Three people contributed questions this week, no lightning round (yet).<\/p>\n
1) The Penn State offensive line looked awful against a very good Iowa defense. They looked pretty good over the last three games, against the Big Ten’s two worst defenses and a I-AA scrimmage. This week they face a decent, but not great, Michigan defense. Is the O-line up to the challenge and can they block Brandon Graham?<\/span><\/p>\n Graham is the big x factor and I think Penn State is going to need running back help on him. He will get his pressures, knockdowns and maybe a couple of sacks, but I don’t think that is enough to necessarily beat Penn State. If he can get in Daryll Clark’s head though, Penn State is in big trouble. Clark gets pretty worked up sometimes and that causes lots of problems. However, if somebody can keep Clark focused, Graham will probably be a manageable problem.<\/p>\n 2) Eric Decker was (for the most part) not a factor in the minnesota game. Was this due to the weather, his being “over rated” or has PSU’s secondary, primarily AJ Wallace, benefited from the extra practice and challenges from the coaches?<\/span><\/p>\n I think all three contributed to Decker having an off day, but one thing was not mentioned but just as important was the lack of possession for Minnesota on Saturday. The Penn State offense simply had the ball so much Minnesota never got a chance to get going on offense.<\/p>\n 3) Tate Forcier captured the eyes of America with some phenomenal late play in some of Michigan’s earlier games, with his last-second touchdown drive against Notre Dame drawing enormous praise to the true freshman. However, he found himself riding the bench in the fourt quarter last week against Iowa, and Penn State has been strong against the pass all year. How will the Penn State defense fair at containing Forcier, who is a true dual-threat quarterback?<\/span><\/p>\n I think Penn State would be wise to utilize the old “Polish nickel” defense and drop a lot of men back in coverage. Decker is most dangerous on the run, let’s see how he does sorting out of a lot guys in white running around the secondary. Make adjustments as needed. I don’t know how stubborn Michigan is under Rich Rodriguez, but if he is determined to throw the ball, let him and then make him pay for it.<\/p>\n