David Jones is a longtime columnist for Pennlive.com.
1. Since most teams have stacked the box to stop Saquon Barkley and forced quarterback Trace McSorley to beat them by running or throwing over the top, do you think Maryland will change up a little after McSorley did a better job last week against Minnesota?
I would not and I expect Maryland to put the onus on its mature secondary to handle the back end, to get to third down and take their chances. Though McSorley made big plays with both his feet and his arm, they were a handful of big-chunk plays, some of which only occurred because Minnesota's pedestrian DBs could not outfight Penn State's big receivers. The starting point of PSU's offense is still the inside zone-read rush with McSorley and Barkley. I believe they will still continue to try to establish that on early downs. If Maryland can get to second-and-8, that's the objective. I like Maryland's odds on late downs, with elite corner Will Likely playing the slot or in the center of the field as essentially the nickel roaming the back third better than Minnesota's with safety Adekunle Ayinde.
2. Aside from his overtime run against the Gophers, are Barkley's average numbers simply the byproduct of teams making others beat them or do you think Penn State's offensive line has struggled opening up big enough holes?
The OL absolutely has struggled again. The gains have been incremental along the line; the mature talent just is not there. At times, McSorley has made the wrong read and handed off when a defender poured in unblocked with Barkley in his sights. The minus plays for Barkley have multiplied as opposing defenses are keying on him, run-blitzing and blowing up zone-read handoffs before Barkley can even get off the blocks.
But I think Barkley is also suffering from a condition that many backs have over the years with substandard line play: They begin to juke and jab step rather than take a 3-yard gain and end up with a zero or negative run. It's tough when you can't get up any momentum and you know what you can do if you can just get a couple of steps of clean air.
3. Given that Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour felt compelled last week to give James Franklin a vote of confidence, is that an indication that Franklin's future is in jeopardy or an overreaction from the AD?
She was asked a question at a banquet and answered it I think honestly in her own mind – in September. The real question is: What would she do if this extremely young and undermanned team suffered a meltdown in November simply from the physical pounding it's taking now and finished 5-7 or 4-8? Would she cave to the pressure of the less patient, including possibly trustees chair Ira Lubert, or will she stick to her guns?
I think Franklin deserves to stick another year as long as this team keeps fighting for him as it did against Minnesota. But I'm not making that decision; Barbour is. And she's going to have to take some heat.
4. Do you feel that Penn State fans – even the students who come from Maryland – look at the Terps as just another team or do you think a true rivalry would be good for both schools since most of the Nittany Lions' natural rivals are not in the Big Ten?
I think this is definitely a major rivalry in the making. But I don't think most Penn State fans are acknowledging it yet. They will, because they will have no choice.
This is the school, much more than Rutgers, that can challenge Penn State for superiority in a recruiting area that everyone is attacking – the DMV. It's as annually stocked with talent as anyplace above the Sunbelt and it's been dominated over the decades by Penn State.
That is already changing. DJ Durkin's 2017 class is ranked a smidge ahead of Franklin's right now. That never used to happen for Maryland before Big Ten membership, and especially when Larry Johnson was patrolling the region for PSU instead of Ohio State.
Talent is competition. And competition, when blended with proximity and a conference tie, is what makes a rivalry hum. I see this becoming a pitch battle over the foreseeable future with Maryland having a bigger buzz around its program right now than Penn State. The Terps are going to become State's most fervent rival – comparable to what Pitt once was – even if many PSU fans don't yet recognize it.
Anyway, regardless of whether they feel it, the staffs know damn well what this game means – plenty.
5. Based on what the two teams have done this season, it wouldn't be a shock for Maryland to win at Beaver Stadium for a second straight trip. Did Penn State's win over the Gophers turn around the season or simply delay the inevitable?
Not only do I think it would not be a shock, I'm predicting it and I'm not alone. The line illustrates that; it's shifted five points in some books from a PSU minus-3 open to plus-1.5 or plus-2 as of Wednesday evening.
It can accurately be said that the Minnesota win seemed to galvanize the team, that the Nittany Lions fed off that emotion and that Trace McSorley definitively became a team leader.
But this is still a group that is understaffed at scrimmage with its best talents still very young. It's going to be a long grind; the leaves haven't even changed and every one of the seven remaining contests is loseable including at Purdue and at Rutgers.
There will be no "turning around the season." The best case for State is simply hanging on and fighting every single week. Nothing will come easily.