ALTOONA, Pa. -- Austin Powers would have loved this! I mean, you can just hear the goofy movie character saying it: "Who throws a PB&J sandwich? Honestly!"
Just like in this famous clip about a villain throwing a shoe:
This is the most interesting week of the Penn State season, with all kinds of fascinating story lines as the Nittany Lions get set to face Minnesota in a whiteout game Saturday night.
But for as much good ol' football stuff as there is to discuss, we're going to start this edition of the midweek top 10 with one of the silliest stories of the season.
1. Somebody with Penn State threw a PB&J sandwich ... and hit Michigan player in the face!
While the teams were jawing back and forth during the tunnel at halftime Saturday, someone in the Penn State camp decided to do something truly bizarre and hurled a sandwich through the air.
Who does that? Even when angry?
You can see it in the tweeted video below. It's in slo-mo, but if you pay attention, you will will see the sandwich soar through the air.
Flying pb & j Zapruder film confirmation. pic.twitter.com/wgOZkIOop6
— Matt Burns (@Burnsy381) October 18, 2022
How can we know it was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Well, because a Michigan player apparently got hit in the face by it.
Wolverines offensive lineman Trevor Keegan said this Tuesday to Alejandro Zuniga of 247Sports:
“I didn’t get a sandwich thrown at me, but (RJ Moten) came up to me and said, ‘I just got hit with a PB&J in the face!’ So I guess they were. I didn’t see that, but that’s what he told me.”
Now, as goofy as that sounds, it's actually a good thing that nothing more happened during the halftime mini-skirmish at the Big House. There were nearly 200 players from opposing sides in close proximity because of Michigan's tunnel setup, and fortunately, the jawing didn't turn into anything physical.
James Franklin was asked Tuesday about the tunnel altercation and made an excellent point about the whole setup at Michigan.
"The one tunnel is a problem. It's a problem and has been," Franklin said. "To me, we need to put a policy in place from a conference perspective, in my mind, that's going to stop—we're not the first team to kind of get into a jawing match in the tunnel. For me, I want to focus on getting my team into the locker room and not jawing back and forth. Get my team in the locker room and their team get in the locker room.
"There really should be a policy that the first team that goes in, there is a buffer. If not, this team starts talking to this team, they start jawing back and forth, and something bad is going to happen before we put in the policy. All there has to be (is) a two-minute or minute buffer in between the two teams. This team is in before that team gets close or however we want to do it. But we're not the first team that's had issues like that. To me, under the current structure, we won't be the last. To me, there is a really easy solution. We've got to do it."
2. Size matters ... especially for linemen going up against Michigan
Franklin mentioned something very interesting after the game about how some of his defensive linemen are undersized, which can be a big problem going up against a big, tough running team.
"We're undersized in some spots," the coach said. "Everybody thinks they're Aaron Donald now, and they're not. Everybody sees Aaron Donald playing undersized, and everybody thinks they're that guy. And there's been one of those guys in the last 100 years in football."
OK, so what do we make of that? It was uncharacteristic of Franklin to say that sort of thing, especially since we've never heard him discuss or complain about that particular aspect of his team. So, the fact that he did it after the Lions gave up 418 yards rushing was intriguing, to say the least.
Is it an excuse? Well, Franklin and his coaching staff recruited these guys and know how much they weigh when they put them into games. Penn State also has a state-of-the-art training program, one that the school takes great pride in, especially when it comes to developing players for the NFL.
So, if the defensive linemen are undersized, who is to blame? That would be Franklin, the coaches, the trainers, everyone.
However ...
Regardless of who is to blame, there is truth in what Franklin said. For instance, redshirt junior defensive tackle Hakeem Beamon (pictured above) is 6-foot-3 and weighs only 264 pounds. Again, he's a defensive tackle, and being that size is just asking for problems when you go up against a big, strong opponent.
Not to pick on Beamon, but he's gotta get bigger.
At the same time, if he's that size, and the coaches know he's that size, then why is he on the field against a great running team. It doesn't take a genius to figure out someone that size could be overmatched.
Franklin was asked Tuesday to discuss the matter further. He said it's not just all about recruiting bigger players.
"I think you guys know typically when I talk about these things it's all of it -- development, weight room, nutrition, recruiting, scheme, all of it," Franklin said. "But what I was talking about is just size is a tool and size is a weapon, no different than speed and quickness and power and strength and agility and all those things. Just that fine line and that sweet spot we have to find in terms of the size you can put on, good weight, lean muscle mass, and big and strong as athletic as they possibly can be. Not putting on weight for weight's sake.
The coach later added, "I know when we're breaking film down on offense and studying people and they've got two 300-pound, or a 300-pound and a 330-pound defensive tackle and a war daddy in there, and they're between 255 and 265 or 270 at defensive end, that's a problem. I think there are some defenses that we have played or that we have studied that do that. Don't get me wrong. I really like our D-line room. I think there are some guys that I think could help us and help them if they gained a few pounds. I think size is a weapon. I would like to be bigger really across both fronts."
Update: I added the following from my Live Qs file today after getting asked about the weight issue:
Player weights often change dramatically in college. It's not unusual to see a 270-pound lineman bulk up to 290 or more during his career. Or a running back to go from 195 to 210 or more. Or an offensive lineman go from 290 to 310.
All of that stuff is monitored very closely with regards to diet, nutrition, weightlifting, exercise, everything. They monitor EVERYTHING.
Here's the problem: Franklin knows everything is monitored, and they're still signing off on which guys to play. So if that's the case, you cannot then criticize the players who haven't put on as much weight as you'd like, because YOU GUYS are the ones controlling the workout routines and decisions on who is playing.
I have up above that DT Hakeem Beamon is 264. That's very small for a DT. He's the kind of guy Franklin was talking about with the size.
OK, so don't play him then if he's not big enough. And if he's not big enough but is still a good player, make sure he does what he has to do to get big enough. Or else don't play him.
This whole thing is a coach blaming players for something, when it's actually the coaches who put the kid in the position in the game.
3. I still say start Clifford at QB ... if he's 100 percent
A whole lot of people will disagree with me here. And that's fine. As I wrote last week, I'd still like to see Sean Clifford start through Ohio State next week, because I think he gives Penn State its best chance to win these games.
Clifford is soooooo average, and please don't ask me to vouch for him in a strong way. I can't. I won't.
All I'm saying is that this week is a must-win game, and Clifford has shown he can win this kind of game (a la Auburn last year in the whiteout). Then you have Ohio State next week, and there's no way Allar is ready for that challenge right now. Clifford won't really be, either, and Penn State will lose, but the veteran QB still gives the team its best chance there.
I will say that Allar MUST get some playing time in meaningful situations against Minnesota, even if he doesn't start.
I know most people disagree with me on this, and you can share your thoughts in the comments. But for two more weeks, I think Clifford is still the guy. Then Penn State can make a change after Ohio State, and the Allar era will officially begin.
4. Evaluating Mike Yurcich, following a really bad offensive game
The second-year offensive coordinator has been a massive disappointment during his Penn State tenure. No one could possibly disagree with that.
We will get to hear from Yurcich on Thursday as he will be made available to the media this week.
In the meantime, Franklin was asked how Yurcich has done adjusting the game plan based on Penn State's personnel. Because last year, it seemed like Yurcich was just calling a bunch of plays and formations that didn't fit the Lions' personnel all that well.
"I think the change in use of our tight ends and formations and running the ball and things like that, I think is a change and is an adjustment that puts us in the best position to play to our strengths," Franklin said.
"Obviously, we've got to go out and execute consistently across the board, but I think there has been a pretty dramatic change. If you look at Mike and who he's been over his career and who we are right now based on our personnel, I think it's pretty significant."
5. Can Clifford audible at the line of scrimmage?
There was a situation early in the game when Penn State faced third-and-1. The formation in that spot looked very odd -- Nicholas Singleton was 6 yards behind Clifford as the lone man in the backfield, and there was no lead blocker. Certainly not a fullback! LOL.
Now, Penn State did have three tight ends in the game, so it was a heavy package. But to have Singleton so deep by himself didn't make a lot of sense.
Anyway, there was an opening over the one guard spot that would have allowed for Clifford to sneak it and, you'd think, get that 1 yard easily for a first down. But the quarterback didn't run it, and instead handed off to Singleton, who blown up in the backfield for a loss.
That play brought up a big, big problem. Clifford is a sixth-year quarterback, starting for a fourth year, and anybody with his experience should have been able to see he could have run a QB sneak for the first down. But either Clifford didn't see that -- which is inexcusable given his experience -- or he wasn't allowed to call an audible to call his own number there. That also would be inexcusable.
Franklin said Clifford is allowed to audible, but then also said this:
"We have a system that allows us to audible at the line of scrimmage or look to the sideline, like I think you guys see us do a lot. But that wasn't necessarily what we were looking for in that situation."
WHAT?
Seriously.
WHAT?
Shouldn't your fourth-year quarterback be looking for anything that might work in that situation, and then take advantage of whatever the defense is showing there? To suggest that wasn't what the team was looking for is absolute nonsense.
You're looking for 1 yard. Do whatever it takes to get that 1 yard.
Franklin did add this, which also is a big problem. But again, it only reinforces the notion that Clifford should have just gone ahead and tried to get the yard himself.
"Our biggest issue is we got beat on that play at one offensive line position and we didn't come off on a double team on another," Franklin said.
6. Minnesota will present similar challenges
Now, we don't yet know if the Gophers will have starting QB Tanner Morgan available this week. If he can play, it will make their offense dangerous. If he can't play, then Minnesota could have issues.
But the one thing we do know for sure about the Gophers is that they will commit to the run. They have an outstanding tailback in Mohamed Ibrahim and a good offensive line. No, it's not as good as Michigan's offensive line, but the Lions know they'll be facing the same kind of challenge in stopping the run this week.
"The running back is a really good player, Mohamed Ibrahim," Franklin said. "His sixth year there. He's from Baltimore and Good Counsel High School and has had as productive a college career as there is. They've got a massive tight end, No. 88 in (Brevyn) Spann-Ford. Their quarterback (Morgan) is also another six-year guy, and him and Kirk (Ciarrocca) have worked extremely well together. Then their center (John Michael Schmitz) is on every award watched list there is and he's another six-year guy as well."
This could go one of two ways. Either Penn State's defense will solve a lot of the problems it had just a week earlier against Michigan, or Minnesota's coaches will notice all the ways the Wolverines took advantage on the ground and do the same thing.
Again, whether Morgan can play will determine a whole lot when it comes to how successful the Gophers will be.
7. Kirk Ciarrocca got a raw deal at Penn State
I just wrote extensively about this earlier in the week, but wanted to mention it again here because Ciarrocca should have a huge impact on this game.
Ciarrocca knows what Penn State likes to do in all phases, based on being an assistant coach just two years ago. He also will come in with a big chip on his shoulder, looking to beat Mike Yurcich and prove to Franklin that he was the better man for the job.
I cannot say that Ciarrocca is better than Yurcich. Or vice versa, really. But again, as mentioned in the story earlier this week, the deck was totally stacked against Ciarrocca in 2020, and he never got a fair shake at Penn State.
8. Where will Lions go bowling?
I still think the Orange Bowl is a good possibility, if Penn State can finish 10-2. Ohio State will go to the playoff, Michigan will go to the Rose Bowl, and the Orange Bowl will have several teams to choose from. That's a New Year's Six Bowl and would be a good landing spot.
If not the Orange, then Penn State likely will be heading to the Citrus Bowl in Orlando.
9. Penn State hoops team enters season in top 50
The initial KenPom rankings for the college basketball preseason were released over the weekend, and Penn State came in at No. 46. That's a pretty good number for Micah Shrewsberry entering his second season.
If Penn State can finish around No. 46, that would put the team in a good position for a possible NCAA Tournament berth. It wouldn't be a guarantee at that spot -- a top-40 finish probably would be -- but the Lions at least appear to have a good shot mathematically based on the KenPom metrics.
10. Hockey team off to good start
The Penn State men's hockey team is 4-0, with two wins over Canisius and two over Mercyhurst. The Lions will host St. Thomas for two games Thursday and Friday at Pegula Ice Arena.
Sophomore Ben Schoen was named the Big Ten's First Star of the Week. He had four points over the weekend, scoring one goal and adding three assists. He had one goal and two assists in a 6-3 win Thursday night over Mercyhurst.
