PSU Nittany Lions

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Bill O'Brien maintained an even tone Wednesday afternoon as reporters surrounded him to pepper in questions about his two quarterbacks.

He remained stoic as he explained "no guy has really stood out above the other guy." Consistency has been the buzz word this spring, and that seemed no different at practice No. 10, which was open to the media for about 30 minutes.

O'Brien's calm demeanor dissolved two hours following that interview once practice began and his quarterbacks guided the team during a two-minute drill. It was the only time the media were able to watch the signal-callers face the defense -- and they did so inside Holuba Hall as thunder rumbled around the facility.

"Don't film this!" O'Brien barked during the 7-on-7s.

Steven Bench took snaps with the first team and, again, showed glimpses of greatness and inexperience. He completed three straight passes by finding three different receivers, and Mike Hull's blanket coverage on Jesse James prevented a fourth straight completion.

But it was the following pass attempt that caused O'Brien to pull Bench aside and gesture to him.

The quarterback dropped back and attempted to rifle in a ball over the middle. The pigskin went right through safety Ryan Keiser's fingertips, and a coach called out, "Game's over right there. Gotta get that!"

Bench rebounded on the next play by finding Allen Robinson in the end zone to finish off the two-minute drill. Tyler Ferguson then took over and completed two straight passes before faltering.

He spiked the ball to stop the clock, then held on too long, and appeared as if that counted as a sack. He followed up by completing a short pass to Richy Anderson, but it was too late. O'Brien whistled the drive dead as the marker showed fourth down.

"They both had their moments," O'Brien said prior to the drill. "I've been very impressed by how hard each guy has worked."

(Read full post)

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Players' tweets start up a little after 4:30 a.m., that strange time when it's not quite day and not quite night. Traffic lights blink yellow along College Avenue, and -- outside of a whirring Herr's potato chip truck -- the roads are silent.

On this starless night ... or morning (take your pick) ... players pry their heads off their pillows and descend on the nearby Lasch Football Building. Streetlights around town still shine, and not a single student is spotted walking on a campus that holds more than 40,000.

But Garry Gilliam, a tight end turned offensive tackle, is up. He tweeted, at 4:39 a.m, "They sleep, we grind. They dream, we shine."

On this Friday, Penn State football players' days have already started. In about 30 minutes, their morning workouts will begin.

5:12 a.m.

Bill O'Brien walks onto the field with a whistle draped around his neck. The players are still inside the building, throwing on their gray T-shirts and blue shorts, and Penn State's dimple-chinned coach awaits them in the 31-degree weather.

Four bright stadium lights for the practice field are flipped on, and snow covers the perimeter of the turf. O'Brien chats with the staff and grad assistants, who constantly shift their weight from one leg to another to stay warm. He's cracking jokes, smiling and seems to be acting as if it's 3 p.m. He's ready.

"We should've had this at 3," he says with a nod.

About five minutes later, players burst from the weight room doors. Some hold their hands in the air, almost as if they're running through the south tunnel of Beaver Stadium. They yell, they chatter, they run.

The nearby stereo starts blaring LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem," and the drills begin.

5:28 a.m.

Strength and conditioning coach Craig Fitzgerald, an eccentric-but-beloved guy who's been known to lick the weight room floor and do the worm in pregames, is dressed in his trademark shorts, backward hat and T-shirt.

Players break into six groups. Some flip tires, others weave through cones, and others stretch. Fitzgerald guides about a dozen to the northwest corner of the field. If he pumps his arms left, they go left. Right, they go right. Down? Their stomachs kiss the turf.

But O'Brien isn't liking what he's seeing. He cuts the music, and the entire field falls silent like a third-grade classroom that's ticked off the schoolteacher for the last time.

"I don't see the intensity I'm expecting!" O'Brien barks. "Let's do it!"

The pace noticeably picks up.

(Read full post)

NittanyNation will be counting down the top five moments of Penn State's season this week. The No. 1 moment of the season: Winning in OT on Senior Day

Michael Mauti choked back tears, and Matt Stankiewitch stared up at the private boxes as Penn State unveiled "2012" in blue numbers along the facade, honoring these seniors and making sure they'll be forever remembered among teams who won national titles and conference championships.

This ceremony happened before the kickoff on Nov. 24, and these Nittany Lions were determined to win on this emotional day. After a year of uncertainty and pledges and transfers and loyalty, these players vowed to uphold the notion that Penn State was neither down nor out.

On the last time these seniors would step foot inside Beaver Stadium, they held nothing back. Jordan Hill seemed to occupy every space on the interior and finished with a dozen tackles. Matt McGloin brushed off an early deficit. Gerald Hodges wore his fallen comrade's jersey.

This back-and-forth game, an instant classic, saw Wisconsin score a game-tying touchdown with 18 seconds left in regulation. Shortly after, Penn State's hopes were pinned on Sam Ficken -- who statistically was the worst kicker in the nation after the first few weeks. He redeemed his Virginia struggles with a 37-yard FG to hand PSU the lead. A pessimist would call it incredible, an optimist, poetic.

One possession later, as Bill O'Brien whispered Hail Marys and the team locked hands on the sideline, the Badgers would hook a field goal wide left. An entire offseason of adversity and disappointment, of struggles and loss, came to head at that moment, spilling over -- for some players -- in the form of tears and others with smiles. Most screamed; some remained silent.

Senior cornerback Stephon Morris tossed up his helmet in a fit of ecstasy -- so high that he couldn't find it a half-hour later. John Urschel had a goofy grin plastered to his face. Ficken called it a fairy-tale ending.

And, for this Penn State team, it surely was. This was the exclamation mark to Penn State's season, the proof that PSU was stronger than these sanctions. This was perhaps the most memorable final regular-season game in all of Penn State's 126 seasons.

This was a statement game. This was a game that showed, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the Lions were stronger than the sanctions and that O'Brien was one of this nation's best coaches. This showed Penn State wasn't going anywhere.

And that's why it's the top moment of the season.

Several kickers stood out around the Big Ten in Week 13, most notably Penn State's Sam Ficken, who finished the season by connecting on his final 10 attempts.

Five lessons from the week that was in Big Ten football.

1. The Ineligibles overachieved under great coaches: We won't see Ohio State or Penn State until next fall, but both teams went out on positive notes to end seasons in which they overachieved. Aside from die-hard Buckeyes believers, who expected Ohio State to go 12-0 and record just the sixth unbeaten, untied season in team history? Even fewer people expected Penn State to go 8-4 after a tumultuous offseason that featured the exodus of running back Silas Redd and other key players. And when the Lions started 0-2, most folks wrote them off. But Bill O'Brien and his team never lost faith and surged through most of the Big Ten season. It was fitting that kicker Sam Ficken, whose struggles at Virginia led to Penn State's loss, had the game-winning field goal Saturday as the Lions beat Wisconsin in overtime. O'Brien exceeded all expectations in his first season as a head coach, recording the most wins ever by a first-year Lions boss. Will he be Big Ten Coach of the Year? The only other worthy candidate is Urban Meyer, who took a seven-loss Buckeyes team with significant depth issues and transformed it into one of the nation's best.

2. Michigan isn't really back: Sure, the Wolverines have dug themselves out from the Rich Rodriguez-created crater, and they had a charmed season end in a Sugar Bowl title last season. But in terms of beating really good teams, the ones that signify Michigan once again has a place among the nation's elite, Brady Hoke's crew is still looking for a breakthrough. Michigan won a respectable eight games, but its four losses in the regular season -- Alabama, Notre Dame, Nebraska and Ohio State -- came against the best four teams it played. The Wolverines were extremely fortunate to beat a good Northwestern team and a mediocre Michigan State squad on their home field. While it was nice to end the losing streak against Ohio State last season, Michigan beat the worst Buckeyes team we've seen in more than a decade. The offense still seems hamstrung in some ways by the Denard Robinson era, though the emergence of Devin Gardner is promising for the future. There are signs Michigan is close, and the renaissance on defense under Hoke and Greg Mattison can't be denied. But it'll take a bit longer for Michigan to truly claim it is back, although a Jan. 1 bowl victory against an SEC foe would help.

3. Rex Burkhead still can make an impact: This hasn't been the season the Nebraska senior running back envisioned, but he can still play a major role in how it turns out for Big Red. Burkhead returned to the field in the second half Friday against Iowa after Nebraska's offense stumbled and fell behind 7-3. In his first appearance since Oct. 20, Burkhead racked up 69 yards and Nebraska's only touchdown on 16 carries. He might not be 100 percent, but he showed the skills that make him beloved in the Cornhusker State, particularly on a grinding 9-yard run to pick up a first down after Nebraska was pinned inside its own 1-yard line early in the fourth quarter. Nebraska had hoped to get through the Iowa game without Burkhead, but when the team needed him, he delivered. He likely will play a bigger role this week against Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game. Burkhead had 86 rush yards against the Badgers in the Big Ten opener, the only full game he has played this season. He could be the boost Nebraska needs to win its first league title since 1999 and possibly win the Rose Bowl, too.

4. Danny Hope's players didn't quit on him: Many Purdue fans have seen enough of fourth-year coach Danny Hope, but Hope has plenty of allies in his locker room. The Boilers easily could have quit after dropping their first five Big Ten games -- four blowouts (three at home) plus the heartbreaker at Ohio State. Some teams projected to do much more would have gone in the tank. But Purdue rallied behind Hope and gutsy quarterback Robert Marve, who played despite a torn anterior cruciate ligament, and won its final three games to secure a bowl berth. The product rarely looked pretty, and even Saturday's Bucket game against Indiana featured some bang-your-head-against-the-wall moments. But Purdue's players never stopped fighting and will head somewhere warm for the holidays. Whether Hope joins them remains to be seen, but he deserves some credit for keeping the team afloat during such a difficult stretch.

5. Bowl practices will be crucial for Big Ten teams: We don't know the bowl matchups yet, but they will be daunting for the Big Ten, which will be without two of its best teams (Ohio State and Penn State) in the postseason. For the league to avoid another bad bowl performance, several teams must take significant steps during bowl practices. Michigan State has the defense and the running back (Le'Veon Bell) to win its bowl game, but it needs quarterback Andrew Maxwell and a young receiving corps to develop. Coach Mark Dantonio hinted this week that his offense needed an update to keep up with the times. Maybe that can start next month in earnest. Minnesota has to get healthy and re-establish its offensive identity behind true freshman quarterback Philip Nelson, who will benefit from the 15 practices. Wisconsin also will have a chance to iron out its offensive issues, while a young Northwestern team that made major strides this fall must make another before facing what should be a heavily favored SEC foe in Florida. Michigan also gets some extra time to figure out its vision on offense with Gardner and Robinson.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Montee Ball set the NCAA record for total touchdowns Saturday, but the Badgers were unable to improve their conference record as Penn State rallied late for the 24-21 overtime win.

Sam Ficken connected on a 37-yard field goal to open up overtime. Wisconsin responded by fumbling and nearly tossing an interception before Kyle French missed a field-goal attempt wide left from 45 yards.

Wisconsin took the early lead in the game by scoring two quick touchdowns -- including Ball's record 79th touchdown -- but Ted Roof's defense adjusted and allowed just seven points the rest of the way. Matt McGloin, who had only 47 passing yards at halftime, rebounded in the second half and paced the offense.

With the win, Penn State's season ends at 8-4 (6-2 Big Ten) while Wisconsin drops to 7-5 (4-4).

It was over when: French missed a 45-yard field goal attempt wide left in overtime. Glenn Carson nearly picked off a pass on third down, and Sean Stanley pushed Wisconsin back after forcing a fumble.

Game ball goes to: Zach Zwinak. He set career highs in carries (36) and rushing yards (179) and was the constant that Penn State's offense needed. He was never tackled for a loss and even outrushed Ball by 68 yards.

Stat of the game: 27 -- the number of yards Ball rushed for in the second half. He averaged 6.5 yards per carry in the first half but only mustered 1.9 yards a carry in the second half. Defensive tackle Jordan Hill helped clog up the middle to limit Ball's production.

Turning point: Early in the final quarter with PSU trailing 14-13, Bill O'Brien found himself on Wisconsin's 41-yard line. He opted to go for it, and McGloin connected with Jesse James on a crossing route that ended up as a 41-yard touchdown. That gave PSU its first lead.

Unsung hero: Hill. He's not yet 100 percent, but he might have had his best game of his career Saturday. He finished with 12 tackles and a pair of sacks. He was a big reasons PSU was able to shut down Ball in the second half.

Sam Ficken stared at his bedroom wall -- sometimes before brushing his teeth, other times after hours of practice -- and remembered.

The sophomore kicker had tacked a PSU-Virginia game program to that apartment wall so he couldn't forget. He didn't want to make the same mistakes. He didn't want history to repeat itself. And he didn't want his career to be defined by that 1-of-5 performance in a 17-16 loss.

Nothing motivated him more than that magazine. But now, nine weeks after that performance, Ficken said he awakes with thoughts of the future instead of regrets about the past.

"I actually ended up taking that down about a week ago," he said. "I'm trying to move on from that game, I'm trying to forget about it. So I'm trying not to dwell."

Ficken has gone from being a constant source of disparaging Tweets and student chatter -- a kicker whom the crowd would, somewhat mockingly, scream loudly for after a converted extra point -- into a player who's made his last six field goals. Fans no longer hold their collective breath when he steps on the field, and Ficken's confidence has been rising as steadily as his field goal percentage.

"He's a very, very laid-back guy that cares about his teammates," Bill O'Brien said. "It's nice to see him improve like he has."

(Read full post)