A Q&A with Black Shoe Diaries

(Hey it's not all about hate in the Big Ten, some times it's also about leeching hits off  of much larger and more successful blogs, too. So here it is few questions and answers from the PSU blog Black Shoe Diaries )

1. (the following question is required to be asked whenever Penn State is being discussed) This looks like a reloading year for Penn State, being young in a lot of positions, if Penn State ends up struggling down the stretch, do you think it will finally convince Joe Pa to retire?

Penn State is in full reloading mode. For the most part, much of the fan base expected Penn State to be sitting at 3-2 heading into the Homecoming game against Illinois. Joe has always said he wanted to leave Penn State when the time was right and when the team was in a good position to succeed. Penn State has a ton of young talent on the roster right now, due in large part to the outstanding recruiting classes from the past two seasons. If Joe decided it was time to step aside, the program would be in good shape. However, with that said, Joe has earned the right to coach as long as he wants and his health will allow him to. Only JoePa will know when the time is right to step aside.

2. What has happened to Royster? Seriously, what happened to the guy who looked like a for sure first rounder not so long ago?

Evan Royster has been an enigma this year. After five games he only has 353 yards and 1 TD, not numbers you would expect from the guy who is about to becoming the school's all-time leading rusher. Royster caught some flack in the off-season regarding his increased weight, but I think it was a little ridiculous to assume that ten pounds would cause the kid to all of a sudden struggle to get yards and stay on his feet. The big problem for Royster (and the other running backs) is the play of the offensive line. The unit was a huge question mark coming into this season and they have yet to form a cohesive unit. The line has done and excellent job in pass protection but for whatever reason, the running lanes don't seem to be opening. The second factor is Royster is not getting the touches. Currently he is averaging over five yards a carry on only 67 rushes. During the early games, the coaching staff was trying to get true freshman QB Robert Bolden up to speed and some game experience. They already know what they have in Royster, so they spent much of the time against the non-conference opponents getting Bolden's feet wet. Royster had the best game of his career (statistically speaking) against Temple. Now we are just waiting for him to duplicate that performance against a Big Ten team.

3. With the last question in mind, PSU ran up 338 total rushing yards against the Illini last year, should we expect to see the same commitment to the ground game this year, and the same results from Green and Royster?

I think you can expect Penn State to try and establish the run early so they can take some shots down the field to Devon Smith and Derek Moye. This Penn State team is still trying to find it's identity offensively. I don't think Penn State will have the same kind of success they had last year on the ground against Illinois, but it won't stop them from trying. Stephfon Green has been getting more and more carries (except against Iowa, he only had 2). Green is finally starting to slow down and let thet play develop, instead of running full speed into the back of the offensive line. Penn State fans are very excited about true freshman Silas Redd. He has show some flashes of greatness and could be the next great RB at Penn State. Redd is electric and can take it to the house if he gets some open field. However, it is all going to come down to Evan Royster. If he can find his old form, it might be a long day for the Illini defense...he just has to prove he can find it.

4. With the loss to Iowa this year, have you and other Penn State fans been forced to adjust your expectations for this year's team?

I think the fans expected to lose the games at Alabama and Iowa, so we are right where we thought we were going to be at this point in the season. I think the bigger adjustment is going to come in the home games against Michigan and Michigan State. Both teams are undefeated (until Saturday) and are looking better and better each week. Michigan seems to be the real deal with Denard Robinson at QB (not sure if you heard, but he doesn't tie his shoelaces). Even Northwestern is a much improved team led by Dan Persa. Going into the season I thought we would be a 9-3 team with loses at Alabama, Iowa, and Ohio State. Now that I see what kind of team we have, Penn State could potentially be 7-5 (loses to Michigan and Michigan State) or possibly 6-6 (losing to Northwestern as well). The sky isn't falling in Happy Valley, but if the team struggles in the next couple of months, the JoePa haters will come out of the wood work again like they did in the early 2000's.

5. What do you see as the largest advantage PSU has over the Illini this year?

From the little I've seen from Illinois this year, it appears that Nate Scheelhaase is a run first QB. He has only throw 79 passes thus far and is averaging just over 122 yards a game. If Penn State can score a few points early and force Sheelhaase to throw, I think that we will be in good shape. The problem with that theory is we would need to stop the Illini rushing attack. This season the Penn State defense has been particularly bad with fundamental tackling. The linebackers have been performing a defensive line type rotation using up to 6 guys and I think that is starting to hurt the team. If Penn State finally goes with Michael Mauti, Khairi Fortt, and Nathan Stupar, the linebackers will be tough to run on. Also watch out for Devon Smith on punt returns. If he can get his hands on one and get into open space - watch out.