Observations of the thrilling overtime win over Penn State, 27-24!

1-We had five red zone opportunities for 27 points; they have had four red zone opportunity for 24 points. We missed our field goal fake; they missed a field goal attempt.

2-Navarre was 27 of 41 for 244 yards and no picks/2 TDs! Edwards had 7 catches for 66 yards and 2 TDs; Joppru and Bellamy had 5 catches each, Askew had 4 and Perry 3. Nobody can say that he hasn't improved, and neither can anyone now say that he can't lead us from behind against good times. This year, Navarre has led us from behind to beat Washington and Penn State.

3-Perry had 80 net yards on 25 carries while Askew had 28 yards on 6 carries; overall 35 rushes for 97 yards and 2 TDs/no fumbles. The offensive line wasn't great, but at the end when they needed to be great, they were. The plowed over Jimmy Kennedy (350+ lbs.) on the left side for the TD; they went straight at their best defensive player.

4-Our defense looked suspect, but did what they needed to for the win! Penn State had 62 plays for 355 yards and 3 TDs. They had 81 yards on 28 carries; Larry Johnson had 17 carries for 78 yards and 1 TD (I'd hate to play him with good hamstrings; he's a load). They were 20 of 34 in passing for 274 yards for 2 TDs. We had over 3 minutes advantage in time of possession. They have punted 6 times while we've punted 5 times. We were 9 of 16 in 3rd down conversions compared to their 7 of 15. Penalties were't a huge factor; they had 6; we had 2. We have 22 first downs to their 16. We had 341 net yards to their 355.

5-Combs injury was terrible especially coming after the announcement of Reid's blood clots and Heuer/Orr in street clothes. Obviously, both teams are playing an ultra-conservative game plan waiting for the other to make a mistake. Neither team made any mistakes in terms of turnovers, fumbles or interceptions. Stenavich started at Left tackle again and did a great job with Baas doubling on Jimmy Kennedy. Avant and Watson played and rotated regularly; Stewart was the other true freshman who played. Stevens started for Orr, and LeSueur played for Combs after he left along with Markus Curry. John Spytek came in for Kaufman at times, and also represented the team for the coin toss along with the two other captains: Joppru and Hobson. Kashama saw quite a bit of time at DE, but Woods didn't play except on special teams. Tim Bracken received on kickoffs, but didn't see any time at tailback (and neither did Underwood). Noticeably missing from participation in the game were: Courtney Morgan and Demetrius Solomon at offensive tackle, Andy Mingery at tight end (4 other tight ends saw action: Joppru, Dubuc, Massaquoi and Fisher), Gonzalez at wide receiver, Casseus at linebacker (he was in on special teams), Dudley at fullback, and Ofili on the defensive line.

6-Diggs led our defense with 10 tackles including 1 sack and 1 tackle for loss, Drake had 8, Kaufman 6, Jackson and Stevens had 5 each. Bowman had an outstanding defensive game with 2 sacks and 2 tackles for loss; Stevens also had 2 tackles for loss. Overall, we had 3 sacks and 5 tackles for loss; they had 1 sack and 6 tackles for loss. The pass break up by Jackson in overtime may have been the defensive play of the game, and that was after he was burnt all day by Bryant Johnson who had 7 catches for 138 yards and 1 TD (almost 2). Shawn Mayer had 11 tackles, Capone had 10 for the Lions.

7-We are now undefeated in overtime games with our other win over Alabama in the Orange Bowl, 35-34 when the Tide missed the extra point.

8-It looks like the Homecoming game with Iowa on October 26th looms as who will challenge Ohio State for the title. I am confident that we can win the rest of our games except Iowa and Ohio State will be a challenge. We can end up 11-1 or 9-3, and this could send us into the Rose or other BCS or leave us at the Capital One or Outback. I think we've improved enough to beat Purdue, Michigan State, Minnesota and Wisconsin; however, none of these will be easy. I think Penn State will give the Buckeyes a great game, too on October 26th.

Observations of the first half with Penn State, 7-7!

1-We have had two red zone opportunities for 7 points; they have had one red zone opportunity for 7 points.

2-Navarre is 11 of 17 for 91 yards and no picks/no TDs! Joppru has 3 catches, Bellamy and Askew have 2 each.

3-Perry has 40 yards on 13 carries while Askew has 26 yards on 4 carries; overall 13 rushes for 41 yards and 1 TD/no fumbles.

4-Our defense looks suspect! They have 26 plays for 90 yards and 1 TD. They have 59 yards on 20 carries; Larry Johnson has 6 carries for 32 yards and 1 TD. Each team has one sack each. They are 7 of 13 in passing for 49 yards. We have almost 4 minutes advantage in time of possession. They have punted 5 times while we've punted 3 times. We are 4 of 8 in 3rd down conversions compared to their 2 of 7. Penalties haven't been a factor either; they have two and we have one.

5-All in all a pretty boring game. Combs injury was terrible especially coming after the announcement of Reid's blood clots and Heuer/Orr in street clothes. Obviously, both teams are playing an ultra-conservative game plan waiting for the other to make a mistake. They capitalized on the downed punt at the one, got field position, and capitalized. We had two drives in the red zone, but only one resulted in points.