First, nothing to do with the game, can these TV guys possibly kiss Joe Paterno’s rear anymore? Is there a density measure for such a thing? Like kisses per unit time or something? Wholly crap. I mean, sure it’s expected to a degree because Paterno is a media favorite- he’s the last college football God. His passing from the game will mark the end of an era. Sure, I get that. But crikey, these two guys are gonna need to brush, floss and Listerine themselves with the good stuff before their done. Multiple times.
As for the game, pretty good stuff but sloppy. The teams are pretty evenly matched, but I’m giving the edge to Penn St. I think they’re a little stronger mentally. Whether that’s enough to overcome their mistakes remains to be seen. I don’t think a team can make a living trading mistakes with Florida. The good news if you’re Florida is that the game is still close. The good news if you’re Penn St is Royster and the o-line are starting to get it going. I expect a lot more of Royster in the 2nd half.
Although, overall, it’s looking like the team that makes the last mistake will lose this one. We’ll see if I’m right.
13:20, 3rd: More of the same for the Gators- a big play and then 3 and done. Net result: nothing changes with a wasted big play.
11:27, 3rd: Penn St with a nice 3-and-out of their own. Exciting stuff…
9:09, 3rd: Field goal ties it up at 17. The hurry-up was looking promising, but I think they ran out of field.
6:47, 3rd: Wow- fake punt. Not expecting that. Didn’t work either- either a good job by Penn St defense, or poor execution by Florida. Does Penn St capitalize?
4:39, 3rd: Touchdown Penn St with a big assist from the refs not starting the replay process earlier in the possession. The hot and cold streaks for both teams continue. Right now, last mistake is by Florida on the punt. The result is Penn St 24-17.
3:20, 3rd: Poor execution on 3rd by Florida continues. Will they go on 4th, or take the field goal? Answer- 47 yard field goal is good. It’s starting to look like Penn St’s secret defensive weapon is the Florida offense on 3rd down. Penn St still up 24-20.
:59, 3rd: Big interception, to say the least. Great play too, making a tough catch.
At the end of 3, Florida sets themselves up to start the 4th with their Achilles Heal: a 3rd down play. Still, last mistake is Penn St’s, with 15 minutes to play.
14:23, 4th: Some disarray on Florida’s part requires a timeout. I’m calling mistake on Florida for going for it rather than taking a field goal. Still lots of time and they’re in it. There isn’t much to gain going for it here, but there is a lot to lose. Momentum is too inconsistent by both teams for this to be a momentum kind of play. Seems like a foolish risk. Even if they make it, I say bad decision.
13:29, 4th: You’ve GOT to be kidding me. The refs bail out Florida bigtime with that call. Florida is able to punch it in for the go ahead score- 27-24. This might make Meyer’s 4th down decision look good, but it took a phantom ref call on 3rd down to make it so. I still say bad decision- he just got bailed out. You can’t tell me he was counting on that.
12:05, 4th: Penn St dodges another replay fiasco. Clearly a fumble on the kickoff. Penn St now set to punt it away.
7:32, 4th: Penn St’s defense looks tired. I think they’ve played the whole 2nd half on their side of the field. Although they stiffened down on the goalline to hold Florida to a field goal. Florida up 30-24.
With about 6 minutes to go, it’s officially crunch time. There is plenty of time for Penn St to score now, but if they don’t they’ve likely only got one more possession barring a turnover. It’s going to be a good finish I think.
4:31, 4th: Penn St punting. Probably the right call, but if they give up any first downs they’re sunk.
3:14, 4th: Penn St holds enough. They got some help with some dumb running by Florida. Why are they running wide when time is their friend? Probably saved Penn St 35-40 seconds there.
So after the punt, Penn St has first and 80-to-go for the win with about 3 minutes to go.
1:48, 4th: Big run by Royster. Clock is almost a non-factor now with Penn St deep in Gator territory.
And with a minute to go, McGloin throws a pick-6. Too bad. Gators win this one.