Joe Paterno wanted to “beat the hell out of Alabama.” The opposite happened. Onto the damage report…

The two-headed quarterback of Rob Bolden and Matt McGloin couldn’t get much going and generally confirmed the “if you have two quarterbacks you don’t have a quarterback.” Bolden had a decent first drive (though 3 timeouts in the first six minutes?!) and came away with 3 points. He didn’t get much the next drive and McGloin played in the second quarter. McGloin got nothing going all day. There were four consecutive passes that could have been intercepted. There was a sequence where four consecutive plays were throws to the left side. Both QBs under-threw the ball fairly often, with and without pressure. All told, the Nittany Lions had 1 interception, but it could have been more.

WR Derek Moye did not help either QB with a very uninspired day. He dropped a few passes and was rarely open. He made one really nice one-handed catch, but was mostly a non-factor.

Despite the uneven play, I think Bolden actually pulled ahead or more accurately, didn’t fall as far behind today. He led two scoring drives and was effective running the ball on broken plays and also on an early 4th down conversion. He’ll probably get injured doing this but it did have some level of success. I think he’s better than McGloin, but still not very good. Perhaps I am being harsh on a true sophomore, but he made a lot of bad throws. Unlike McGloin, he actually made a few good ones. I’d be okay with Bolden being the #1 next week.

RB Silas Redd had good first series, but then was contained by the Crimson Tide defense. The run blocking still isn’t good enough against an elite defense. Of course, Alabama might have the best around and it will be months before the Nittany Lions see one that good again.

The pass blocking was okay, I don’t think they gave up any sacks yesterday. It wasn’t great pass blocking, but solid given who they were playing.

Alabama’s QB A.J. McCarron was solid and not rattled by a few passes batted back at him. I hope Bolden and McGloin took notes.

Penn State’s run defense was okay and made some good plays, but as predicted, got worn down.

DT Devon Still got in the backfield several times which was promising. He was the best PSU defender yesterday.

OLB Mike Mauti tends to anticipate the snap count and run through the play. He needs to find a way to be aggressive while reacting more to the play, because he seemed to behind the line of scrimmage far from the ball carrier.

The Nittany Lions let several interceptions go through their hands. Would have been impressive to get them, but almost isn’t enough.

I think I agree with the broadcasters’ point that converting a fake punt by an inch (based on the spot, which was debatable) was the turning point. Penn State played that fake punt about as well as you can, but Bama had so little yardage needed that it didn’t matter.

The one-two punch of Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy is a brutal one to defend.

I heard “Sweet Caroline” during the game. #fireguido

In closing, both Penn State and Alabama were what we thought they were.