 7 4 3 1 2 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 48 FS Gabriel Kidd 3 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 93 DE Agustin George 3 3 3 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 82 TE James Virgil 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 46 OLB Billy Davis 2 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 44 FS Eugene Nichols 12 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 85 TE Brian Hagen 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 81 WR James Pollack 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 92 DE Frank Golden 2 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 78 OT Lawrence Griffin 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 24 CB Robert Jackson 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 98 DE Lee Elrod 5 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 [/code] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted November 2, 2006 Author Share Posted November 2, 2006 [B]Offseason, Week 11[/B] I’m very glad I took that time off before the recruiting season began. Kristin, the kids, and I had a fantastic time, and I’ve needed every bit of energy I could muster these last few weeks. We made no changes on our coaching staff this year. Our coordinators, David Tanner and George Dickson, both demonstrated their skills last season, and our special teams coach, Ben Harvey, had a great season too. Having a stable staff makes a big difference in recruiting top players and developing their skills within our system. They're not constantly having to learn new things. One negative consequence of building a roster full of talented players is the fact that there won’t be enough playing time for all of them. We had more good running backs this past season than we had carries, and Jerry Freeman was the guy who ended up with the short end of the stick. Jerry got only seventeen carries, but with Calvin Ferguson and Miguel Gregory playing ahead of him, there simply wasn’t much way to get him in the game any more often. Jerry and I talked after the season, and he told me he would probably be transferring to another school. I told him that I understood his situation, and that I wished him the best of luck. Jerry was also struggling somewhat in the classroom at Penn State. He was keeping himself eligible, but his GPA was barely above a 2.00. We recently learned that Jerry will be transferring to Rutgers, and after sitting out a year, he’ll have two more years of eligibility there. I hope Rutgers proves to be a good fit for him. Jerry will have the chance to be a feature back there, and I predict he’ll be very successful in that role. Freeman’s loss was tempered somewhat by the news that a very talented player will be transferring to Penn State. We recruited Mike Nixon last year, when he was a high school senior in New Jersey. Mike was the #3 tight end prospect in the nation, and we were disappointed when he chose Virginia Tech. Mike redshirted last year, so he didn’t play against us when we took on the Hokies. He had an outstanding year in the classroom, and continued to build his strength. When we learned Mike was interested in the possibility of transferring, we offered him a scholarship, and he accepted our offer right away. Mike is 6’5” and weighs 259 right now, and we think he’ll be able to carry up to 270. He’s a fantastic blocker, and although he’s not fast, he has excellent hands and will be a nice option in our passing game. I’ll be looking forward to seeing what he can contribute to our program in a year. We also got one piece of good news and one piece of bad news regarding the NFL draft. John Becker will be leaving Penn State and entering the draft, but Charles Brown has decided to stay in school for his senior year. John is ready for the NFL, but we would certainly have enjoyed having him back with us for 2007. Now we’ll need at least one of our young linebackers, guys like Andrew Stone, George Harris, and Travis Moore, to step up and prove that he has what it takes to excel in the Big Ten. On the other hand, we’re very pleased that Charles will be with us this year. He is an outstanding leader, one the other players like and respect. I’m expecting him to have a big, big year for us, and set himself up even better for next year’s draft. We had eleven scholarships available to this year’s recruiting class, and we received our first commitment almost immediately. Ray Johnson is considered the best receiver coming out of high school this year, and he’s usually considered one of the 25 best players in the country, period. Ray is a Pennsylvania guy, from Pottstown, and he’s been a Penn State fan for years. He also has 4.38 speed and a 40-inch vertical leap. I confess I’m really looking forward to watching him play basketball next weekend; I hope he throws down a couple of monster dunks. Our second commitment came from a fullback out of New Jersey, Noe McCarthy. He is a good, all-around player who can run the ball, catch it, and block effectively. We especially like the way he runs with his knees high; he’ll break a lot of tackles that way. We’re still looking for help at several positions. We could use a talented quarterback with a strong arm; some help on our offensive line, especially at center; a placekicker; and a talented cornerback. Of course, lots of teams are looking for the same things, so we have our work cut out for us. Several Big Ten teams have signed six or seven players already, but we’re not panicking. There are quite a few very talented players left on our list, and we continue to bring them in for visits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted November 2, 2006 Author Share Posted November 2, 2006 [B]Offseason, Week 11[/B] I’m very glad I took that time off before the recruiting season began. Kristin, the kids, and I had a fantastic time, and I’ve needed every bit of energy I could muster these last few weeks. We made no changes on our coaching staff this year. Our coordinators, David Tanner and George Dickson, both demonstrated their skills last season, and our special teams coach, Ben Harvey, had a great season too. Having a stable staff makes a big difference in recruiting top players and developing their skills within our system. They're not constantly having to learn new things. One negative consequence of building a roster full of talented players is the fact that there won’t be enough playing time for all of them. We had more good running backs this past season than we had carries, and Jerry Freeman was the guy who ended up with the short end of the stick. Jerry got only seventeen carries, but with Calvin Ferguson and Miguel Gregory playing ahead of him, there simply wasn’t much way to get him in the game any more often. Jerry and I talked after the season, and he told me he would probably be transferring to another school. I told him that I understood his situation, and that I wished him the best of luck. Jerry was also struggling somewhat in the classroom at Penn State. He was keeping himself eligible, but his GPA was barely above a 2.00. We recently learned that Jerry will be transferring to Rutgers, and after sitting out a year, he’ll have two more years of eligibility there. I hope Rutgers proves to be a good fit for him. Jerry will have the chance to be a feature back there, and I predict he’ll be very successful in that role. Freeman’s loss was tempered somewhat by the news that a very talented player will be transferring to Penn State. We recruited Mike Nixon last year, when he was a high school senior in New Jersey. Mike was the #3 tight end prospect in the nation, and we were disappointed when he chose Virginia Tech. Mike redshirted last year, so he didn’t play against us when we took on the Hokies. He had an outstanding year in the classroom, and continued to build his strength. When we learned Mike was interested in the possibility of transferring, we offered him a scholarship, and he accepted our offer right away. Mike is 6’5” and weighs 259 right now, and we think he’ll be able to carry up to 270. He’s a fantastic blocker, and although he’s not fast, he has excellent hands and will be a nice option in our passing game. I’ll be looking forward to seeing what he can contribute to our program in a year. We also got one piece of good news and one piece of bad news regarding the NFL draft. John Becker will be leaving Penn State and entering the draft, but Charles Brown has decided to stay in school for his senior year. John is ready for the NFL, but we would certainly have enjoyed having him back with us for 2007. Now we’ll need at least one of our young linebackers, guys like Andrew Stone, George Harris, and Travis Moore, to step up and prove that he has what it takes to excel in the Big Ten. On the other hand, we’re very pleased that Charles will be with us this year. He is an outstanding leader, one the other players like and respect. I’m expecting him to have a big, big year for us, and set himself up even better for next year’s draft. We had eleven scholarships available to this year’s recruiting class, and we received our first commitment almost immediately. Ray Johnson is considered the best receiver coming out of high school this year, and he’s usually considered one of the 25 best players in the country, period. Ray is a Pennsylvania guy, from Pottstown, and he’s been a Penn State fan for years. He also has 4.38 speed and a 40-inch vertical leap. I confess I’m really looking forward to watching him play basketball next weekend; I hope he throws down a couple of monster dunks. Our second commitment came from a fullback out of New Jersey, Noe McCarthy. He is a good, all-around player who can run the ball, catch it, and block effectively. We especially like the way he runs with his knees high; he’ll break a lot of tackles that way. We’re still looking for help at several positions. We could use a talented quarterback with a strong arm; some help on our offensive line, especially at center; a placekicker; and a talented cornerback. Of course, lots of teams are looking for the same things, so we have our work cut out for us. Several Big Ten teams have signed six or seven players already, but we’re not panicking. There are quite a few very talented players left on our list, and we continue to bring them in for visits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrestlerjrh Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 This is good stuff keep it up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrestlerjrh Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 This is good stuff keep it up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Six Posted November 9, 2006 Author Share Posted November 9, 2006 [QUOTE=wrestlerjrh;158385]This is good stuff keep it up[/QUOTE] Thanks, wrestler. Now that the 1.49 patch is out, look for me to update more often. I just finished recruiting before the patch was released, so I didn't get to use the new recruiting features this time. I'm looking forward to seeing how they improve the recruiting experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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