CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – James Franklin’s birthday is on February 2. Figures.
That’s Groundhog Day.
The latter came 11 weeks early on Saturday. Which probably took years off the life of the former.
Unfortunately for the 6-5 Nittany Lions, it was deja blew all over again.
All but one of Penn State’s seven conference games have been close, save for a 29-6 loss to Northwestern. The average margin for those half-dozen contests – win or lose – has been four points. Penn State has won by 3 and 6 points. And it’s also lost by 5, 7 (in OT), 1 and 2 points.
The end to the Nittany Lions’ 16-14 defeat against Illinois here on Saturday was an unrequested repeat of its 20-19 loss to Maryland in Beaver Stadium earlier this month.
Here’s a recap of the rerun, most certainly not on Comcast’s On Demand:
SATURDAY: Penn State lost to a lesser opponent (Illinois) by the narrowest of margins (16-14) on a grey day after leading late (3:29 remaining) on a last-second (8, to be exact) field goal (36 yards) by a kicker who was only 1 of 3 entering the contest but had already made two three-pointers before the game-winner. It was the sad cessation of an exhausted defense that held steady, then surrendered scores with regularity (four of the final seven drives, plus a missed FG) as the game wore on. And all that was followed by the no-longer-stunning realization that the offense couldn’t muster a single first down, i.e.:
3:29 remaining, Penn State 14, Illinois 13
1 and 10, PSU 32 – Akeel Lynch, 3-yard run
2 and 7, PSU 35 — Lynch, 2-yard run
3 and 5, PSU 37 — Christian Hackenberg, 4-yard run
4 and 2, PSU 41 – Daniel Pasquariello, 31-yard punt
After a fair catch, Illinois took over at its 28-yard line with 1:48 remaining. The Illini then went 54 yards in seven plays to set up David Reisner’s 36-yard field goal and seal Penn State’s fifth defeat in seven Big Ten games.
Didn’t we see this before?
YES, ON NOVEMBER 1: Penn State lost to a lesser opponent (Maryland) by the narrowest of margins (20-19) on a grey day after leading late (3:22 remaining) on a last-second (51) field goal (43 yards) by a kicker who was 12 of 12 entering the contest and had already made a three-pointer earlier that day.
It was the sad cessation of an exhausted defense that held steady, then surrendered scores with regularity (three of the final five drives) as the game wore on. And all that was followed by the no-longer-stunning realization that the offense couldn’t muster a single first down, i.e.:
3:22 remaining; Penn State 19, Maryland 17
1 and 10, PSU 13 – Lynch, 4-yard run
2 and 6, PSU 17 — Lynch, run for no gain
3 and 6, PSU 17 – Lynch, 3-yard run
4 and 2, PS 20 – Daniel Pasqariello, 37-yard punt
Maryland’s Stefon Diggs returned the punt 15 yards to the Penn State 42. The Terps then went 17 yards in four plays to set up Brad Craddock’s 43-yard field goal and seal Penn State’s fourth-consecutive loss.
REASONS FOR RERUN
So, yes, we have seen this before. Which made Franklin, to observers in the post-game media conference, look bluer than the first-year head coach has been all season. Near the start of his 11-minute and 28-second session, Franklin said, “The loss is on me.” And he repeated it at the end as well. Franklin had reason to use plenty of legitimate excuses, if he wanted to. Like That Sanction Thing. This is as far as he went down that road.
“There are a lot of things that go into it,” he said. “Am I disappointed? Yes. But where we are at numbers-wise, this late in the season, with kids banged up, not able to have the consistency we need across the board … I want to get it fixed as badly as anyone. I really do.”
Franklin has certainly heard that old saw about doing the same thing again and again, and expecting different results. But things were different for Penn State on Saturday. Different, as in worse.
If the coach was alphabetizing a list of differences between the Illinois and Maryland games, he could begin at BB. And BB. Sophomore linebacker Brandon Bell, the team’s No. 3 tackler and an essential blitzer and schemer, didn’t play on Saturday. And injured senior running Bill Belton missed a big chuck of the game after gamely trying to give it a go. It wasn’t to be, as he gained just six yards on six carries and had one reception for nine yards.
Bell has nine tackles for a loss this season. And while freshman Jason Cabinda stepped in with five tackles, Penn State ran more nickel than usual and was hurt more than it should be by backup Illini quarterback Reilly O’Toole, who is more of a runner than a passer, belied by his stats on Saturday — 18 of 25 for 157 yards and one TD.
And while Lynch ran for 137 yards and a 47-yard touchdown on the heels of last’s week’s 130-yard effort, Belton was missed. In the two games prior to Illinois, wins over Indiana and Temple, Belton was a huge factor. He ran for 229 yards on a Zwinak-November-like 35 carries, with two TDs and rushes of 92 and 38 yards.
Lynch missed him. In one stretch, Lynch had eight carries for 12 yards, with a fumble on No. 8. Fittingly, for the day at least, the first seven were nearly the same, going for the following yardage: 1, 1, 1, 2, 1, -2 and 0. A groundhog.
VALENTINE’S DAY
Running Lynch and running Lynch was by design. Illinois’ defense entered the game ranked No. 124 of 128 FBS teams against the rush, yielding 267 yards per contest. Penn State did manage 172 yards rushing on Saturday – still nearly 100 off what the Illini usually give away. Penn State ran the ball 47 times, while Hackenberg passed it just 16 times, completing eight. Now, that’s new.
In his 23 games as a Penn State starting quarterback, Hackenberg’s previous lowest totals for attempts was 23 (three times) and completions was 12 (four times). Hmm. Hackenberg, too, has a birthday in February – Feb. 14. Valentine’s Day.
A little more loving of the passing game may have gone a long way.
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