Ron Musselman's Penn State football chat: 10.6.11

Thursday, 06 October 2011 16:06

Written by Dan Gigler

Ron Musselman: OK, welcome back for our weekly chat from Happy Valley. Iowa, which has had Penn State's number for more than a decade, is coming into town Saturday. Let's get rolling with the questions.

James_12: Ron, are we going to be talking about this QB carousel all year? Will it ever end?

Ron Musselman: The two-QB quarterback situation has become a joke, and now comes word from wide receiver Derek Moye that the QBs rarely are allowed to audible at the line of scrimmage. The starting job should be Matt McGloin's, and a good portion of the team feels the same way. Rob Bolden just doesn't get it done. McGloin has passed for 200 yards or more in seven of the past 11 games. He is fourth in the Big Ten in pass efficiency (144.3 rating). He is completing 57.9 percent of his passes (44 of 76) for 625 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. Bolden has an 85.3 passer rating and is completing 45.9 percent of his passes (39 of 85) for 455 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions. Enough said.

knit knee lyin: Hi, Ron, I think the numbers alone say that McGloin gets a start. I also disagree with JoePa that there is no difference with the offense with either Q.B. It seems that the offense gets a lift when McGloin comes in. What do you think?

Ron Musselman: As I said in my previous answer, McGloin should be the man and the coaching staff should stop let Bolden holding them hostage over the thought of transferring. What school would want him at this point? He has done nothing to distinguish himself in 13 career starters. McGloin has eight touchdown drives this year to Bolden's four, and 32 to Bolden's 15 the past two years.

PozforPresident: The game at Indiana was awful last week, at least offensively. Do you think this offense will ever get it going?

Ron Musselman: Penn State's offense has been brutal in the red zone, converting just 73.7 percent of its red-zone chances. The Lions have 10 touchdowns and four field goals in 19 opportunities inside the 20. That ties them for 96th in the country in that category. They need to punch the ball in the end zone and the line needs to shake Silas Redd loose for a big game on the ground.

PSUFanz: Will we ever beat Iowa again? There is something about the Hawkeyes that seems t make us run and hide.

Ron Musselman: Oh, Penn State will beat Iowa again sometime. At this point, it is hard to know for sure when that might happen. This is not exactly a great Iowa team, but the Hawkeyes have won eight of the past nine meeting s between the two schools since 2000. And they are 4-0 against the Nittany Lions in Big Ten openers, and this is their opener after being idle last week.

JohnShaffer: Ron, really enjoyed your look back at the 1986 national championship team in the paper today. Too bad we can't line those guys up against Iowa Saturday.

Ron Musselman: Thanks. I actually covered the game for another newspaper and it was a monumental upset, for sure. Very few people gave Penn State a chance to win that game against Miami. It will be good to see a lot of those guys come back for the reunion this weekend. That was a great group of players, a few of whom were around for the three national championship games appearances in five years. The Lions have a good defense this year, but it doesn't match up to that one from 1986.

knit knee lyin: Do you have an update on D'Anton Lynn? I think Stephon Morris is a good fill in.

Ron Musselman: I wouldn't expect Lynn to play again this week due to the concussion he suffered against Eastern Michigan. And, from what I hear, his replacement Morris is iffy with the sprained ankle he suffered last week at Indiana. If Morris can't go, Penn State will turn back to freshman Adrian Amos, who has looked pretty good, with Malcolm Willis serving as the nickel back.

Chris Gallu: Does anybody care that Penn State seems to run a clean program that people can be proud of? It's fine to criticize the team -- there is clearly room for improvement -- but I'd personally much rather root for the team we have now than USC, Ohio State, Miami, Auburn or any of the other "national powers" that are clearly selling their souls for wins. Joe graduates his players at a high rate and other than the occasional underage drinking or marijuana issue (it's college!) there don't seem to be many problems. And good grief, the only team they've lost to -- Alabama -- is arguably the best team in the country and just destroyed Florida in the Swamp. Let's give these guys some credit!

Ron Musselman: Most fans are happy that there have been no major violations, etc., but they are not happy with Penn State's lack of big-time victories against teams ranked higher than them. Penn State is not the same program it used to be in terms of football success.

Pauly: How does Iowa's nonconference schedule compare to Penn State's this year? I know Penn State's toughest game was its loss to Alabama. Who has Iowa faced this year - was their loss to a tough opponent?

Ron Musselman: Iowa's wins are over Tennessee Tech (34-7), Pitt (31-27) and Louisiana-Monroe (45-17) and the Hawkeyes have a bitter triple-overtime loss to rival Iowa State (44-41). Against Pitt last month, Iowa rallied from a 21-point deficit late in the third quarter to win the game.

Mike K: Another week and another lackluster offensive outing against Indiana. Surely the coaches see they must choose Matt McGloin at QB. Does this indecisiveness spell the final straw in the when Joe must go saga? If he does go, is there anything to the rumors that Urban Meyer has met with Tim Curley and Graham Spanier?

Ron Musselman: This saga may never end between Bolden and McGloin and I don't see Joe going anywhere at the end of the season, barring a major health issue. Urban Meyer is working the game for ABC this weekend and I am sure he will talk to Penn State officials again. But I think Meyer has a better chance of ending up as the coach at Ohio State than he does at Penn State.

Kyle: Ron, if Drake ever gets healthy, is there a chance we could see him run the wildcat? If I remember correctly, he was a QB in high school.

Ron Musselman: They ran Drake in that Wildcat role earlier this year, but I am not sure if, or when, his leg will be 100 percent for him to make a significant contribution to the offense. His oft-injured leg has limited his ability to practice and he did not make the trip to Indiana last week. I don't know expect him to be a factor against Iowa.

LionEyes78: Taking the QBs out of the mix, how does Penn State get its offense going. What is the real problem there?

Ron Musselman: Well, they could start by making McGloin the starter and benching Bolden and just sticking with one guy. And they need to be more consistent, especially in the red zone where the play-calling has not been great and the execution has been even worse for the most part.

knit knee lyin: I think Pitt played Iowa tough for the most part. Can Penn State use some of the things Pitt did to there advantage. Will the no huddle be a big problem for the defense?

Ron Musselman: James Vandenberg, the Iowa QB, has really taken advantage of the no-huddle offense. And with Lynn and maybe Morris missing from Penn State's secondary, it will be the Lions' first big passing test of the year. The one thing you hope Penn State doesn't do is lose a 21-point lead in the third quarter like Pitt did. Then again, I'm not sure Penn State can even score 21 points to begin with.

JohnPSU13: do you think having the 1986 national championship team at the game Saturday will be motivate the current team, which just can't seem to beat Iowa?

Ron Musselman: None of the players on the current team were even born when Penn State won its last national title in 1986, so I doubt it. I am sure a lot of the kids now have heard some of the names – Shane Conlan, D.J. Dozier, etc. – during their time in Happy Valley, but I don't think it will pump them, to be honest. Funny, but JoePa and defensive coordinator Tom Bradley are the only two coaches left from that '86 staff.

Kyle: Special teams and field position will be big factors this week against Iowa. How do Iowa's punter and placekicker compare to Fera?

Ron Musselman: Fera is doing it all for Penn State now, handling the kickoffs, field goals (4 of 5) and punting (43.6 average on 18 punts). He seems to have solved the team's kicking issues. Mike Meyer handles kickoffs and field goals for Iowa and is 8 of 10 and has a team-leading 41 points. Punter Eric Guthrie is averaging 44.9 yards on 15 punts, so I would call it pretty much a toss-up.

John_Q: What concerns you the most about Iowa?

Ron Musselman: Their passing game. Vandenberg has completed 62.8 percent of his passes (81 of 129) for 1,095 yards and 10 touchdowns in the first four games, with one interception.

knit knee lyin: Always loved the fact that Jimmy Johnson said that 1986 bowl game is the one he would like to have back.

Ron Musselman: It's easy to understand why. It was a monumental loss for Miami and he got out-coached.

Ron Musselman: Thanks for all of your great questions today. I will see you back here next Thursday at 11 a.m. for another chat.