An old page taken from a very familiar playbook.
http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/p...-shake-hands-with-penn-state-during-coin-toss
Today's Penn State football news features plenty of looks back at the Nittany Lions' 20-19 loss to Maryland at Beaver Stadium, particularly the Terrapins' pre-game refusal to shake hands. Maryland coach Randy Edsall, who declared "Let the rivalry begin" after the game, said he expects the ugly win to pay recruiting dividends.
For the Nittany Lions, a fourth consecutive loss landed them at No. 7 on USA Today's "Misery Index." Coach James Franklin's good fortune winning close games is beginning to fade away and Penn State fans "have to be freaking out a little bit," writes Dan Wolken:
James Franklin walks around with such an aura of confidence around him, it seems at times as though the good breaks that go his way are the product of some grand design rather than simple luck. In his last two years at Vanderbilt, Franklin won close game after close game, a trait that seemed to carry over through a 4-0 start at Penn State with improbable escapes against UCF and Rutgers.
As it turns out, though, Franklin is no different than the rest of the coaching profession. If you're in enough close games, you're eventually going to start losing them. And now Penn State is losing them, falling to 4-4 with a very good chance they will fall short of bowl eligibility. Suddenly, the vibes around Penn State aren't so good after three consecutive home losses, including 20-19 on Saturday to Maryland. (An entirely different subplot to this is that Maryland wants this game so desperately to be a rivalry now that it's in the Big Ten, and Penn State so desperately wants to not make it one. Good luck with that now.)
Whether it was Franklin or Bill O'Brien coaching Penn State, this was going to be a tough year because scholarship limitations from the Jerry Sandusky-related NCAA sanctions had an even bigger impact on the roster than the previous two seasons. But after starting out with such promise, Penn State fans have to be freaking out a little bit about blowing a 16-7 fourth quarter lead and the fact that star quarterback Christian Hackenberg has been reduced to an average-looking player because his offensive line can't block for him.
Meanwhile, Maryland fell on both sides of a USA Today winners and losers column, scoring points for a key Big Ten win that secured bowl eligibility but losing them for its pre-game non-handshake. The Terps can't shake their pre-game act, the Altoona Mirror's Neil Rudell added. College Football Talk called Maryland's antics "classless."
Wonder what WOULD happen if Denzel, and posse, refused to shake with F$Who... on 11/15...
http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/p...-shake-hands-with-penn-state-during-coin-toss
Today's Penn State football news features plenty of looks back at the Nittany Lions' 20-19 loss to Maryland at Beaver Stadium, particularly the Terrapins' pre-game refusal to shake hands. Maryland coach Randy Edsall, who declared "Let the rivalry begin" after the game, said he expects the ugly win to pay recruiting dividends.
For the Nittany Lions, a fourth consecutive loss landed them at No. 7 on USA Today's "Misery Index." Coach James Franklin's good fortune winning close games is beginning to fade away and Penn State fans "have to be freaking out a little bit," writes Dan Wolken:
James Franklin walks around with such an aura of confidence around him, it seems at times as though the good breaks that go his way are the product of some grand design rather than simple luck. In his last two years at Vanderbilt, Franklin won close game after close game, a trait that seemed to carry over through a 4-0 start at Penn State with improbable escapes against UCF and Rutgers.
As it turns out, though, Franklin is no different than the rest of the coaching profession. If you're in enough close games, you're eventually going to start losing them. And now Penn State is losing them, falling to 4-4 with a very good chance they will fall short of bowl eligibility. Suddenly, the vibes around Penn State aren't so good after three consecutive home losses, including 20-19 on Saturday to Maryland. (An entirely different subplot to this is that Maryland wants this game so desperately to be a rivalry now that it's in the Big Ten, and Penn State so desperately wants to not make it one. Good luck with that now.)
Whether it was Franklin or Bill O'Brien coaching Penn State, this was going to be a tough year because scholarship limitations from the Jerry Sandusky-related NCAA sanctions had an even bigger impact on the roster than the previous two seasons. But after starting out with such promise, Penn State fans have to be freaking out a little bit about blowing a 16-7 fourth quarter lead and the fact that star quarterback Christian Hackenberg has been reduced to an average-looking player because his offensive line can't block for him.
Meanwhile, Maryland fell on both sides of a USA Today winners and losers column, scoring points for a key Big Ten win that secured bowl eligibility but losing them for its pre-game non-handshake. The Terps can't shake their pre-game act, the Altoona Mirror's Neil Rudell added. College Football Talk called Maryland's antics "classless."
Wonder what WOULD happen if Denzel, and posse, refused to shake with F$Who... on 11/15...
