November 16, 2010

Joe Paterno Press Conference Recap:
Indiana Week

(Photo: GoPSUsports.com)
The long and short (but mostly the short) of Joe's presser today.
  • Don't count out Indiana because of last week's 83-20 loss at Wisconsin. If you forgot, Indiana had Iowa on the ropes and lost the game late. Indiana has always given Penn State some trouble when PSU is down or up. Look at 1994 and 2004.
  • Who knows what to expect playing on a neutral site. The field conditions are the only real concern when it comes to a foreign facility, as in not Penn State's or Indiana's fields.
  • Michael Mauti probably WON'T go against Indiana. The shoulder injury (very vague) is pretty bad. 
  • Nate Stupar will fill in for Mauti. Stupar was the original starter at the "Fritz" OLB spot this year.
  • Evan Royster seems fine after a minor leg injury. He and Stephfon Green should be good to go.

  • If Indiana wants to play in Tanzania (Ed.), that's where the game will be played. Doesn't matter one bit where the game is played. 
  • Indiana QB Ben Chappell is one of the best quarterbacks Penn State has faced this year. He was injured last week, but should play, so PSU has to prepare as if Chappell will play.
  • The lack of big kick returns lately is a cause for concern, but only due to the other teams being better at coverage and kicking. Penn State is still practicing kickoff returns as much as it was earlier in the season.
  • Pete Massaro has been struggling with playing hurt. If he can stay healthy, he could become a much bigger factor in football games.
  • Sean Stanley played some stand-up defensive end, but there isn't much to that beyond face value.
  • Missing tackles is the fault of two people: the tackler not using good technique, or the runner doing his job very well. Against Ohio State, it was both, particularly from the linebackers going up against Dan "Boom" Herron. 
  • Penn State has played one tough schedule this year, against three of the best teams in the nation, all on the road. The team has also been very banged up, with 13 guys probably missing this week's game, and five or six of those who would have been first-stringers this year.
  • The staff doesn't look at this as "well, by next year..." Penn State has to take it one game at a time, and focus on winning whatever game is next on the schedule. It can't look ahead to next year, or even the game after next.
  • No comment on Bret Bielema running up the score, or being accused of running up the score last week.
If there are any changes/updates to the press conference transcript, I'll update this post.

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