Like Taylor Swift losing the mic to Kanye at last night’s MTV VMAs yet earning public support en route, the ‘Cuse lost to the Nittany Lions but won the PR battle.
You can hear Orange Nation scream, “We lost 28-7 to Penn State! That is a worthy improvement over last year’s drubbing.” (Editor’s Note: Do people really say ‘drubbing’ in conversation?)
They’re right. It is. But this edition of the SU offense is not fair to the Orange defense. The ‘Cuse missed out on at least 10 points in that ball game. The defense entered the season as the supposed depleted corps, remember? Time to rethink that one. Scott Shafer has worked well with what he has.
This offense makes one want to weep, though.
There is a good thing in this sense of complete disappointment, though. It means there is an emotional investment by the fan (which was hard to find in the waning days of the Groobers Error).
The last time the fans felt like the Orange was just a few plays away?
The answer is three times in the two previous years. Two games were against Pittsburgh and last season’s horrible “You got Devine’d” game in West Virginia.
Being an optimist, one would like to believe there is help on the way. And in all sincerity, there is. Ryan Nassib will compete for the next three years.
Charley Loeb will be right there too and as¬†The Fizz spoke with him last week, he seems like a guy who doesn’t settle for close losses. In fact, I told him straight up that it was refreshing to watch a team that didn’t completely suck. His response?
“Well, the goal here isn’t to not suck. It’s to win football games.”
Jonny Miller and John Kinder will add fire to the quarterback battle and there’ll be running backs and wide receivers in the future, even if their names aren’t David Oku.
But right now, watching this offense is beyond difficult. It’s not fair to fans and is a result of the diluted recruiting from the past four years.
